After making a strong impression during Montreal Canadiens development camp last year, Bogdan Konyushkov returned home and signed a contract extension with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, clearly betting on himself and his development in Russia. This decision will also shorten his ELC term to just one year most likely when it is signed, making sure he will avoid AHL time as the team would want to evaluate him against NHL opposition.
His overall season with Torpedo was a success. The point total went up from 17 points in 2024-25 to 38 points in 2025-26, 10 more than his previous high two years earlier. This while his ice time over the season dropped by about half a minute.
| Season | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PPG | TOI |
| 22/23 | 64 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 0.39 | 20:44 |
| 23/24 | 65 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 0.43 | 23:20 |
| 24/25 | 67 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 0.25 | 22:53 |
| 25/26 | 67 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 0.57 | 22:13 |
While time-on-ice has been relatively constant the number of points have fluctuated massively with a big dip during the 2024-25 season.
With consistent playing time all season long, he had eight multi-point games, including two in the playoffs. It is clear that he has reached another level in his development. He also started to shoot more and be more active in the offensive zone, which really impacted his point total. This is especially impressive as his power-play usage has gone down. He generated a lot of his offence at even strength, taking that part of his game even further. This bodes well for a future career no matter where he will play professionally.
With less analytics to use than in other leagues, I have chosen to look at Konyushkov’s plus/minus score. For a team that finished the season with a level score (191 goals scored and 191 against) a minus-six rating at the end of the season is normal for a player who plays on the first or second pairing. While it was positive for a long time, it really fell apart at the end of the season as Torpedo rested players to get ready for the playoffs.
Torpedo also started strong and at one point the team was ranked among the best in the KHL, but as bigger teams got stronger by adding players, Torpedo stayed with more or less the same lineup throughout and lost its place toward the final third of the season, finishing sixth in the West but causing an upset as they beat Severstal in five games. In the second round they faced East winner Metallurg Magnitogorsk and lost in five games. Still, Konyushkov was used hard and stood for an impressive series.
Strengths
There is a lot to like with Konyushkov”s defensive game; his positioning, vision, and hockey IQ are all good and it will make the foundation for a NHL career down the line. It is his bread and butter, and it will take him far. The interesting fact is that he isn’t used on the penalty kill even if it is his defence that is his strong point. However, his overall play has improved and the question is really what role he can have on an NHL team.
He has been part of the leadership group this year again and has the maturity both on and off the ice. He is a leader who actively takes responsibility in the locker room, with the referees, and with the media after the game. He is open and honest, something that fans and media like and also shows that he doesn’t shy away when the going gets tough. It is a strength especially considering the fact that character is an important trait for many GMs right now.
Weaknesses
His big weakness remains his skating. It improved this season compared to last, but there is still a long way to go before calling him a strong skater. The saving throw might be the fact that NHL rinks are smaller, but that means that Konyushkov will have to change his role to a more defensively suited player in NHL that what he was in the KHL this year.
Grade: B+
While his overall game took a step forward, I am struggling to give a higher grade than a B+ as his skating isn’t as good as I want it to be for a bigger role on an NHL team. Different models project Konyushkov in different ways but he rose to the equivalent of 25-30 NHL points this season, and still builds his play through his offence and especially his assists. Right now he projects as a depth player in the NHL and that is borderline due to his age.
Combining the skating, the Montreal Canadiens’ defensive depth, his ELC situation and tentative projection makes me think that this is a player who will become part of a bigger deal down the line.
Our guest on the podcast is Vladislav Utkin, hockey writer of allhockey.ru and sovsport.ru. He says that Konyushkov is practicing English and getting ready for Montreal. I expect that we will see his progress during development camp.
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