Gleb Pugachyov

August 2026 – Following his selection by the Montreal Canadiens, Pugachyov is expected to continue his development in the KHL with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, allowing him to gain valuable experience against professional competition at a young age. 

“He isn’t nearly as well-known as many of the North American prospects, but NHL teams clearly value his unique profile,” per Victor Nuno’s The Journey on June 27. “In many ways, he reminds me of Belchetz, a powerful winger who combines size, physicality, and enough offensive skill to project as a true power forward. There simply weren’t many players with that combination available in this draft, making him an intriguing bet on a relatively rare player archetype.”

His physical style already separates him from many of his peers, and continued offensive growth could make him one of the more intriguing power-forward prospects from the 2026 draft. Jayd Serdy

July 2026 – Pugachyov climbed three levels in his draft year, moving from Chaika of the MHL up through the VHL and into 13 KHL games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, where he posted a plus-7 rating as a 17-year-old. Montreal took the Kazakh winger 26th overall, adding another late Russian-route swing to a pipeline that already includes higher-skilled names. What separates Pugachyov is intensity. He plays a heavy north-south game on a powerful stride, finishes his checks, hunts contact on the forecheck, and served as the trigger man on Chaika’s top power play while also killing penalties. The hands can look choppy, and at the junior level he too often tries to do everything himself, which is where the projection tightens.

His fantasy appeal is the multi-category kind: goals, shots, hits, and penalty minutes from a genuine power forward, not empty peripherals. The runway is longer than most of this group because his next steps run through the KHL, so a widening role with Torpedo is the development to track. In deeper dynasty formats he is a patient multi-category stash for managers who can wait on a KHL timeline. Andrew Epps

June 2026 – The Canadiens selected Pugachyov 26th overall. He is another player they got late out of Russia, and he may not have the upside of Demidov or Zharovsky but he plays a much more intense game than both and could be fantastic for multi-category leagues. Pat Quinn

October 2025- Pugachyov has started his first 12 MHL games of the year with 3 goals and 6 assists. Gleb plays a heavy game. With a powerful stride he gets in on the forecheck and not only finishes his checks but looks to punish defensemen who are going back to break pucks out. Playing in all situations Pugachyov is the trigger man on the top power play for Chaika Nizhny Novgorod. While also being put out on the first unit to kill penalties. Pugachyov has the power forward build and has the compete and motor to match. While Gleb doesn’t have overly smooth hands, they often feel choppy, he does have the ability to drop the shoulder and go around defensemen. At times at the MHL level it does feel like he is trying to do too much.-Zak Egan