There is a lot of focus on the Montreal Canadiens’ prospects from around the world this time of year with the World Junior Championship (WJC) starting Boxing Day. Players like Lane Hutson, Owen Beck, and Jacob Fowler are taking up all the North American headlines and David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom are getting all the overseas attention so it’s been easy for fans and media to forget about a critical hockey world: Russia.
Since the war with Ukraine began, most media and fans have put Russian hockey on the back burner except for players like Philadelphia Flyers prospect Matevi Michkov and 2024 draft hopeful Ivan Demidov. Not many prospects are featured in hockey news or discussed much on social media. The Canadiens have a bevy of talent playing in Russia that could significantly impact the team.
Canadiens Prospect Konyushkov Turning Heads in KHL
Even before former Canadiens Captian Shea Weber retired, the team lacked right-handed defencemen depth. Once Weber retired, that depth was nearly extinct. Then-general-manager (GM) Marc Bergevin did his best to rectify that and drafted a controversial defenceman, Logan Mailloux, which caused a storm of controversy and debate. This temporarily helped the right side depth, but it wasn’t enough. By 2022, the Habs had a new GM in Kent Hughes and a new lease on life, although in the 2022 draft still drafted predominantly left-handed d-men.
Hughes drafted three defencemen in the 2023 draft. His fifth-overall pick was right-handed defenceman David Reinbacher, a potential top-two defenceman and a perfect compliment for the highly skilled offensive-minded Hutson. In the fourth round, 110th overall, Hughes drafted Bogdan Konyushkov of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Konyuzhkov was drafted as an over-ager and undersized player but has excellent hockey skills that could make him a top-four defenceman in the NHL. (Hughes also selected Luke Mittelstadt in the seventh round, 197th overall.)
Konyushkov has an offensive upside, which you need from smaller defencemen — he is only 5-foot-11, 183 pounds — and has a hard and accurate shot. He is one of the better passers in the KHL, leading all defencemen in successful passes with 1746. He is a mainstay on the power play with the Torpedo Nizhniy Novgorod, where his offensive hockey IQ and hard passes make him hard to defend. On the defensive side, he is very good at protecting against the cycle and knows when to switch assignments properly.
His size does, however, play a factor along the boards and in front of the net. His biggest issue is his skating: he is below average and doesn’t generate enough power or speed, which can hurt a smaller player in the NHL. This season in the KHL, he has 20 points in 40 games, was elected to this year’s All-Star game, is playing 22 minutes a game, and is regarded as one of the top defensemen in the KHL.
Canadiens Prospect Volokhin Could Be a Hidden Gem
The Canadiens decided they wanted to strengthen their defence and goaltending depth in the 2023 draft, so they used six of their nine picks to draft three defencemen and three goaltenders. Yevgeni Volokhin (fifth round, 144th overall) was the third goalie drafted by the Canadiens and could be one of the best in the draft. Jacob Fowler was their top goaltender pick (third round, 69th overall), and is to be a fantastic prospect for Montreal in his first year in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Still, Volokhin could give Fowler a run for his money. Drafted as an 18-year-old after one season in the Russian Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL) or Junior League with the Mamonty Yugry, Volokhin, as a rookie, posted a .927 save percentage (SV%) and 2.19 goals against average (GAA) with a 20-6-3 record.
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Volokhin is doubling down on his productive 2022-23 and putting up even better numbers this season. In 18 games, he has a record of 11-2-4 with a .939 SV% and 1.58 GAA, which is incredible considering he was 3-2-3 in his first eight games. He is very athletic for a 6-foot-3 goalie but still has some work to do with his mechanics and is not a very good puck handler. Like most young goalies, rebound control can be an issue, but Volokhin is very good at directing the puck away from the net on saves. Fowler still is the hope for the future, but Volokhin could give Montreal options or at least a tremendous future goaltending tandem.
Predicting the Potential of Russians is Harder Since the War
Konyushkov and Volokhin have huge potential, but playing in Russia makes it hard to determine how that will transfer to the NHL. In Konyushkov’s case, his size and skating ability currently do not suit the style of play and speed of the NHL, especially as an undersized defenceman. His numbers can also be deceiving: the war in Ukraine and lots of high-end talent leaving the KHL for other European leagues have watered down the talent in the league. While it is still often considered the second-best league in the world, that is mainly based on history and not the past few seasons. Many former American Hockey League (AHL) veterans play in Russia, like Jordan Weal and Reid Boucher, who are having tremendous success even though they couldn’t make an NHL roster, making people wonder how watered down the talent is in the KHL.
Scouting has been more challenging as well since the war, as many teams have pulled their scouts out of Russia for safety concerns, and it’s hard to determine what teams or who has eyes on the players, especially regarding prospects and drafting. Volokhin is still in the MHL and has yet to see a KHL game, making it hard to determine how good he is through just video, especially as a goaltender. This is not to say players in Russia will not have success in the NHL, but there is a list of factors that make it harder to measure that success. Therefore, when seeing success in Russia, you need to proceed with caution and consider these factors.
I know it’s odd to write an article saying the Canadiens have potentially excellent prospects in Russia then end with a “buyer-beware” statement, but that’s the issue when talking about prospects playing in Russia. You don’t know the whole picture, and it would not be very good of me to comment on a prospect like Matvei Michkov — which I do on social media — and not about Canadiens prospects. There is potential there, especially with Volokhin. How much, we don’t know, but with the information given, it looks very promising for the Habs’ future.