January Update On Alexander Zharovsky

Zharovsky is now up to 13 goals and 33 points in 38 games, after his goal today. He also continues to lead his team in points by having 1 point more than Jack Rodewald as of January 15th. The Habs prospect continues to make amazing plays against more seasoned pros as if he himself has been a 5-year KHL veteran.

His goal on Thursday in Salavat’s 5-2 victory was one of brilliance. The 18-year-old Russian’s goal came off a play where he poked the puck loose along the boards in his own zone, which resulted in the opposing defender getting the puck before Zharovsky poked the puck loose yet again to spring himself in on a breakaway. On his breakaway, Zharovsky went to his backhand, where he snuck the puck over the goaltender’s pads. In terms of his highlight reel goals this season, that one has to be among his best of the season, not only because of the offensive skill that he showcased to complete the goal on the breakaway, but also because of the effort he put into starting up the play.

The whole play showed 200-foot dominance from Zharovsky, as not only did he poke the puck loose once, but he proceeded to do it as he followed through on his initial stick check. It showed incredible effort, hockey IQ, and skill all in one play. This shift would have been a major success for him even if he didn’t go in on a breakaway and score, but with his goal, this may be his best individual shift that he’s had in terms of all-around play.

Another thing a shift like this does is it puts any doubt that he can’t play solid hockey in his own end to bed. It’s very clear that he’s not only a threat from inside the offensive zone, but he can also do serious damage starting from his own end.

His defensive game seems to be one of the most underrated parts of his game, as we all get to see what he has been able to do offensively with Salavat this year, but not everyone has seen just how playing centre on a few occasions throughout the season has helped him develop his entire game. These are the things that the Habs were hoping he could pick up at some point as a high-reward 2nd-round pick. His work has also gotten a lot of attention from scouts around the league.

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman published a re-draft for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, and he has Zharovsky already as the 8th best prospect from this draft so far. This just goes to show the impact that Zharovsky is having on the hockey world and that many league-wide scouts see that the Canadiens are looking as if they found a gem in the 2nd round. It will be interesting to see how his all-around game rounds out by the time he comes to Montreal after his KHL contract expires in the summer of 2027.