Eastern Europe Stock Watch: Alexander Zharovsky is a dominant power play force
Another month in the books in Russian hockey and, boy, was it a fun one.
In the KHL, imports have been shuffling around, particularly with Lada Togliatti’s dip into the Canadian free agency pool. Ilya Samsonov, Sheldon Rempal, and Kevin Labanc, among others, left North America for chances to revitalize their careers in Russia. Yegor Savikov was a key trade piece, moving from Spartak to SKA and making an instant impact in his first game.
Metallurg Novokuznetsk remain top of the VHL, a roster chock-full of former NHL Draft prospects that haven’t panned out as expected.
The MHL has been a treat to watch this past month. This is the first season to feature East vs. West games in the regular season with teams facing off based on their standings position from the season prior. Some games turned out to be one-sided, particularly those featuring Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, who were promoted last season and are back as one of the best teams in the league. However, the majority have been high octane, intense hockey, giving an early taste of playoff-calibre gameplay.
Stock Rising 📈
Alexander Zharovsky, RW, Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Montreal Canadiens)
Alexander Zharovsky is quickly establishing himself as one of the most dominant power play forces in the KHL. In eight appearances on Salavat Yulaev’s top power play unit, the second-round pick has notched eight points, showing an enhanced focus on maximizing scoring opportunities.
It hasn’t been just the power play, though. A total of 14 points through his first 13 regular season KHL games has made him a catalyst for offensive firepower on a struggling team. It did take a handful of appearances to get a line cemented, too. Starting on the wing and now moving to the centre, Zharovsky has been between Yegor Suchkov and Artyom Gorshkov since October 23rd, forming a strong third line for Ufa.
The move to centre is an interesting concept, but seems unlikely to be where he sticks. A pattern is beginning to form with moving young wingers to the middle in the KHL to see who can hang, but rarely are players shining brighter than they did on the flanks. He is currently riding a three-game point streak into the Future Cup, where he’ll be playing with Russia U20.
Daniil Savin, C, Akademiya SKA St. Petersburg (2027 NHL Draft)
Daniil Savin has the potential to be a top playmaker in the MHL. A tactician through the middle, he has had no struggles adapting to the next level, already earning five chances to play with SKA-1946 as a 16-year-old. While his four points all came from one blowout victory, he performed above expectations in a bottom-six role before returning to the younger Akademiya SKA team.
Since his first preseason game, Savin has shown the maturity and sense of a player who has already played in the MHL. Sequencing moves by predicting the next play, controlling the offensive tempo, and finding killer passes are no problem for him. Progression through open ice skill moves to enhance his playmaking threat has only added another layer of danger to his game. Plus, he has the finishing touch that many Russian prospects with his profile lack, already potting seven goals this season.
He was one of four 2009-born players to be called up to the Russian U18 team for the Future Cup.
Gleb Pugachyov, RW, Chaika Nizhny Novgorod (2026 NHL Draft)
The introduction to East vs. West matchups in the MHL regular season has brought a new wave of excitement to the league, particularly through how intense these games have been. As a result, players whose games feature a hunger for contact have been shining with Gleb Pugachyov leading the way for 2026 NHL Draft eligibles.
There are rarely players in the Russian junior circuit that fit the criteria of a projectable power forward, but Pugachyov is proving to be an exception. In Chaika’s three-game run against top teams from the West, he rose to the occasion with heavy body checks, advanced board play, and momentum killing defensive plays while showcasing his above-average skating and flashes of dual-threat offence. He was even given his first ever game at centre – at least at the MHL level – against Loko Yaroslavl and fit into the position with ease.
He’ll be starting his November with Russia U18 at the Future Cup in St. Petersburg.
Kirill Buzayev, LW, Irbis Kazan (2026 NHL Draft)
Another riser for the 2026 Draft out of the Eastern Conference is Kirill Buzayev with Kazan. Perhaps a month late to including his name in Stock Watch given a drop off in production since September, the performances have outweighed the 0.47 points-per-game tally.
From his game against MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg on October 22nd:
“This was a top-50 calibre performance from Buzayev, one of the most impressive DY viewings I've had this season. [...] Really dynamic playmaking in this game despite average feet: handling the puck through checks and setting up his next plays in the process. Some standout stop-and-turn plays. Play sequencing was really impressive overall and kept a strong dual-threat presence throughout the entirety of his game.”
While dwindling ice time is a concern, Buzayev is one of the youngest players in this draft class as a September 8th birthdate. The playmaking habits he has displayed with creative ideas and a focus on driving pucks to the middle have been worthy of high praise. His ability to fit into any role also cannot be understated–just a standout team player, working hard on both sides of the puck to do what it takes.
Honourable Mentions: Ruslan Umerov (2027 NHL Draft), Daniil Orlov (New Jersey Devils), Alexander Siryatsky (Carolina Hurricanes), Yaroslav Khodeyev (2026 NHL Draft)
Stock Steady ↔️
Vsevolod Matveyev, D, MHK Spartak Moskva (2026 NHL Draft)
Bouncing between the MHL and VHL, Vsevolod Matveyev has shown the versatility required to fit into any role handed to him. After picking up his first professional point against Dynamo-Altay on October 11th, he was returned to MHK Spartak for a stretch of challenging games–a series against AKM Tula followed by a three-game run against Eastern Conference teams.
His performances have been pretty consistent through this point in the season. His mobility is a valuable asset at the MHL level, good defensive awareness, and a desire to be fed the puck at the blueline. On our preliminary 2026 NHL Draft Watch List, we graded him as a W; a player worth keeping tabs on, but not quite at the level to push for a mid-round draft slot. The feel has remained about the same since. Looks the part of a strong top-four component on a team primed for a deep playoff run, but the skill level and wavering sense leave too many questions right now.
Stock Falling 📉
Mikhail Gulyayev, D, Avangard Omsk (Colorado Avalanche)
Mikhail Gulyayev is now in his third full season at the KHL level with Omsk and is seeing extremely limited usage. He has averaged just 10:39 of ice time per game, down from 15:16 last year and 15:38 the year prior. Slotting onto the fourth-pairing has seen his development stagnate and he is still yet to be given any real opportunities on the power play.
Gulyayev is still excellent at what he does – a high-end skater, advanced counterattacking mindset, and a valuable defensive game with the flashes of an offensive threat, too. However, the chances to show off his arsenal are often few and far between. This is the final year of his contract, but the outspokenness of wanting to go directly to the NHL and the abundance of defencemen under six-feet on the Avalanche poses a real challenge for his potential.
Maxim Beryozkin, RW/LW, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Edmonton Oilers)
There seemed to be a high probability of Maxim Beryozkin finally inking a deal with Edmonton this past offseason, but the race to get a signature was won by Lokomotiv. Coming off of a career-high, 42 point season, he signed a team-friendly contract with the KHL club, making barely over half of, 20-year-old, Yegor Surin’s contract.
Since signing that one-year deal, Beryozkin has slumped… hard. Through the first 21 games of the season, he has accrued just six points. He is still playing on Lokomotiv’s top power play unit on top of his top-six minutes and is one of the the more physically engaged players on the team, but has yet to find the back of the net through his first 43 shots on goal and is credited with just two primary points according to InStat Hockey.