The Hockey World Is Taking Notice of Zharovsky

It can be said that Zharovsky really started to hit stride about 7 games ago when he came onto the ice late after being benched for 2 penalties, as he has scored 10 points (3 goals and 7 assists in that span). As mentioned on many occasions it isn’t normal for a teenager to put up the points that he is piling up over the past few weeks. He is now up to 5 goals and 14 points in 13 games. 

Zharovsky is now just 2 points behind his teammate, Maxim Kuznetsov, for the team lead despite having missed the first seven games of the season. As it stands, Zharovsky is on pace to shatter Habs forward Ivan Demidov’s point totals record for a U20 player in the KHL. Demidov put up 19 goals and 49 points in 65 games with SKA St. Petersburg while playing a limited role for the majority of the year. Meanwhile, Zharovsky is on pace for 23 goals and 65 points in 61 KHL games this season. 

The truth is, he likely won’t get 65 points in the KHL, as his points have shot up a lot during his 3-game hot streak, but it’s clear that if he stays healthy, he should be able to break 50 points easily. As a result, his recent performances have caught the eye of many scouts and hockey personalities around the internet who are talking about him already being a steal for the Canadiens at pick #34 in this year’s draft. Unfortunately, due to the Russian factor, many of these prospects get undervalued by a majority of teams. 

The Canadiens seem to see things differently thanks to their head of Amateur Scouting, Nick Bobrov, who still has ties to the KHL and the Russian Junior League. With that being said, it has been reported that the Habs were interested in drafting Zharovsky with the 16th or 17th pick had they not traded those picks to get Noah Dobson. Once he was available at the beginning of the 2nd Round, the Canadiens traded up to ensure they got the guy that they identified as the 16th best player on their draft board.

Zharovsky will eventually come back to earth, but it is definitely fun to watch him tear up the league as a teenager and gives hope that the Habs may have another Russian gamer at forward on the way. As mentioned in a previous article, he likely won’t be better than Demidov, but he could be a good complementary piece that can produce good numbers alongside Demidov. The rest of the season, it will be fun to see how things progress with Zharovsky moving forward.

Do you think Zharovsky will become an everyday NHLer?