HabsWorld.net -- 

There was some good news for one of Montreal’s top prospects on Thursday.  The KHL announced that Alexander Zharovsky was named Rookie of the Year for the 2025-26 season.

The 19-year-old was the 34th overall pick last June.  Rated as a first-round talent by several scouting agencies, he slipped to the second day of the draft.  In order to secure his rights, the Habs parted with the 41st and 49th picks to move up seven spots to make sure they landed Zharovsky (plus the 189th pick).

Zharovsky got his feet wet in the playoffs at the KHL level last season but this was his first full year in that league.  He overcame an early-season injury and immediately became a top player for Salavat Yulaev.  While he faded a bit down the stretch and in the playoffs, he still finished with 16 goals and 26 assists in 59 games during the regular season while averaging over 15 minutes a night of ice time.  With his 42 points, Zharovsky set a KHL record for the most points by an under-19 player.

While he didn’t spend a ton of time down the middle, Zharovsky played a bit of centre early on in the year when his team was still going through some injury issues.  It’s unlikely that the Habs are viewing him as a potential middleman at this point but knowing he can play there in a pinch certainly can’t hurt.

It’s the second year in a row that a Canadiens draft pick took home top rookie honours in his post-draft season.  The other, of course, is Ivan Demidov, who then made the jump right to Montreal’s lineup.

Zharovsky won’t be directly following in those footsteps.  He still has one year left on his KHL contract so he’ll be returning to Salavat Yulaev for the 2026-27 season.  Depending on when his KHL postseason ends in 2027 and if his team is willing to release him early (and that’s a big if), it’s possible that he could sign with Montreal and debut after that if the Habs are still playing.  Otherwise, he’d be poised to make his debut in North America in 2027-28.