Habs Prospects
Montreal Canadiens Trade Up To Draft Prospect Zharovsky
The Montreal Canadiens have selected prospect Alexander Zharovsky with the 34th overall pick, in the second round of the NHL Entry Draft.
The Habs traded up to nab Zharkovsky, trading the 41st overall and 49th overall picks to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the 34th and 189th overall picks.
The Philadelphia Flyers were also interested in drafting Zharkovsky, however, they ended up trading their second-round pick after the Canadiens removed him from the draft board.
Zharovsky, a 6’1″, 165 lb forward, spent last year playing for Tolpar in the MHL, scoring 24 goals and 26 assists in 50 games. He oozes talent, including a fantastic shot and elite hand-eye coordination.
If he manages to hit his ceiling, expect Zharovsky to establish himself as a top-six forward.
Two minutes of Alexander Zharovsky’s offensive highlights from the past season.
High-end puckhandling, creative problem-solving under pressure, sniping pucks past goalies from mid-range, manipulative playmaking. #2025NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/Uv0pHsLn5u
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) June 10, 2025
Montreal Canadiens Draft Info
The Montreal Canadiens made their usual splash at the draft weekend, trading both of their first round picks (16th and 17th overall) as well as Emil Heineman to the New York Islanders for top-pairing defenceman Noah Dobson. Despite moving a pair of picks, the Canadiens still held 10 draft picks heading into Day 2 of the NHL Entry Draft.
Dobson, 25, immediately signed an eight-year contract extension with the Canadiens, carrying an annual average value (AAV) of $9.5 million.
There’s no doubt about it, the Canadiens improved their lineup significantly with the Dobson trade, though it may lead to further trades down the road as the salary-cap situation comes into play. Defenceman Mike Matheson, in particular, may end up being moved to ensure more financial manoeuvrability, and there’s a very healthy chance the team will try to trade Carey Price’s contract should they find an organization attempting to reach the cap floor.
This is the fourth consecutive draft weekend that featured a significant trade for the Canadiens, a situation that’s quickly becoming general manager Kent Hughes’ calling card.
He traded a first-round pick in 2022 to ensure he could swing a deal which included centre Kirby Dach. It was followed by a trade the next year that saw Alex Newhook join the Habs in exchange for a late first-round pick and an early second-round pick.
Last season, Hughes packaged a first-round pick as well as a second-round pick in a trade that saw the Canadiens move up the first-round draft order, leading to the selection of Michael Hage, a very exciting prospect who enjoyed a fantastic season in the NCAA with the Michigan Wolverines.
Despite moving a bevy of draft picks, the Canadiens’ prospect pool is still considered to be among the top pipelines in the NHL, which speaks to Montreal’s thorough, yet encouraging game plan to navigate the final stages of the rebuild.
Would it make any sense to convert Mike Matheson into a forward rather than trading him?
He has more offensive skills than most forwards.
I always think of the Moneyball scene when they try to convince the catcher to play first base.
Let’s just say changing positions is a very difficult proposal for a pro athlete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzDYgRc6eic
No. None. I can name about six I recall in 62 years who successfully played both and yet I constantly have read about converting Struble, Xhekaj, Matheson, Mailloux even Hutson initially.
These players spend 10-15 years playing a position and many struggle to make the NHL and yet they can spend a few weeks and become successful at a completely different position.
maybe the Habs should have tried Primeau at center.
I don’t know much about him… but the things I’ve read from those more informed, this is a potential steal. High risk, high reward. He only had 6pts in his first 16games and still ended up over a point per game (50pts in 45 games, but the article says 50 games, which seems off compared to EP/DB). Habs brass have talked a lot about looking at development trajectory, and they found it here. Of course he may not work, but a potential top 6 winger this late into a not so strong draft is a nice swing. I like it. We’ll see what happens 🙂
Hi Marc,
I read that Evgeny Kuznetsov is attempting a come back. Could he be the number 2 center to play with Demidov for a year or two ?
I watched him a fair amount last year with SKA, and he looked okay alongside Demidov, but I’d say his top-six value in the NHL is a thing of the past. He played a lot on the third and fourth lines last year, and that was in the KHL.
He was a guy I wrote yesterday that I hoped we’d get. I don’t understand why Malcolm Spence fell so far though. He was another guy I had hoped we’d get. Same as Ryabkin.