After plenty of rumours of the Montreal Canadiens making a trade instead of using their first-round pick, they came to a compromise: trading the pick in order to move up two spots in the draft order. We found out a few minutes after the trade was announced that the reason for the move was to select another player out of Russia. Following Ivan Demidov going fifth overall in 2024 and then the Habs trading up in the second round to select Alexander Zharovsky in 2025, they took a player with a decidedly different skill set at 26th overall in 2026, Gleb Pugachyov.
Gleb Pugachyov's game is all car crash noises. A lot of speed, a lot of hits.
— David St-Louis (@DavidSt_Louis) June 27, 2026
While Demidov and Zharovsky are quality offensive players who excel with the puck on their sticks, Pugachyov does his best, and loudest, work when the opposing team has it. He uses an imposing combination of size and speed and close down players and eliminate them from the play.
Birthplace: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Date of birth: March 25, 2008
Shoots: Left
Position: Right Wing
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 225 lbs.
Team: Chaika Nizhny Novgorod (MHL) / Torpedo-Gorky (VHL) / Torpedo (KHL)
“Wrecking ball” isn’t an accurate description of his physical play because his form and composure is strong, especially for a player who just turned 18 at the end of March. He doesn’t skate a full speed and just through his mass at the player he has in his sights, but sets his body, bracing his arms against his chest and drives his upper body through the contact. It’s a clean technique that was rarely penalized, but allowed for some devastatingly forceful impacts.
That ability isn’t going to disappear as he advances in level. A look through the list of players who played in the NHL last season finds only 57 who are heavier than his 225-pound frame, and only 33 forwards, and you have to think there’s even more room to add mass as he develops. With top-end skating, even NHLers who are able to avoid the majority of physical play with their mobility will be caught by him when he goes in for contact.
He doesn’t just hit the ice for his shifts looking to throw big hits, however. That’s just a means to winning the puck, which he also does with strong backchecks, catching up to slower players and using superior reach to steal the puck away. He has a high work ethic, and stays engaged in the action when he’s on the ice.
What he can do with the puck once his team has it is a different question, however. His offensive talents aren’t at the same level as his size and speed, so he doesn’t have the offensive numbers you might expect from such a dominant physical force. He can use his frame to shield off defenders when he has the puck, but doesn’t possess the vision, playmaking, or shooting talents to really capitalize on his abilities.
He’s far from hopeless when it comes to offence, and his 24 points in 33 games in the MHL, Russia’s Junior league, weren’t so far off his teammates’ per-game totals. Everyone above him played more games with Chaika Nizhny Novgorod, but the reason why he had so few were the call-ups to the pro VHL and KHL levels. His two goals and an assist in 13 KHL games are decent production for such a young player. It’s rare for a teenager to even get playing time let alone contribute on the scoreboard. His +7 in those 13 games (which actually ended up tied for the best mark on the team) is also an indication that he has a professional style of game.
Rankings
The Athletic/Corey Pronman: #15
The Athletic/Scott Wheeler: #38
Dobber Prospects: #29
Elite Prospects: #42
FloHockey: #23
Hockey Prospect: #11
McKeen’s: #30
NHL Central Scouting: #9 (EU Skaters)
TSN/Chris Peters: #25
He might have enough talents to play in the top league right now, and those will only improve over the final two years of his contract with Torpedo that runs through the 2027-28 season. I think it’s fair to say his physical tools don’t need a lot more work, and ideally these next two years will be spent working on his offensive game. The scouting reports mention that those improved as his draft season went on and even progressed in his brief KHL experience, which is an encouraging sign for him fleshing them out.
It’s not a question of if Pugachyov will become an NHL player, but what role he will play when he gets there. As he is now he can be a physical fourth-liner at the very least, and could have played that role next season if his contract status allowed. He will put a frustrating amount of pressure on opposing defences, leading to turnovers, extended shifts for the opposition, and chances for his linemates.
The Canadiens see a higher role for him, comparing him to Tom Wilson (they weren’t the only ones to do so), and it won’t take a whole lot of offensive improvement for him to raise his lineup projection. We see each time Juraj Slafkovský is elevated to Montreal’s top line how important winning pucks off the wall can be, and while comparing the skill sets of those two first-rounders is too much of a stretch, Pugachyov just needs to be able to hand the puck off after winning the board battle to complement more offensive players. If he can add that element to his game he will be a third-line player. If he expands his talents while in possession of the puck, a second-line projection is a possibility, and thanks to his high floor he will have the opportunity to work on that part of his game even after he makes the NHL team.
