The Habs made a trade with Vegas to move up two spots from 28 to 26 on Friday night. With that selection, they selected Russian winger Gleb Pugachyov.
Bio
Right Wing
Shoots: Right
DOB: March 25, 2008
Height: 6’3
Weight: 225 lbs
Rankings
Elite Prospects: 42
Daily Faceoff: 40
The Hockey News (Kennedy): 50
The Hockey News (Ferrari): 29
The Athletic (Pronman): 15
The Athletic (Wheeler): 38
FloHockey: 23
Daily Faceoff: 40
NHL Central Scouting (Intl): 9
Sportsnet (Bukala): 58
Dobber Prospects: 29
Smaht Scouting: 35
Hockey Prospect: 11
McKeen’s: 30
Statistics
Scouting Reports
Scouting reports are taken directly from the source; typos were not corrected.
Elite Prospects: Especially during our KHL viewings, Pugachyov’s engine revved high, with defencemen being consistently forced to their heels. Throwing soul-crushing hits on the regular and violently fighting for inside positioning every chance he got, he projects to bring a significant intimidation factor at the NHL level, too.
When Pugachyov’s textbook mechanics and the ability to achieve ideal depth are combined with his hulking build, he becomes an immovable object for most defencemen in the net-front and a nightmare to deal with along the boards. He has the makings of a monster puck protector off the cycle, already proving he could bounce grown men off him with ease.
Given we’re talking about truly high-end attributes even on the NHL scale, those alone should give Pugachyov a high floor – there’s just not many worlds where he doesn’t become at least a highly desirable fourth-line power winger whose value should only increase come playoff time.
McKeen’s: Pugachyov is a heavy straight-line skater. He powers through the neutral zone like a freight train, opting to go through defenders rather than around them, always looking to go directly to the net for his scoring chances. He can dominate on the chip and chase game, striking fear into defenders on retrievals, forcing turnovers with his speed, his strength on the boards, and his intelligence in positioning himself to shut down breakouts. With possession of the puck, Pugachyov can flash some playmaking ability, especially from behind the net or along the half wall. Without it, you can find him battling in front of the net, ready to dig out pucks from the corners, or setting up for one-timers at the dot. His efforts in the defensive end are admirable. Pugachyov is constantly moving his feet, scanning, and jumping into lanes. He throws his body in front of shots, supports along the boards well, and backchecks hard.
Hockey Prospect: We haven’t seen a player this intimidating since Tom Wilson, and that’s really saying something considering the type of impact Tom Wilson currently has. Like Wilson, Pugachyov isn’t the most calculating player at times, relying more heavily on his over-powering nature, but what makes us not only comfortable but excited is that he blends his power with a lot of natural skill.
True power-forwards with elite athletic traits are modern day NHL unicorns, and we think that’s exactly what Pugachyov can develop into. We don’t see a depth player, we see a top-6 monster who can terrorize opposing teams.
Corey Pronman, The Athletic: Pugachyov is a big, heavy winger who skates well and has good offensive skills. The pure tools in his game jump out at you, and when you add that he plays with some bite, it’s an exciting combination of traits. There are minor questions about his sense and how creative he is with the puck, but he’s so athletic and competitive that it’s easy to see an NHL coach feed him a ton of minutes.
Upside Hockey: While some question his puck-skills and decision-making, there is no denying how stellar Pugachyov is without the puck. One of his finest traits is his smooth skating stride, which gives him good speed and agility for a big man, and makes his range very difficult to traverse.
He hunts pucks down with aggression, dislodges possession with violence, and uses his surprising mobility to limit his opponents’ time and space in all three zones – he is a disruptor defensively with good habits, mature instincts, a high-end work-ethic, and attention to detail. Unlike many kids with large frames, he knows how to use his size, and he uses it prolifically to win board battles, intimidate on the forecheck, go to the net, and to bully his way around.
Scott Wheeler, The Athletic: Pugachyov is a worker who skates well, protects pucks well and can both go get pucks and then make a play off the wall to his linemates. He has shown some creativity/handling elements off the rush, and competes within a very physically involved game that will work on the smaller North American sheet when he eventually comes over; he’s signed through the end of the 2027-28 season at the moment, so don’t expect that anytime soon. He’s not a premium prospect, but he looks like a projectable bottom-six contributor in the NHL and has been a top player in Russia’s ’08 age group.
Daily Faceoff: If you’re looking for flash, you won’t find it here. But Pugachyov is a big, 6-foot-3 forward who played well against men even in limited action. He can physically dominate his own age group, and he has done so this year without getting himself into too much trouble. Pugachyov plays a solid two-way game and won’t stop moving, even if he doesn’t have high-end top speed yet. I think he’ll go higher than this, but I don’t think his offensive game will translate to the NHL outside of a third-line role.
LWOS: Pugachyov plays a very strong two-way game. His skating allows him to get up the ice and create offence, and also get back and help out the defence in his own zone. He uses his big frame to battle for loose pucks in all three zones, often creating turnovers and turning them into offence via quick transition and smart passes to teammates. Pugachyov is almost always in the right position and makes the smart play both with and without the puck. He never quits on a play, and his non-stop motor allows him to constantly harass opponents with the puck and create turnovers.
Ryan Ma: Skating is a real separator in his game. For a player of his frame, he has strong straight-line speed and noticeable explosiveness out of his first few steps. He can close space quickly in transition, recover defensively when needed, and drive through open lanes with pace. He also shows decent agility in tighter areas than you’d expect for his size.
The main concern in his game is decision-making and puck management under pressure. Too often, Pugachyov tries to extend plays beyond what is available to him or fails to scan early enough before receiving pucks, leading to turnovers or broken possession. He can bite off more than he can chew in traffic, and when his reads are late, he becomes vulnerable to puck losses despite his size and strength. Improving pre-scanning habits and simplifying his game under pressure would immediately raise his effectiveness.
Timeline
Pugachyov has two years left on his contract in Russia and while there are times when teams can get a player out of their deal early, that’s typically not the case. Instead, the likely outcome is that he plays out that deal and comes to North America.
Where he goes when he gets there is the big question. If Pugachyov can lock down a full-time spot with KHL Torpedo and become an impactful forward there over the next two years, then it’s possible that he could make the jump to the Habs right away. After all, his floor as a physical winger makes him usable quickly. But if he isn’t established by then, some time with Laval could be needed.