The Montreal Canadiens’ draft-day trade with the Vegas Golden Knights gave them a chance to move up and take Gleb Pugachyov, but one former Canadiens scout is already seeing a familiar kind of profile.
That scout, McCagg, is drawing a line to Arber Xhekaj - with a few important caveats. This is still only a small sample, and there’s no need to sound any alarms over a handful of preseason games. But McCagg says the early look hasn’t been especially sharp.
Pugachyov, he believes, looks a little slow. His skating and overall pace haven’t impressed so far, and the numbers have done little to help the case. In three MHL games, Pugachyov has one goal, and it came into an empty net, along with a -2 rating.
No one is expecting him to turn into an offensive force. Even so, McCagg says he wanted more from a first-round pick at the junior level. Six goals over his last 41 games is a light total, and that’s part of what feeds the Xhekaj comparison.
McCagg also points to Pugachyov’s emotional side, saying he doesn’t always manage it well and can react too quickly without fully thinking through the consequences. He expects that to shape the way Pugachyov’s relationship with Martin St-Louis develops, much like the dynamic Xhekaj has with his own head coach.
The encouraging part is simple: there’s time. Pugachyov still has plenty of runway to clean up those areas before he gets to the NHL. As of August 2026, there’s no reason for alarm - just a reason to keep watching.
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