Montreal Canadiens‘ prospect Alexander Zharovsky spoke to RG.org’s reporter Daria Tuboltseva a few days ago and gave her some details about his Summer. The youngster confirmed that after attending the Habs development camp and spending several weeks in Montreal with childhood friend Ivan Demidov, he returned to Russia in time to attend the “Match of the Year” exhibition game, which took place on July 25 in St. Petersburg.
The match featured 45 hockey players from both the NHL and the KHL and ended in a 9-9 tie after regulation. Washington Capitals forward Alexei Protas scored the game-winner in the shootout. The charitable event raised roughly $114,000, which will go toward the rehabilitation and support of children and adults with cerebral palsy and other motor disabilities.
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Zharovsky explained that Demidov really took him under his wing this summer, giving him a room and board as well as showing him around town when they weren’t training, even though that’s what they spent the most time doing. The pair went for walks downtown, and the 34th overall pick at the 2025 draft confirmed that despite having yet to play a single game with the Canadiens, he’s already being recognized on the street; a few fans even asked to take a picture with him.
Asked about his language skills by Tuboltseva, he explained:
I still need to work on my English. I’m not learning French yet; that’s not going well for me.
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That shouldn’t surprise anyone since Zharovsky needed an interpreter (goaltending prospect Arseni Radkov) to speak to the media at development camp. Furthermore, the 19-year-old already has a lot on his plate in the pursuit of his NHL dream; speaking good English is essential if he wants to succeed in the NHL, and he’ll have to adapt to the North American style of play. These two things should and are taking precedence over learning French.
While he was in Montreal, Zharovsky joined a few Canadiens players for one game in the LSHL and dazzled with his quick hands in the shootout and on the breakaway; he explained why he even pulled off a Pavel Datsyuk-inspired move:
I just decided to do it. I saw that move a long time ago and watched how it’s done. I followed Datsyuk when I was young. I liked him.
If and when he makes the Canadiens’ roster, he won’t be the first to try Datsyuk-inspired moves in the shootout; captain Nick Suzuki has done that a few times already. Finally, Zharovsky mentioned that he did call Habs’ first-round pick at the last draft, Gleb Pugachyov, to congratulate him on his selection, but they didn’t discuss anything past that. By the time Pugachyov comes over to North America, the Canadiens could have an impressive Russian contingent featuring Demidov, Zharovsky and defenseman Bogdan Konyushkov.
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