A difficult opening to the season for Gleb Pugachyov just got a little clearer.
The Montreal Canadiens prospect said he is dealing with a concussion after taking a hit from behind in his only game of the season. Pugachyov described the sequence this way: "I was running into the attack, it turned into a bad play.
I don't know if it was dirty or not, but there was a penalty. I got injured, now I'm recovering.”
The 18-year-old forward didn’t go further in labeling the play, but his comments ended several days of uncertainty about why he had been out. He is still being monitored by his club’s medical staff as he works his way back.
The injury has become a talking point for more than one reason. Before the setback, Pugachyov had already come under criticism from some observers, who said he looked disengaged and not fit enough on the ice.
His early-season numbers also don’t tell much of a story, because there really haven’t been many chances to do so. He has played only one regular-season game this year in Russian junior hockey.
That rough start has been magnified by the attention around his body transformation. Over the past year, he added 33 pounds, moving from 187 to 220 pounds. For a player listed at 6-foot-3, that jump naturally raised eyebrows.
Pugachyov was a first-round pick in the most recent NHL Draft, so the Canadiens will have a close eye on how his recovery unfolds in the coming weeks.
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Canadiens Suddenly Have A Real Crease Decision To Make
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For Montreal, the larger question is no longer just who gets the next start, but whether Dobes has pushed himself into a real run at the No. 1 job. Montembeault is still part of the equation, of course, but nights like this tend to force teams to examine roles more closely, especially when one goalie looks ready to take on more and the other leaves the impression that a different fit might eventually make sense. [Read more 🡒]