All stats are taken on the morning of the 4th of November, hence stats might have changed as games was played on the fourth of November in some leagues.
Bogdan Konyushkov
Torpedo Nihzny Novgorod (KHL) | Russia
Konyushkov is an intriguing prospect. While the stat line isn’t the best with regard to points, he still logs around 22 minutes a night for Torpedo, the second-ranked team in the western conference and tied for third in the KHL overall. He is a workhorse, for a good team.
He is being used more on the power play than the penalty kill, which is a trend that has been ongoing for the last couple of seasons. This time it might be due to the fact that Torpedo is better at drawing penalties for themselves than the other way around. Personally I would like to see him get more penalty-kill time, as it seems that the defensive position on the Canadiens’ power play looks set for the foreseeable future.
He is under contract for the 2026-27 KHL season.
Alexander Zharovsky
Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL) | Russia
No one can have missed Zharovsky’s progress in the KHL after he got back from the injury that held him out at the start of the season.
There is a really good interview with Zharovsky on the KHL website in which he describes the situation of playing in the KHL playoffs with Salavat. “I usually watched KHL games from the stands. But here, you were playing and immersed in the team. I had to adapt to the team right during the playoffs, but it didn’t take long.”
Montreal fans should be comfortable with his development in Salavat as Zharovsky heaps praise on his coach. “I don’t feel any significant pressure due to my new role on the team. A big thank you to all the coaches, especially Viktor Nikolaevich [Kozlov, head coach of Salavat Yulaev], for letting me play and for the trust they place in me. Yes, we make mistakes, but they don’t bench us; they simply give us advice and believe in us.” It’s a completely different approach than what the Canadiens fans were following in the KHL last season.
It is not only fans who are seeing similarities between Zharovsky and a certain Ivan Demidov. When approached about the subject, Zharovsky says, “I’ve heard comparisons to Vanya Demidov; maybe we’re similar. Vanya is doing just fine, and I’m glad people compare us to him. I hope, like him, to play good hockey and achieve great results. I didn’t set a goal to compete for the best rookie of the season award; the team’s results are what matter most.”
Zharovsky currently has a shooting efficiency of 19.2%. It is high and one of the explanations is that a lot of the shots come on the power play. The good thing is that he is on Salavat’s first unit, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a bit of regression in those numbers as the season goes on.
Zharovsky is also under contract until the end of the 2026-27 KHL season.
Makar Khanin
Dynamo Saint Petersburg (VHL) | Russia
In seven games, the last on the November 3, Khanin has three points. One would have expected more after the impressions at development camp as well as the fact that he needs to prove himself in the VHL in order to get a KHL opportunity.
Yevgeni Volokhin
Spartak Moscow (KHL) / Khimik Voskresensk (VHL) | Russia
Volokhin’s last game in the KHL was on the October 21, and he was taken off after two periods after letting in two fast goals at the end of the second period. His KHL stats are therefore not that impressive.
However, with Khimik in the VHL he continues to shine as he is their regular goalie and playing more or less every game. He has a save percentage of .935 and a goals-against average of 1.77 over 14 games. The progress is good even if he doesn’t play in the KHL regularly.
Aatos Koivu
TPS Turku (Liiga) | Finland
It is surprising that Koivu isn’t getting more points in Liiga. It is his second season after all. Especially considering he was up with the main team for the full season last year and adaptation to the professional league should not be necessary.
TPS has run both hot and cold for the first 18 games of the season and is currently at 10th place in the table (out of 16 teams). Coach Tony Suoniemi has trusted his first line quite a lot when it comes to power-play usage and Koivu hasn’t been able to force himself into that unit. On the contrary, Koivu has been moved between the third and fourth line, and is playing 11-15 minutes per night.
I don’t think points are the most important thing when it comes to Koivu’s development. He is a long-term prospect; think Oliver Kapanen or Artturi Lehkonen. He needs the time to develop before a move over to North America, and the biggest thing for Koivu are the World Juniors this year. It will also be a chance for Montreal fans to evaluate his progress against players his own age.
Here is one of Koivu’s two goal’s this season:
Filip Eriksson
LuleƄ HF (SHL) | Sweden
As LuleĆ„ has struggled and not managed to get any reliable secondary scoring from the other units but the Hedqvist-OāNeill-Eriksson line, the points have dried up. Especially as opposing coaches have managed to coach against LuleĆ„’s top line. The forward got an assist in the game against Malmƶ, after the article about Eriksson was posted last week.
The international break comes at a good time for LuleƄ as the team needs to improve in all aspects of the game to avoid being part of the relegation battle at the bottom of the SHL table. There is some pressure being built up in LuleƄ and the coach has already said that he is leaving after the season. The good thing is that Eriksson is looking a lot better this year with LuleƄ compared to his time in VƤxjƶ last season.
Eriksson has 15 points in 18 games, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that drop further towards 0.33 to 0.50 come the end of the season.
Rasmus Bergqvist
SkellefteƄ AIK (SHL) | Sweden
As I spoke about in the Player of the Month podcast, Rasmus Bergqvist is slowly building up his time on ice as he continues to play in one of SHL’s top teams, SkellefteĆ„. From having been the seventh defenceman at the start of the season, Bergqvist has forced coach Andreas Falk to rely on his solid defensive and physical game more and more.
While I haven’t watched a lot of full SkellefteĆ„ games this season, it is clear that the confidence in the offensive zone is increasing as well. Both scouts and journalists that follow SkellefteĆ„ have pointed out that Bergqvist is more involved in that part of the game compared to last year. However, it is the physicality in front of SkellefteĆ„’s own net and the defensive structure that is Bergqvist’s bread and butter. There are still some struggles as the pace is faster, but he is getting there. However, this is where the focus should be because that will be the deciding factor if he gets a chance in the AHL (or even NHL) down the line.
Vinzenz Rohrer
ZĆ¼rich Lions (National League) | Switzerland
Enough said:
#Habs Vinzenz Rohrer breaks his duck with a crazy individual number. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/zDNqiCUw6z
— Patrik Bexell (@Zeb_Habs) November 1, 2025
