Expectations for Habs Forward Prospects in Europe

Given his hard wrist shot, he should be able to get a few more goals and likely put up double-digit points as he continues to grow at the pro level. It would be very disappointing to see his game not improve much, even though he will be playing in a low-scoring league with limited ice time. He’s coming into the season healthy and with the confidence from his World Juniors Showcase case, Aatos Koivu has the chance to have a good draft + 2 campaign. he can stay healthy, expect him to be a much more important player as the season goes along. His Liiga season will start on Tuesday, September 9th, against HPK.

The next prospect to be discussed is probably the most excited of them all, forward Alexander Zharovsky, who should be playing in the KHL for Salavat Ufa this year. After dominating the MHL last year in his draft year, Zharovsky impressed the Habs enough to trade up in the 2nd round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft to take him 34th overall. He then proceeded to have a strong preseason with his KHL club, Salavat Ufa, including scoring an absolutely beautiful goal in his 2nd game.

With this being said, he should start the year in the KHL, but could also see some time in the VHL as 18-year-olds of his talent often do. However, if he performs well enough, he could manage to stay the whole year in the KHL. Unfortunately, his debut for the season needs to wait a little longer as Salavat Ufa announced that he is currently nursing an injury and will miss the first couple of games to start the KHL season. 

If his usage during the preseason has any indication of how Zharovsky will be used, he could end up seeing some power-play time while playing a middle-six role with Salavat this year. Playing against the best players in Russia every night should be a valuable experience for Zharovsky, who only turns 19 in February of 2026. This could accelerate his development more than the Canadiens were expecting this season. If Zharovsky does get some time in the VHL, we should see him put up good numbers. Another thing we should see is Zharovsky adding some more muscle to his lean frame. This could be his last year in Europe before he comes to North America to join the Laval Rocket for the 2026-27 season. With the amount of pure skill he has, we should expect him to put up some good numbers wherever he plays throughout the season.

The third forward I would keep my eye on closely, currently in Europe, is Filip Eriksson, who seems to have turned a page for the better since he was traded over to Lulea HF from the Vaxjo Lakers organization during the off-season. He has already proven he has a great shot by scoring 2 goals to start this year’s Champions Hockey League Tournament. He hasn’t scored in his last 2 games, but Eriksson has still managed to show that he belongs in the SHL and seems like he’s in store for a big season with Lulea. It should be interesting to see how the 6th Round pick in 2023 develops.

Another prospect who will eventually head back to Europe is forward Vinzenz Rohrer, who will be attending Montreal Canadiens training camp, but is very unlikely to make the team. Like many previous European prospects who signed their Entry-level deals, he has a clause that makes him honour the final year of a contract with his Swiss National League team if he doesn’t make the NHL. Still, NHL training Camp will likely do wonders for his game as a whole because he’ll gain the experience of practice and possibly playing a preseason game against the best in the world. This speedy winger should continue to improve on his 15 goals and 25 points in 52 games that he had with the Zurich Lions last year. 

These four forward prospects will be interesting to watch throughout the year and could turn many heads throughout the Habs organization if they play at the top of their games.

Who is the European forward prospect you are most excited to follow this year?