The Montreal Canadiens did not casually wait around and hope Gleb Pugachyov fell into their lap.

They went and got him.

That matters.

Montreal moved up two spots in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, sending the 28th overall pick and a 2027 third-rounder to Vegas so they could grab Pugachyov at No. 26. That is not a massive trade by NHL standards, but it tells you something pretty clearly.

The Canadiens saw a player they wanted, and they were not willing to risk losing him.

For Habs fans, that should be the first thing that jumps out.

This was not just about taking the biggest guy left on the board. This was about the Canadiens targeting a very specific type of player — one they clearly believe fits the direction of the organization.

A big winger. A nasty winger. A Russian winger. A player who already looks built for the ugly parts of playoff hockey.

And yes, he already has a connection to Ivan Demidov and Alexander Zharovsky.

So, Who Is Gleb Pugachyov?

Gleb Pugachyov is an 18-year-old right winger born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, who plays out of Russia.

He is listed at 6-foot-3 and 224 pounds by the Canadiens, which is not a small detail. This is not a long-term project who needs five years just to grow into his body. Pugachyov already has the frame of an NHL power forward.

During the 2025-26 season, he played across three levels in Russia: the MHL, VHL and KHL. With Chaika Nizhny Novgorod in the MHL, he recorded 24 points in 33 games. He also got into 13 KHL games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod as a 17-year-old and scored his first KHL goal in January.

That part is important.

The production is not eye-popping if you only look at the box score. But the Canadiens are not betting on him because he put up video-game numbers.

They are betting on the package.

Size. Edge. Motor. Physicality. A real shot. Enough skill to be more than just a hitter. And a style of game that usually becomes more valuable when the games get harder.

Why Did Montreal Want Him So Bad?

Because players like this are hard to find.

There are plenty of skilled wingers in every draft. There are plenty of prospects who can make plays in space, beat junior defenders, and put up points when the game is loose.

Pugachyov is different.

He plays heavy. He finishes checks. He goes to the net. He makes life miserable on the forecheck. He has that rare ability to change the temperature of a game.

Kent Hughes did not hide why the Canadiens liked him.

“He’s got size. He plays a physical game, but he also has good hockey sense,” Hughes said after the draft. “Our scouts think he has a lot of potential and versatility. He can play up and down the lineup.”

That is the key word: versatility.

Montreal is not drafting him as a one-dimensional crash-and-bang winger. They see someone who can potentially play different roles. Maybe he becomes a middle-six playoff weapon. Maybe he grows into a top-six power winger if the offence keeps coming. Maybe, at worst, he becomes the type of player opponents hate seeing on the boards in a seven-game series.

That is why the Canadiens paid the price to move up.

They clearly did not want to watch another team grab him.

The Canadiens Think He Already Has An Identity

One of the most interesting things Hughes said was that Pugachyov already has his identity.

That is a big deal for an 18-year-old.

A lot of prospects are still trying to figure out what they are. Are they scorers? Playmakers? Checkers? Energy guys? Two-way guys? Can they handle pressure? Can they survive when the ice gets smaller?

With Pugachyov, Montreal seems to believe the foundation is already there.

He knows what he is.

He is a power winger. He is physical. He is direct. He wants to get in on the forecheck, win pucks, get to the hard areas, and make defenders uncomfortable.

Martin Lapointe took it even further.

“This guy is a unicorn,” Lapointe said. “We love the way he plays, shift in, shift out. The details in his game at his age are rare.”

That is not a throwaway quote.

When a team’s director of player personnel and amateur scouting calls a prospect a unicorn, fans are going to notice. And Lapointe did not stop there. He praised Pugachyov for blocking shots, diving to block shots, backchecking hard, finishing checks on the forecheck, and bringing pucks to the net.

That is the kind of quote Habs fans should circle.

Because that does not sound like a soft perimeter player.

That sounds like a guy Montreal believes can play real hockey when the rink gets mean.

What Scouts Are Saying About Him

The scouting reports on Pugachyov all point in the same general direction.

He is big. He is strong. He is physical. He can skate well enough for his size. He protects the puck. He can win battles. He has a hard shot. He is not afraid to drag the game into the trenches.

NHL Central Scouting described him as a “big, strong top-line winger” with smooth skating at top speed, strong puck protection, and the ability to drive play through size and skill.

That is a pretty exciting sentence if you are a Habs fan.

McKeen’s Hockey described him as a 6-foot-3 power winger who puts pressure on defenders on retrievals and backs it up with hockey sense, playmaking and a crash-the-net mentality.

Another scouting report described him as one of the most physically imposing players in the draft class, the kind of player who can set the tone with hits but still bring enough skill to matter with the puck.

That is where the upside becomes interesting.

Nobody is saying Pugachyov is a guaranteed star. He still has development ahead of him. His decision-making with the puck can get better. His offence will need to keep growing. He has to prove he can produce against better players consistently.

But the tools are real.

And the style is extremely easy to imagine in Montreal.

Why He Fits The Canadiens So Well

The Canadiens have been building a skilled young core.

They already have high-end talent. They already have flash. They already have players who can make plays. Ivan Demidov gives them a potential game-breaker. Cole Caufield gives them shooting. Nick Suzuki gives them brains and leadership. Juraj Slafkovsky gives them size and puck protection.

Pugachyov adds something different.

He adds nasty.

Not fake tough. Not just “big guy throws a hit once in a while” tough. Real, annoying, hard-to-play-against energy.

That matters when you are building for playoff hockey.

Every contender needs players who can survive the skilled game and the ugly game. Pugachyov looks like someone who may eventually do both. He can forecheck. He can lean on defenders. He can play below the goal line. He can get to the net. He can make skilled players more dangerous by doing the dirty work around them.

That is why this pick makes sense.

Montreal is not just collecting talent anymore. They are starting to collect ingredients.

Pugachyov is an ingredient they did not really have enough of.

The Demidov And Zharovsky Connection

This is where things get even more interesting for Habs fans.

Pugachyov is not walking into the organization completely alone.

He reportedly knows Ivan Demidov and Alexander Zharovsky well, and he has talked about being excited to join that Russian group in Montreal. Zharovsky was even reportedly with Pugachyov on draft night.

That matters more than people think.

Coming to North America is not easy for young Russian players. New language. New culture. New rink. New expectations. New pressure. And in Montreal, everything gets louder.

Having familiar faces around him could help.

Demidov is already one of the most exciting young players in the Canadiens organization. Zharovsky is another Russian forward Montreal drafted recently. Now Pugachyov joins that same pipeline.

It does not guarantee anything, but it creates comfort. It creates familiarity. It gives Montreal a small Russian nucleus that can grow together.

And for Pugachyov, that could make the transition a lot smoother.

This Is Not Just A “Safe” Pick

Some fans may look at Pugachyov and think: big winger, physical game, probably a safe bottom-six player.

Maybe.

But that might be selling the pick short.

The Canadiens did not trade up in the first round just to draft a future fourth-liner. They clearly believe there is more here. Hughes talked about potential. Lapointe talked about rare details. Scouts talked about size and skill together.

That is the bet.

If the offence develops, Pugachyov becomes a nightmare.

A 6-foot-3 winger who can skate, hit, protect the puck, shoot, play with skill, and handle playoff-style hockey? Those players do not become available very often. And when they do hit, they become fan favourites fast.

Habs fans know exactly what type of player works in Montreal.

Give them effort. Give them edge. Give them someone who looks like he actually enjoys contact. Give them someone who makes the Bell Centre stand up after a big shift.

Pugachyov has that written all over him.

What Will He Mean To The Canadiens?

Long term, Pugachyov could become one of the more important complementary pieces in Montreal’s rebuild.

Not every player has to be the star. Not every player has to be the highlight-reel guy. Championship teams need players who make the stars’ lives easier.

That could be Pugachyov.

He could be the winger who digs pucks out for skilled linemates. He could be the guy who parks himself around the net. He could be the forward who forces defenders to rush plays because they hear him coming. He could be the player who changes the momentum of a game with one heavy forecheck.

That is valuable.

Especially in Montreal, where the expectations are not just to become fun — they are to eventually become dangerous.

Pugachyov fits that timeline. He does not need to be rushed. He can keep developing in Russia. He can get stronger, cleaner with the puck, and more comfortable against pro competition.

But when he gets here, the role is not hard to imagine.

He is supposed to make the Canadiens harder to play against.

Simple as that.

Final Thought: Habs Fans Should Be Very Curious

This is the kind of pick fans might love more with time.

Pugachyov may not have been the flashiest name on draft night. He may not be the prospect who sells the most jerseys tomorrow. But Montreal clearly saw something.

They saw size.

They saw identity.

They saw playoff traits.

They saw a player who already plays the kind of game NHL teams spend years trying to find.

And maybe most importantly, they saw a fit.

Next to Demidov and Zharovsky, Pugachyov gives the Canadiens another Russian piece — but this one comes with a much different flavour. Less flash. More force. Less pretty. More punishing.

For a Habs team trying to build something that can actually survive April, May and maybe one day June, that matters.

The Canadiens did not just draft Gleb Pugachyov.

They drafted the kind of player their fans usually fall in love with.