Montreal Canadiens Prospect Alexander Zharovsky

Montreal Canadiens prospect Alexander Zharovsky is certainly among the most talented young players in the KHL.

Chosen 34th overall at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Zharovsky is not expected to arrive in North America in the near future, as his KHL contract expires in 2027, but his impressive scoring rate has already led to a some Habs fans pencilling him into projected lineups.

For those who have not yet had the pleasure of watching him play for Salavat in the KHL, Zharovsky is overflowing with skill, not to mention the confidence necessary to excel as an 18-year-old player in a professional hockey league. His vision is elite, and his excellent hand-eye coordination leads to a bevy of high-danger scoring chances for his linemates.

For example, Zharovsky enjoyed a two-point game on Friday, setting up two powerplay goals as Salavat registered a 4-1 win over Ak Bars.

This pushed his season totals to eight goals and 14 assists in 25 games, including two game-winning goals. Consequently, the 18-year-old will represent Salavat at the KHL’s All-Star Game, after winning back-to-back Rookie Of The Month honours.

Demidov Vs. Zharovsky

As it stands, Zharovsky is on pace to finish his rookie campaign in the KHL with more points than current Hab Ivan Demidov did last season, a situation that has certainly led to a heightened level of hype among Canadiens fans who pay close attention to the team’s prospect pool.

And while the hype is warranted when discussing Zharovsky’s undeniable talent, we do have to keep his usage in mind when projecting his potential NHL impact.

Zharovsky is averaging a little over 14 minutes time on ice (TOI) per game, which is very similar to the 13:45 TOI Demidov received as a rookie, but there’s a clear-cut difference in their powerplay usage.

Demidov averaged a minute and a half of powerplay TOI per game, whereas Zharovsky is nearing almost 3 minutes. A rather high percentage of Zharovsky’s production has come on the powerplay, as evidenced by the fact that five of his eight goals have taken place on the man-advantage.

This doesn’t mean we should ignore Zharovsky’s production outright, though it is a good reminder that context is key when evaluating prospects. Producing on the powerplay is an important factor for high-skill players, but most hockey is played at 5v5. It remains to be seen whether Zharovsky can produce regularly when he doesn’t as much open ice to work with before finding his linemates with excellent passes.

That’s fairly normal for a young player, especially one facing opponents who have spent years playing professional hockey.

What matters most is that he’s quickly finding his offensive rhythm at just 18 years old, connoting that he’s already well ahead of the normal prospect curve.

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By Marc Dumont
Marc has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for Journal Metro, The Athletic, The ... More about Marc Dumont

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