Zharovsky Opens His KHL Season With A Great Performance

Zharovsky previously missed the first 6 games of his KHL campaign due to an injury he had suffered while playing basketball just before the season began. Now that he’s back, he can hopefully help turn around Salavat’s season, which has been rough thus far. As it stands, Salavat is in second last place in the KHL with a 1-4-2 record through 7 games. Only HC Lada Togliatti is worse with a 1-6-1 record

With the team being as weak as they are at this point, Zharovsky’s role on the team is very likely to be secured for the season. This means that Zharovsky, who only played 7 playoff games in the KHL, will play out his entire KHL rookie season with Salavat UFA. He might not be playing with the greatest team, but this experience in the top Russian league will only help him develop his game more. Last year, he had times where he dominated the MHL junior league and finished his solid season with 24 goals and 50 points in 45 games for Tolpar UFA.

Today’s game was not only his first KHL goal, but it was also his first ever regular season game, which makes his 2-point performance today that more special. We shouldn’t expect him to score 2 points every game, but his performance was enough to show everyone that he can be the real deal for Salavat.

https://twitter.com/khl_eng/status/1971954616020750810 

As nice as his goal was, his assist may have come on an even nicer play by Zharovsky, who deked out the defender and slid the puck across the crease for the easy goal. These types of plays are likely what Salavat needs most to start getting their scoring up so that they can be a competitive team this season. The year is still early enough that they can turn things around, and Zharovsky should be a big part of making that happen. Zharovsky should continue to play a top 6 forward for Salavat as the season goes along. Even at 18 years old, he is definitely among their top players.

Hopefully, today’s game is just a start to a great rookie season in the KHL for the Habs prospect who could end up in North America as soon as next season, as his KHL contract is set to expire after this upcoming season. The next game for Zharovsky and Salavat UFA will be on Wednesday, October 1st, against HC Sibor Novosibirsk at 8:00 am ET. Will Zharovsky continue to be a bright spot for Salavat?