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Canadiens Top 20 Prospects – No. 3 Brilliant Zharovsky
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- Canadiens Top 20 Prospects – No. 3 Brilliant Zharovsky
Top Canadiens Prospect Zharovsky Summer Plans, Demidov Practice
Highly talented Montreal Canadiens prospect Alexander Zharovsky was ranked No. 3 in our top-20 prospects list, as chosen by Habs fans.
N.B.: To qualify for the project, prospects must be 23 years old or younger and currently playing outside the NHL. In other words, even though Canadiens players such as Lane Hutson , Juraj Slafkovsky , and Ivan Demidov are young enough to qualify age-wise, they've already established themselves as NHL players and are no longer considered prospects.
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Previously Published Montreal Canadiens Prospect Profiles
Canadiens Prospects Who Just Missed the Cut
Canadiens Prospects Ranked 20-16
Canadiens Prospects Ranked 15-11
No.10 – Towering Hayden Paupanekis
No. 9 – Truculent Florian Xhekaj
No.8 – Highly Skilled L.J Mooney
No.7 – Extraordinary Bryce Pickford
No.5 – Highly Mobile Adam Engstrom
No. 4 – Enigmatic David Reinbacher
Alexander Zharovsky
3. Right Wing, Shoots Left, 19, Salavat Yulaev (KHL), 6'1″, 165 lb. Picked 34th overall in 2025.
The Montreal Canadiens traded a pair of 2025 first-round picks to the New York Islanders in exchange for star defenceman Noah Dobson , significantly mitigating the chances they'd select a young player with star potential in the later rounds of the draft.
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And yet, some would argue they managed to land a player with first-round talent when they chose winger Alexander Zharovsky early in the second round.
There were some clues Zharovsky held an impressive level of potential, especially since he managed to produce at a point-per-game pace for Tolpar Ufa in the MHL, the Russian equivalent to the CHL. Zharovsky scored 24 goals and 26 assists in 45 games, but making the jump from the MHL to the KHL is a rather high hill to climb for any player, let alone one who slipped out of the first round of the NHL Entry Draft.
And yet, Zharovsky's rookie season in the KHL has been nothing short of jaw-dropping.
As it stands, he has managed to score 14 goals and 24 assists in 50 games, an incredibly encouraging production rate when we consider he spent the majority of the season playing as an 18-year-old. Prorated, he's expected to register his name on the scoresheet 45 times this season, which is just four points shy of the rookie tally produced by his countryman, Ivan Demidov .
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However, it's important to note Demidov scored 49 points in 65 games, whereas Zharovsky is only expected to play 59 games. Simply put, their production rates are quite similar.
Zharovsky is under contract until May 2027, which means there's absolutely no rush when it comes to his entry-level contract, or the usual conversation about bringing a top prospect to Montreal as soon as possible.
Strengths
You could make a relatively strong argument that Zharovsky is already among the most talented players in the organization. You'll note I mentioned the entire organization, and not just the prospect pool.
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He's a dynamic forward who relies on his elite offensive instincts to create a form of controlled chaos in the offensive zone. His hands are already bordering on elite, allowing him to combine excellent hand-eye coordination with a spectacular speed of execution.
To put a fine point on Zharovsky's dynamic offensive skill set, he scored one of the nicest goals you'll see on Thursday, securing the win versus Traktor Chelyabinsk in the shootout.
It's a good reminder that if you give Zharovsky enough time and space, he's bound to generate a highlight reel play, or at the very least, a high-danger scoring chance.
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With over 100 shots to his credit, it should be noted that he's maintained a fairly high shot rate, with 2.1 per game. In other words, he's not just capitalizing on high-quality chances, he also adds a relatively high volume of shots to the mix, mitigating the chances his offensive prowess will suddenly dry up.
He has the ability to control the pace of play, which works to his advantage in the offensive zone. He'll slow things down, only to quickly evade his coverage and capitalize on the passing and shooting lanes he created. He's a smart player with excellent vision, not to mention high-end anticipation.
Zharovsky's defensive play is far from a strong point, but he has shown an ability to quickly turn an active stick into offence.
Weaknesses
The first thing we should note is that Zharovsky scores many of his goals on the powerplay. Six of his 14 goals have come with the man advantage. It's not necessarily a weakness, per se, but it does put his goal scoring into the proper context.
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He's scoring on roughly 13% of his shots, which isn't a significant red flag, but it does suggest that there's a chance he will eventually go through a dry spell should his luck change.
As for things Zharovsky can control, I'd argue his greatest weakness is his defensive awareness, par for the course when discussing a teenager playing professional hockey.
He's also failed to provide the right effort level on some shifts, which has led to demotions throughout the year. Again, that's not out of the ordinary when we remember he's still two years away from being legally allowed to gamble in Las Vegas, but he will have to shore up his play in the defensive zone as he prepares to make the eventual jump to North America.
Finally, he's far from an elite skater, a situation that may not be apparent when watching him play in the KHL, a league that is much slower than the NHL.
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What To Expect From Zharovsky Moving Forward
All things considered, Zharovsky is enjoying a dream development path in the KHL, and given that he still has a year left on his contract, another year in Russia is far from the worst possible situation for the supremely talented winger. For the record, he's averaging a little over 15 minutes of ice time per game while playing in Russia.
The Laval Rocket have plenty of wingers, and though Zharovsky's hands were blessed by the hockey gods, he's far from ready to play in a top-six role in the NHL, the only situation that makes sense for a player with his skill set.
Zharovsky needs to be used in a situation conducive to scoring.
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For the time being, that situation will be found in Russia.
He will also have to improve his even-strength goal scoring rate to make an impact in the NHL, but I don't want to give anyone the impression that his powerplay production is a negative factor when projecting his potential. The mere fact that he's scoring with regularity at his age, in a professional league, is nothing short of impressive.
Once he's ready to play in North America, Zharovsky projects as a top-six talent who will likely inject a healthy dose of dynamic offensive play to the mix for the Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens player statistics via Elite Prospects .
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