Pugachyov climbed three levels in his draft year, moving from Chaika of the MHL up through the VHL and into 13 KHL games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, where he posted a plus-7 rating as a 17-year-old. Montreal took the Kazakh winger 26th overall, adding another late Russian-route swing to a pipeline that already includes higher-skilled names. What separates Pugachyov is intensity. He plays a heavy north-south game on a powerful stride, finishes his checks, hunts contact on the forecheck, and served as the trigger man on Chaika’s top power play while also killing penalties. The hands can look choppy, and at the junior level he too often tries to do everything himself, which is where the projection tightens.

The Canadiens selected Pugachyov 26th overall. He is another player they got late out of Russia, and he may not have the upside of Demidov or Zharovsky but he plays a much more intense game than both and could be fantastic for multi-category leagues.

Pugachyov has started his first 12 MHL games of the year with 3 goals and 6 assists. Gleb plays a heavy game. With a powerful stride he gets in on the forecheck and not only finishes his checks but looks to punish defensemen who are going back to break pucks out. Playing in all situations Pugachyov is the trigger man on the top power play for Chaika Nizhny Novgorod. While also being put out on the first unit to kill penalties. Pugachyov has the power forward build and has the compete and motor to match. While Gleb doesn’t have overly smooth hands, they often feel choppy, he does have the ability to drop the shoulder and go around defensemen. At times at the MHL level it does feel like he is trying to do too much.-

His fantasy appeal is the multi-category kind: goals, shots, hits, and penalty minutes from a genuine power forward, not empty peripherals. The runway is longer than most of this group because his next steps run through the KHL, so a widening role with Torpedo is the development to track. In deeper dynasty formats he is a patient multi-category stash for managers who can wait on a KHL timeline.