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Jun 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort presses the trade button for the Montreal Canadiens on the 16th overall pick as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman watches in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at Peacock Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Canadiens 2025 Top Selection Dazzles in Recent Championship

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI
By Tyler Major-Mcnicol | Last updated Jul 14, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Montreal Canadiens 34th overall selection Alexander Zharovsky was reportedly a hot commodity at the top of the draft board on day two, with several general managers working the phones to trade up and select him.

While his skating needs improvement and his overall engagement as a 200-foot winger needs improvement, Zharovsky has the brain and elite puck skills to stickhandle his way in a phonebooth, often resembling somewhat a wizard.

It's certainly not gone unnoticed that the impact that Pavel Datsyuk has had on many Russian players, and the creativity has no bounds. Russia appears to be on the rise, with plenty of top young talents being infused into the NHL each year.

Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin and Kirill Kaprizov, have carried that torch more recently. Zharovsky is hoping to be one of the next to join Ivan Demidov and potentially Bogdan Konyushkov in the future, and Yevgeni Volokhin, who hopes to make some noise between the pipes for the Canadiens down the line.

But let's have a look at what Zharovsky treated the hockey-crazed Montreal Canadiens fanbase to in his first taste of KHL 3 on 3 preseason action. Zharovsky is slated to play in the MHL for Tolpar UFA, but his performance might incite some rethinking of that idea.

Alexander Zharovsky with his first trophy for Salavat Yulaev

/The Ufa team became the champion of the first KHL 3x3 Championship/#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/jV1i8IEJg6
— Adelina (@AdelCucumberg) July 12, 2025

Salavat Yulaev, the club Zharovsky won the championship with, is the club he would play for if he has a successful training camp, but his recent performance is certainly a nice addition to his resumé.

Alexander Zharovsky with a beauty of a behind the back pass, went 0/1 in the SO but his team still won the 3 on 3 championship. He had 3 goals, 2 assists in the 4 gms. https://t.co/k2MfiqjYQV
— Serenity Hockey (@HockeySerenity) July 13, 2025

Zharovsky needs to add some muscle, and playing in the KHL would be the perfect place for him to use that muscle to power through defenders, and even create havoc in front of the net.

At six-foot-one and just under 170 pounds, Zharovsky could top out at 200 to 215 pounds without issue, and adding some power and grit to his game, which could be harnessed through KHL coaching overall the final two years of his contract in Russia, would be tremendous for his NHL future.

The jump from the MHL to the KHL is no guarantee, but Demidov's case serves as a bit of inspiration and perhaps healthy competition between the childhood friends.

Zharovsky is coming off a 24-goal, 50-point season in the MHL, showing that he is one of the top young talents in the Russian ranks playing in the league. His play through seven KHL playoff games to end the 2024-25 season was also another feather in his hat.

His recent performance is more of the same that has come to be expected, and the show he put on displayed the ridiculous skill that he has, and the ability to create space for himself and his linemates is in a tier of its own. Pair that with his vision and ability to execute difficult passes and burn goalies with his shot, and the excitement towards the player is understandably difficult to contain.

Zharovsky looks to be a superstar prospect in the making, and Montreal is precisely the place he wanted to play and show off his skills.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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