Montreal Canadiens Top 10 Prospects: #6-#5

Engstrom is a smooth-skating defenseman who has learned to play a safe and effective game from the back end. He has seen major improvements in his game ever since arriving in North America as a high-risk taker, and after two years in the AHL, Engstrom looks to take the next step in his hockey career. 

Last season, Engstrom was one of the best players on the Rocket, as he led all defensemen with 10 goals and 34 points in 45 games. It should be noted that the next closest defenseman points-wise had seven fewer points while having played 18 more games. As a result, Engstrom is showing signs that he’s ready to take the jump to the NHL for good. 

Engstrom has a chance to force his way to the NHL this season despite a crowded blueline with the Montreal Canadiens. However, at the same time, Engstrom’s solid play could make him a great trade asset that the Canadiens can use to get a bonafide NHLer that can be a difference maker. Training camp will be interesting for Engstrom, as he will be fighting for a spot on the Canadiens’ blueline for good. 

5. Gleb Pugachyov, Forward, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 

The Montreal Canadiens’ newest first-round pick, Gleb Pugachyov, comes in as the organization’s fifth-best prospect currently. Pugachyov is a pure power forward that plays a very similar type of game as Washington Capitals star Tom Wilson, in that he is best known for delivering bone-crushing hits throughout all three top Russian leagues.

It doesn’t matter if Pugachyov is playing in the KHL, VHL, or MHL; he will crush his competition with perfectly timed hits. Standing at 6-foot-3 inches and already 225 pounds, the 18-year-old strikes fear into his opponents as he comes bulldozing their way. 

Similarly to Wilson, he completes his hits just within the lines of what is acceptable as a clean hit. That isn’t to say he won’t sometimes get into penalty trouble every now and again, but his style of play doesn’t get him as many penalties as many would think. A lot of that has to do with him learning how to stay more disciplined following a 2024-25 season, where he had 84 penalty minutes in 42 MHL games to just 36 PIMs in his 33 games last year. A physical player that can stay disciplined can be hard to find, which means that the Canadiens may have struck gold in Pugachyov if he can continue to improve on his discipline and develop himself into an NHL player. 

While Pugachyov’s hitting is what stands out most from his game, he also has good hands and a shot that could make him a potential top 9 forward in the NHL rather than just a bottom-six forward. The mix of skill and grit is what made the Montreal Canadiens, who were in dire need of a power forward of Pugachyov’s style, take him 26th overall in this year’s past draft. He is exactly the type of player the Canadiens need to get them through the playoffs.

When it comes to the stats, Pugachyov’s offensive numbers don’t jump out off the paper, as his 10 goals and 24 points in 33 MHL games was good, but it didn’t set him apart from his peers. What does, however, is his ability to create room for his linemates with his physical play, which in turn creates a lot of assists that he won’t get credited for. Not to mention, he is still improving his offensive game while remaining a physical force. Similar players like Wilson or Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson didn’t stand out offensively in their junior years either, and both were able to become 20+ goal scorers in the NHL. In Wilson’s case, he even became a 30-goal scorer.

With that being said, Pugachyov has the potential to score 20-25 goals and 55-60 points if his development goes well. The Canadiens themselves believe that he could be their version of Wilson that can help push them further in the postseason. 

Pugachyov is still a long way from achieving his ceiling as a solid second-line winger, but he has all the tools to head in the right direction. Even if he ends up being similar to what Anderson was in his mid-to-late 20s as a perennial 20-goal scorer, it can be a success because of the physical play that he brings. 

However, considering how raw his offensive game currently is, he can’t be considered any higher than the fifth-best prospect in the Canadiens pipeline. The good news is according to player agent Jeremy Garrett, who has good ties to the KHL, Pugachyov is expected to spend more time with Torpedo in the top Russian leagues this upcoming season. However, he isn’t on Torpedo‘s roster for their season-opening four game road trip.

Last year when he was given a stint with Torpedo, Pugachyov performed well in a limited role as a 17-year-old, scoring two goals and an assist in 13 KHL games. If he plays physical and drives to the net with the puck, he should also get more ice time whenever he plays for Torpedo. It should be noted that he’s still likely to play in both Torpedo’s VHL and MHL affiliates again this season. To truly take a step, he will need to show that he can dominate at the MHL level both offensively and physically once again.

In case you missed the previous rankings check them out below:

8. Owen Beck and #7 Bryce Pickford 

10. Florian Xhekaj and #9. LJ Mooney

The honourable mentions who just missed the list.