Top 15 CH Prospects: The “Controversial” Positions 6 Through 4

Tony Patoine
Top 15 CH Prospects: The “Controversial” Positions 6 Through 4
Credit: David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire

Certain rankings of the Canadiens' prospects have sparked a lot of discussion lately.

In particular, the rankings by Adam Kimelman of the NHL website and Grant McCagg placed David Reinbacher and Gleb Pugachyov ahead of Alexander Zharovsky, which seemed to rub quite a few people the wrong way.

Did I see things the same way as McCagg and Kimelman back in July when I was calmly putting together—as I do every year—my top 15 list of the Habs' most important prospects, which I've been revealing to you “in trios” every week since then?

Short answer: pretty much, yes.

Long answer: read the explanations below!

6.
Alexander Zharovsky, Right
Wing
Potential: 34/40
Confidence: 14/20
Usage Value: 14.5/20
Trade Value: 15/20

Total: 77.5/100

Potential
: Zharovsky has magical hands reminiscent of Demidov's. He displays that perfect blend of confidence and patience with the puck (commonly known as “poise” in English). He's yet another Russian prospect who brings that touch of spectacle and excitement to the ice. 

Beyond the flash, the KHL Rookie of the Year is clearly capable of producing offensively, as evidenced by his excellent offensive stats in the KHL: 42 points, including 16 goals in 59 games. Zharovsky thus appears to be a “dual threat”: first and foremost a passer, but also capable of scoring thanks to a very strong shot.

Finally, it's easy to overlook, but at 6'2”, the Russian has a long reach, covers a lot of ice, and isn't a liability on defense.

That said, his muscle mass hasn't increased much yet, and the Russian still lacks quite a bit of explosiveness in his strides as well as overall strength.

So he's still VERY far from being a finished product, and Zharovsky could become a very different player once he reaches his physical maturity.


Confidence

This lack of maturity, physical strength, and explosiveness is currently the factor that most prompts us to take a conservative approach with Zharovsky. Some players never manage to overcome this weakness, which—when it isn't career-ending (Nikita Filatov)—often makes the difference between a decent career (Alexander Semin) and a great career (Nikita Kucherov).

But otherwise, he has the hockey sense and skills, and it's hard to see how Zharovsky—assuming normal physical development—wouldn't at least make it to the NHL and have some impact there. 

But it will likely require a bit of patience…


Value to the Organization

Is Zharovsky more likely to become an offensive star in the NHL than, say, Pugashyov? 

Definitely.

But will he have a bigger impact on the team's success? That's much, much less certain.

Not all offensive players will be able to play on the first power-play unit, and not all of them can be on the ice at the same time during crucial moments.

That's where Zharovsky and his style of play become almost redundant within the organization, and that's what makes him a prime candidate for a major trade. In fact, his name has already come up quite a bit in discussions involving Matthew Knies and a number of other players over the past few months.  

That's why, in my view, Zharovsky's trade value is likely slightly higher than his utility value for the Canadiens, as several other clubs could give him much more significant offensive roles in the coming years.

5.
Gleb Pugachyov, RW
Potential: 32.5/40
Confidence: 15.5/20
Usage Value: 16/20
Trade Value: 14.5/20

Total: 78.5/100


Potential
: Wow! A new name at the top of the rankings! The fact that the Habs traded away the #16 and #17 picks in 2025 deprived us of a certain influx of talent into the Habs' prospect pool, even though Alexander Zharovsky, selected 34th overall in 2025, still earned a 7th-place spot on our list last summer.

Does Pugashyov have more potential than Zharovsky? If we define potential solely in terms of points, raw offensive talent, hand-eye and foot-eye coordination, shooting accuracy, offensive vision, etc., we'd all give the edge to the 2025 draft pick.

But if we define potential more in terms of overall impact on a hockey game—in terms of tempo, momentum, raw speed and strength, efficiency, overall hockey IQ, high defensive awareness, checking, intimidation, leadership, and versatility—then Pugashyov checks a lot of boxes.


Confidence

According to several experts, given the round in which he was drafted, Pugachyov was likely the player most certain to reach the NHL and make an impact there. There are therefore already a number of factors that give us a high level of confidence that Pugachyov will reach his full potential in the NHL.

First, at 6'3” and about 220 lbs of muscle, Puga is already physically ready to play at the pro level. Second, he also possesses a professional, north-south style of play that's highly transferable to the NHL and complements many of the more “technical” players who make up the Habs' roster.

Finally, unlike many big, fast players of his type, the Habs' new draft pick possesses a very good sense of the game (hockey IQ) that keeps him consistently in the right place at the right time, both offensively and defensively.

In short, by selecting Pugachyov, the chances that the Habs made a huge mistake last June are very slim.

Scoring a 15.5 out of 20 in terms of the likelihood of reaching his potential at just 18 years old is an EXCELLENT score for the 26th overall pick, even if it may seem a bit conservative.

All that's left is to hope the young man doesn't linger too long in Russia, where player development isn't always optimal in certain organizations. There's already talk of him shuttling back and forth between the KHL and the MHL next season, and that he may have gained a bit too much muscle mass over the summer…


Value for the Organization

The somewhat unexpected addition of Pugashyov to the prospect pool—many of us thought the Habs would trade their 28th-overall pick, but not to move up to 26th—addresses a significant organizational need for size and toughness, a need far greater than that addressed by the addition of Zharovsky's raw talent with the 34th overall pick last year.

Given his rarity, his “unicorn” profile, and the impact he's expected to have on the lineup, one might think the Habs would be much less inclined to trade Pugashyov compared to Zharovsky.

Why?

Because, if push comes to shove, a talented and determined player like L.J. Mooney—though smaller than Zharovsky—could effectively fill the latter's more offensive role in the lineup.

After all, many of us agreed that Mooney, like Zharovsky, had the talent to be selected in the first round in 2025. Mooney, who is ranked 7th on our list—just behind Zharovsky—just needs to keep his foot on the gas, and he could rival Zhar. Those who watched the two play together on the same line during development camp will tell you that it was probably Mooney who carried the line the most…

But no matter how hard he tries, or how tenacious and courageous he is, Mooney will never be able to play like Pugashyov.

That's how unique Pugashyov is among this group of prospects.

4.
David Reinbacher,
Potential DD
: 34/40
Confidence: 14/20
Usage Value: 16.5/20
Trade Value: 14.5/20

Total: 79/100


Potential

Mathias Brunet didn't receive much praise after David Reinbacher was drafted when he hoped the Austrian would become a Rasmus Andersson type—or (worse yet), when he saw him as a future Adam Larsson. 

At the time, it was much more appealing to hope for someone like Alex Pietrangelo or even a “light” version of Moritz Seider with that fifth-overall pick in 2023. 

But the more time passes, the more the La Presse columnist's predictions seem realistic and reasonable.

If you were presented today with a contract guaranteeing that Reinbacher would become an effective right-handed defenseman scoring around 30 points per season—somewhere between Andersson (the ceiling) and Larsson (the floor)—many of us would jump at the chance, wouldn't we?


Peace
of Mind
The main reason we'd be quick to sign on the dotted line is undoubtedly Reinbacher's history of staying healthy—both since and even before he was drafted by the Habs.

Serious knee injuries don't exactly help hockey players reach their full potential. And even though we saw some small progress in that area last year in Laval, the way Reinbacher positions himself along the boards doesn't always seem to help him avoid hard hits to the upper and lower body… 

He absolutely must eliminate this very bad habit once and for all if he wants to have a long and successful career in the NHL. It's imperative. He can (re)discuss this with Kaiden Guhle…

But the 63 games he played last season, across all competitions, show progress and give cause for hope. He avoided (too) long stints on the sidelines.

As for the rest, even though we'd still like to see a bit more consistency from him, #64 has gained physical maturity and excels at clearing the area in front of his net—a quality that will be highly valued in Montreal when the time comes. He also has good overall vision and is able to move the puck out of his zone without too much trouble.

Finally, he has a good wrist shot and an excellent one-timer that could help him score his share of goals in the NHL—even if that's unlikely to happen on the power play in Montreal.

All in all, as we saw in his two games with the Canadiens at the end of the season, Reinbacher is very close to the NHL. As Jeff Gorton hinted at during the end-of-season review, he should have every opportunity to prove himself at training camp and earn a spot on the big team come fall.

He also seems to have made progress in his mental approach, so if he shows consistency during camp and throughout the season, only further physical setbacks could stand in his way.


Value to the Organization

The Austrian retains a ranking that many might find very (too?) high on this list.

But the reason is simple: in all likelihood, he still holds tremendous value for the organization. 

If HuGo no longer believed in Reinbacher—or if he had been able to acquire a player elsewhere, at the right price, who would provide greater value than he anticipates from David—the latter could have been included in countless trades over the past two years. 

But each time, it seems they've told themselves, “No, it's not worth it—we're keeping him!” 

The Canadiens have pretty good depth on defense. So they can afford to be patient and continue to bet on the possibility of a fully healthy Reinbacher over the long term.

That patience could pay off big time, because we know full well that young right-handed defensemen who are 6'3”, weigh around 215 lbs, and possess Reinbacher's hockey IQ and talent aren't exactly a dime a dozen—and are worth far more than all the Ristolainens and Whiteclouds in the world.

At the same time, it's also possible that, due to his injury history, Reinbacher's trade value isn't actually that high in the eyes of many general managers. 

In short, Reinbacher's case is the exact opposite of Zharovsky's: a rather unclear trade value, but exceptional on-ice value… if he stays healthy. 

Finally, unless I'm mistaken, Reinbacher is still the player we're most looking forward to seeing play alongside Lane Hutson in the coming years, when we'll be aiming for nothing less than the Stanley Cup. 


Conclusion

It's way too close between these three players (just 1.5 points separate them!) for us to start arguing and tearing our hair out over whether Reinbacher, Pugachyov, or Zharovsky should be ranked higher—let alone who will have the best career or anything like that.

Rank them however you like. It's up for debate.  

It's not like I just ranked Zack Benson (by far the Sabres' best forward in the playoffs) 124th on a list of the top players under 23 by categorizing him as a center! Hehehe!

However, in my opinion, within the logic of this Habs prospect ranking, it's the anticipated value in use that makes the difference when it comes to these three prospects.

That could change, but as long as HuGo gives us the impression that he still sees Reinbacher as the organization's defenseman who will eventually be best suited to complement Lane Hutson—while killing penalties and playing about 20 minutes per game—we won't be able to compare the anticipated roles for Zharovsky and Pugachyov to that of the Austrian.

In my view, this is what should still give him a slight edge in a ranking that emphasizes the importance (utility and rarity) of prospects for an organization.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you on Facebook, and we'll be back soon for the top 3!

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