Habs Prospects
Canadiens Prospect Rankings – The Intriguing Bogdan Konyushkov
The Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings, as voted upon by Habs fans, will feature a handful of young, talented Russian players, including the prospect who landed at the No. 14 spot, defenceman Bogdan Konyushkov.
As a reminder, to qualify for our list, Habs prospects must under 24 years old and have fewer than 75 NHL games under their belt. The rankings are based on the votes from almost 10,000 Canadiens fans.
14. Bogdan Konyushkov, Defenceman, Shoots Right, 22, Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo (KHL), 6’0″, 176 lb. Picked 110th Overall (2023)
It’s always a little more complicated to get a read on prospects developing overseas. Doubly so if the prospect happens to be a defenceman, since it usually takes a few seasons before a KHL coach will be willing to instill a heightened level of confidence toward a young blueliner. It’s a lot like the NHL in that sense, but there are always exceptions to the rule.
Just like Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis was willing to trust Kaiden Guhle and Lane Hutson, among others, from the moment they entered the NHL, former Torpedo head coach and NHL legend Igor Larionov did not hesitate to reserve a seat for Konyushkov at the ice time buffet.
On top of trusting a 21-year-old defenceman to serve as his team captain, Larionov gave Konyushkov an overabundance of opportunities in 2023-24, to the tune of 25+ minutes of ice time per game. Konyushkov’s ice time diminished in 2024-25, though you’d be hard-pressed to suggest that he was underused, as evidenced by his average time on ice of almost 23 minutes per game.
We did not hesitate to criticize the confusing usage given to top prospect Ivan Demidov with SKA last season, which means we should also acknowledge that Konyushkov’s development has gone quite well considering the circumstances, with a fair share of the praise owed to Larionov.
Ironically, Larionov was hired by SKA this summer, a little too late to save Demidov from the frustrating situation that arose in 2023-24.
(Full disclosure, I’m not quite sure how to define irony, and that, my friends, is definitely ironic… I think.)
Regardless, it’s fair to say Konyushkov’s time in the KHL has been encouraging from a prospect development standpoint.
Bogdan Konyushkov’s KHL Development
On the surface, it may appear that Konyushkov took a step backwards last season. He scored six goals and 22 assists in 2023-24, whereas he only managed three goals and 14 assists in 2024-25.
One of the main reasons why his ice time was lowered was the addition of disgraced former NHLer Vyacheslav Voynov to the Torpedo lineup. With that in mind, it’s important to remember that Koynushkov still finished second in defenceman scoring.
Admittedly, I mostly only caught Konyushkov play whenever SKA Saint Petersburg was the opponent, as I was focused on scouting Demidov, but I wouldn’t hesitate to suggest he improved his defensive positioning, not to mention his gap control, which helped him defend the rush with much fewer headaches than the previous season.
There’s still some work to be done to improve his defensive acumen, especially when it comes to weighing the pros and cons of being aggressive in the offensive zone, but according to my Russian sources, Konyushkov took a very important step forward from a defensive standpoint.
Konyushkov was assigned to the VHL, the Russian equivalent to the AHL, once Torpedo was eliminated from the KHL playoffs in four games by Lokomotiv. He finished his brief tenure in the VHL as the most productive defenceman in the playoffs, scoring three goals and 10 assists in 17 games. Coincidentally, fellow Canadiens prospect Dmitri Kostenko finished second in defenceman playoff scoring with two goals and 10 assists in 18 games.
Bogdan Konyushkov’s KHL Contract Situation
The most commonly asked question in regard to Koynushkov’s future always revolves around his contract status. If Russia had a transfer agreement in place with the NHL, the deadline to sign him would have already expired (June 1, 2025), but seeing that there is no agreement in place, the Habs will maintain his NHL rights for the foreseeable future.
At best, we can expect Koynushkov to make his way to North America following the conclusion of the 2026-27 season, as he recently signed a contract extension in the KHL.
Torpedo’s TOI leader and second points leader among d-men, 22-year-old Bogdan Konyushkov will stay in Nizhny Novgorod through 2026-27 season! pic.twitter.com/FPpP66GIeq
— KHL (@khl_eng) July 24, 2025
Spending more time in Russia may be seen as a negative by some, but if we’re being honest, there’s absolutely no rush to bring Konyushkov to the NHL, especially now that the Canadiens have signed Noah Dobson to a long-term contract, removing the urgent need to add more right-handed defencemen to the mix.
ON TOPIC: Projected Montreal Canadiens Defensive Pairings Including Noah Dobson
And if anyone is worried about Konyushkov refusing to come to Canada, I’d like to point out that essentially every Russian prospect has reported to the NHL in the last decade or so. It’s not a legitimate risk or threat, even with the war raging in Ukraine. If anything, NHL fans should be a lot more worried about NCAA prospects refusing to report, a situation that happens with relative frequency, but I digress.
What’s Next For Montreal Canadiens Prospect Bogdan Konyushkov?
Alexei Isakov will be the head coach for Torpedo next season, his first head coaching gig in the KHL. I know very little about his background, but Elite Prospects gives us a decent idea about his hockey experience, which seems fairly extensive.
It remains to be seen if he’ll trust Konyushkov as much as Larionov did, but as long as he maintains a reasonable level of confidence in the Montreal Canadiens prospect, the encouraging development curve should be sustained.
And once Konushkov is ready to make the long trip across the pond, we should expect to see a defenceman who is essentially NHL ready due to his extensive usage during his tenure in the KHL.
Previously Published 2025 Montreal Canadiens Prospect Articles:
Canadiens Prospect Rankings: Introduction, 2024 Retrospective
Canadiens Prospect Rankings: The Departed And Traded
Canadiens Prospect Rankings: The Honourable Mentions
Canadiens Prospect Rankings No.20 – Filip Mesar
Canadiens Prospect Rankings No.19 – Luke Tuch
Canadiens Prospect Rankings No.18 – Aatos Koivu
Canadiens Prospect Rankings No.17 Sean Farrell
Canadiens Prospect Rankings No.16 Vinzenz Rohrer
Canadiens Prospect Rankings No.15 Jared Davidson
Do you agree or disagree with the Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings? Let us know in the comments below!
Montreal Canadiens and Bogdan Konyushkov statistics via Elite Prospects
Trade bait when he is ready to come over, if ever. i think he just used Montreal as leverage for his contract in Russia.
In as couple of years he could be a replacement for Carrier.
Considering that we should be at the point of being perennial playoff participants (and hopefully contenders too) by the time he’s ready to come over here, I’ll be surprised if he ever plays a game for us. Between the snarky comments about HuGo and the development group never talking to him (unlike they did for Demidov) and the likelihood we’ll be looking for “final pieces” to building a championship caliber team, by the time his KHL contract expires, my guess is he’ll be used as trade bait to bring in those final pieces of the puzzle. We’ll already have Dobson and Reinbacher in the top 4 on RD, and we will need a big, mean beast for the 3rd pairing on that side to get through 4 rounds of playoff war. Koynushkov is too small and slight for that role.