Gleb Pugachyov had one of his best nights of the season on Thursday, and it was not only about the score. In Chaika’s 8-1 win over Molot Perm in the MHL, the Canadiens’ first-round pick scored a goal, picked up an assist and won a fight, which hockey fans call a Gordie Howe hat trick.
The Goal, the Assist and the Fight
Pugachyov made it 5-0 for Chaika by redirecting a pass from Roman Maximov behind the goalie, with Maxim Agafonov getting the second assist, according to RDS. He later dropped the gloves with a Perm player and, again according to RDS, won the fight easily. He finished the game with 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, a +2 rating and 29 penalty minutes in 15:02 of ice time.
Five Games in a Row With a Point
The night extended a good run. Pugachyov has now collected at least one point in five straight MHL games (Nov, with 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in that stretch. Before the run, he had no goals and one assist in his first seven MHL games.
His MHL line is now 12 games, 3 goals, 5 assists and 8 points, with a +4 rating. He has also played two KHL games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod without a point.
Coach’s Take
Expectations were high for Pugachyov from the moment the Canadiens made him the 26th overall pick in 2026, and the plan was for him to start this season in the KHL. After a few weeks with the organization in Montreal, he went back to Russia and worked hard to add about 30 pounds. In my view, the extra weight did not help him. It cost him some speed and mobility, and it affected his game overall. His game log fits that picture: he played one MHL game on Sept. 7 and did not play again until Sept. 25. He suffered a concussion at the start of the season, which explains that gap, and he did not look like the same player after he returned.
From there he bounced between the MHL and the KHL. His KHL role was small, with only two short appearances, and his production in the MHL stalled. It was the low point of his season. Then something clicked. In his last five games he has 7 points, and, more importantly, he looks faster and more confident and shows up on every shift. Last season he had 10 goals and 24 points in 33 MHL games, and this stretch looks much more like that player than the one we saw in September and October.
It is still a long season, and patience is the key with young players. But it is good to see Gleb playing like this, and a Gordie Howe hat trick on Thursday is a great way to show it.
You can follow Pugachyov and every other Habs prospect on our Game Results page, and his full game log is on his HABSHQ profile.
Sources
RDS, habsprospects.com and the MHL game data on our Pugachyov profile.
Get the HABSHQ Newsletter in Your Inbox
Every Monday, the HABSHQ newsletter brings you the full Canadiens, Rocket, Lions and prospects report, our takes, the stats of the week and the preview of the week ahead, straight to your inbox. It is free.
Get the Habs week in your inbox
Free weekly newsletter from HABSHQ.
Leave a Reply