Gleb Pugachyov
2026 NHL Draft Eligible
Position: RW, Shoots: L
H/W: 6-Foot-3, 198 Pounds
Date of Birth: 2008-25-03
Gleb Pugachyov put his name on the map early this season with his ferocious style of play and solid production at the MHL level. The 6-foot-3 power winger puts the fear of god into opposing defenders on retrievals and backs it with high IQ, sneaky playmaking, and a “crash the net” mentality. The physical dominance led to a mid-season call-up to the VHL and eventually the KHL, where that intensity remained, effectively playing in a bottom six role. The production may have slowed at the pro level, but the compete never wavered, and the points he did collect came from very translatable plays. Forecheck hard into the corners, force turnovers, send the puck to the slot and drive the net. That's the name of the game for Pugachyov.
Russia has been pumping out more soft-skilled dynamic forwards in recent years, as the style of play in the country is free-flowing, less structured, with plenty of space on the larger ice surface. Pugachyov has made it his mission to break this trend, looking to players like Dimitri Voronkov, Vasili Podkolzin, and Valeri Nichushkin to model his game after. The NHL loves their heavy hitting, bottom-six forecheckers, becoming fan favorites for their respective teams and sparking energy for the players on the ice. Pugachyov has that nasty and frustrating (for opponents) “pull them into the fight” mentality and won't shy away from sticking up for teammates or throwing some extra shoves after the whistle.
With that being said, Pugachyov still has some room to grow before he can be solidified as an NHL-caliber player. While the style of play is extremely translatable, his skating, offensive skills, and on-puck decision-making must continue to develop over the next few seasons before he is ready for the jump to the NHL. If he can work out some of these kinks, Pugachyov can be the type of player you can plug anywhere in the lineup as a complementary piece to dig out pucks from the corners, continue the cycle, create havoc around the net, and provide that “get to the dirty areas” style scoring with more skilled linemates. His junior career is likely over, and pro-level competition in Russia will continue to challenge the more skilled areas of Pugachyov's game. The adjustments he makes in these formative years will be huge for his future projections. The rock-solid “bottom six floor” projection has landed him in the late first to second round on most rankings, but there may be more to his game with the habits he shows and some development of his skills.
Skating
Pugachyov is an okay skater as it stands currently. He has powerful legs, and when he gets going, he can barrel down the ice and close in on opponents or get through the neutral zone with speed, beating defenders with the chip and chase game. The strength in his lower half allows him to fight through traffic and drive the middle of the ice with ease. For a 6-foot-3, nearly 200-pound player, he does flash some decent edges at times, cutting back to avoid pressure along the walls and shifting his body weight with a wide base when lining up for hits. He's largely a straight-line, drive right through you type of skater, but he has moments where he maneuvers around the ice well. This shows mostly on the penalty kill, especially on the 5-on-3. He does a good job keeping momentum in these situations, which allows him to maintain his mobility, pressure the points and, with his size/reach, get into shooting/passing lanes.
To become a more effective skater, Pugachyov needs to work on his balance, lateral mobility, acceleration, and using his crossovers more effectively. As a bigger player, some of these issues may come along with time as he grows into his frame and gets more comfortable on his feet. The posture needs some work. He is a bit too upright, with a higher center of gravity. Sitting into his stride more and bending his knees when making cuts or crossing over is a small adjustment that can quickly change his ability to be more mobile in tighter areas. The heavy frame hinders him when he comes to a stop or has to change directions quickly. Slow foot speed gets him beat when battling along the boards or when defending the rush. The first few steps are clunky, and it's not until he gets moving that he starts to skate comfortably. Because of this, he tends to take wide turns to try to maintain his momentum. However, this puts him out of position more often than not at the KHL level. When he drives the net, he will cut on his edges and lean on defenders rather than use his crossovers to power past them. Although it seems like it will take a lot of work to become an NHL-caliber skater, adjustments will come with time and some coaching and in a few years he should become, at the very least, an average skater for NHL standards.
A perfect encapsulation of Pugachyov’s skating. He glides into the offensive zone, and when the puck is cleared, he takes a wide turn, putting him behind the play. Once he gets moving, though, he is able to chase down the puck and force a turnover while keeping his momentum going, then sets himself up in the neutral zone to get involved in transition. With this momentum, he drives to the net before coming to a halt and hovers as the F2. As the puck comes around the boards, the lack of bend in his turns is prevalent, but with a great angle and straight-line speed, he is able to shut down the exit with a big hit. A lack of short-area quickness prevents him from effectively supporting his teammate, but he hustles back and is able to set a subtle pick on the forechecker to give his defender more time.
On the 4-on-3 PK, Pugachyov puts pressure on the entry and gets across the ice quickly, forcing the defender to rim it around the boards. He sets up as the high point in the triangle and flashes his edges, cutting into passing lanes and gets his stick on the puck to get a clear.
On the rush, Pugachyov gathers some speed and powers through a hit, but the lack of balance causes him to fall when pressured shortly after and the possession quickly ends.
Pugachyov is a very effective player in overtime with his responsible style of play and ability to cycle with defenders. On this play, he shows off the straight-line speed as he drives to the back post and almost scores on the rebound. He flashes the strong edge in the crease and maintains possession before gathering momentum, showing his crossovers and curling back. He then rotates at the point and, with a nice C-cut, opens up a beautiful give-and-go passing lane for a dangerous chance.
GRADE: 52.5
Shot
Another aspect of Pugachyov’s power forward game is his hard shot and ability to get shots off in tight at the crease. He is a decent one-time threat on the power play, mostly keeping his shots low and hard (good for rebound opportunities), and can occasionally beat goalies when he does get it up to the top half of the net. He opens his hips and generates good torque when shooting slap shots but leaning into it to get even more power out of his shot would make it increasingly dangerous. The strong frame allows him to get to the middle of the slot, where he can flash his solid catch-and-release, scoring a good amount when he's driving downhill. The motion is fluid and quick in these situations, using his momentum to really lean into it, and he tends to be at his most accurate with this type of shot. The majority of Pugachyov’s chances come from the net-front area, where he can out-muscle defenders and get his stick-on pucks. The chances he gets there are extremely translatable and are the type of hardworking, gritty shots, that are the goals you see scored come playoff time. If the “in tight” footwork and puck skills come along, he could rack up those net-front goals at the pro level with the way he plays the game.
Pugachyov does have some issues with his shot. His shot selection leaves something to be desired, as he loves to enter the zone and just flip it on net, not testing the goalie at all. This can be attributed to his focus on the dump-and-chase style of play he loves so much, but too often it leads to easy exits for the opposition. He is also not very deceptive and struggles to find lanes, shooting pucks into defenders at a decently high rate. His wrist shot on its own is not great. The release can be pretty slow at times and the accuracy is inconsistent, putting a lot of shots into the chest or just missing the net completely. Don't expect him to be the type of player to score with a quick wrister from the dots on the rush or create chances by himself if he's not beating defenders wide and crashing the net.
First of all, check out the size of this kid. He’s a unit. Off the faceoff, Pugachyov is stationary and not in an ideal shooting position, but he opens his hips, does a quick weight transfer and with a strong upper body, puts it perfectly off the far post before the goalie can react.
Pugachyov’s impressive catch-and-release. He starts the breakout with a cross-ice pass and just slips into the slot, collecting the puck and rifling it top corner in the blink of an eye.
On the power play, Pugachyov gets to his spot on the right dot, and despite not being squared up to the net, drops his back knee while opening his hips to get a hard shot off that beats the goalie.
#13 in white, Pugachyov wins the board battle to maintain possession. Upon reentering the zone, he drives right through the middle of the ice, receives the pass in traffic, and while getting hacked at from behind, just powers through the defender’s stick, putting over the goalies glove.
Another beautiful catch-and-release goal for Pugachyov.
Some clips of Pugachyov’s net-front game, getting to the dirty areas, winning battles, screening goalies, and getting shots off in tight.
GRADE: 52.5
Skills
This is the weakest area of the game for Pugachyov, but that doesn't mean there aren't positives. There are some real flashes of playmaking ability in his game, especially in transition and from behind the net. In transition, Pugachyov finds open space to make himself an option for breakouts and is exceptional at making quick passes to the middle of the ice, where the center is usually coming up with speed. He scans before receiving these passes and has good awareness of how much time and space he has. When he has momentum coming through the neutral zone, he can occasionally beat players with his hands, typically opting to go wide, but he has shown the ability to power through the middle while maintaining possession, pushing the puck through the triangle of defenders. From the corners and behind the net, Pugachyov can effectively make dangerous passes to the slot, even flashing some high-end plays such as no-look back hands, short side passes before faking a wrap-around, or hitting a teammate crashing the slot through traffic. The playmaking aspect of his game is very underrated and can definitely translate to higher levels of play.
The hands are by no means soft. Far too often, the first touch is not clean, pushing it out of his reach and having to chase after it to keep possession. This really hurt him in the KHL where defenders are on you much quicker, leaving less room for error. He can also be way too strong on his stick at times when receiving passes, again, knocking it out of reach or bobbling the receptions. When he does have possession, the skill moves aren't very effective. If he isn't opting to power through or around defenders, he usually ends up deking right into a stick check. The lack of touch hurts his effectiveness along the boards at times, as he can win body positioning and out-muscle opponents, but will struggle to come out with possession cleanly. As a more off-puck complementary player, the lack of skill isn't too much of a setback in his projection, but if he wants to be a more effective player, it does need to be an area of focus in the coming seasons. While he is a sneaky good playmaker, his passing accuracy could be more consistent, especially when playing along the halfwall on the power play.
Rather than play with skill, Pugachyov prefers to go right through guys. He drives through the defense, stays with the puck in the corner, wins the battle, and protects the puck along the boards while shoving defenders off him with his free hand. He turns it over at the blue line as he fumbles the puck, but stays involved in the play, getting a pass off in transition, chasing down a forward on a backcheck, collecting the puck again, and driving straight to the crease.
Pugachyov enters the zone and performs a nice toe drag, but the lack of soft hands causes him to send it to the corner instead. He then shows off his puck-protection skills and ability to keep the cycle going in the zone.
Pugachyov is prone to heavy first touches that can lead to turnovers.
Pugachyov flashes moments of decent skill, cutting through traffic while maintaining possession.
Pugachyov has displayed the ability to create goals with nifty passes from behind the net and half-wall. Here are a few of his passes that led to goals this season. He even flashes some nice skill immediately in the first clip with a through-the-legs deke to his backhand before getting the assist.
Some passing work on the PP. Pugachyov makes a couple good passes to the point man but under pressure he panics and makes a poor pass to the net front. They maintain possession and he is able to show that quick smart playmaking with a hard cross-ice pass to an open man.
GRADE: 50
Smarts
A staple of Pugachyov’s game is his off-puck awareness and positioning. He’s extremely efficient playing any of the forechecking roles, making breakouts difficult for defenders in any role. As the F1, he is relentless on the attack, but the IQ really shines when in the F2 or F3 role. There, he’s scanning constantly, reading the play effectively, before taking highly efficient routes to the puck and shutting down the play. In transition, Pugachyov loves to cycle back and support his defenders on breakouts, giving them a safe option to get the puck up ice. When he isn't doing that, he finds open space to receive breakout passes and has great awareness of his team's positioning, sending cross-ice passes that lead to easy entries. Pugachyov utilizes this awareness and quick-scanning habits in the defensive end as well. He constantly is adjusting his positioning to get into lanes and, with his good reads, can cut off passes or put heavy pressure on loose pucks. Offensively, Pugachyov is quick to get to the net, and plays the net front position with strength and awareness. He checks to make sure he is in the optimal position to screen the goalie and is always ready to collect pucks that rim around the boards or are dumped to the corner. There are also exceptional flashes at 3v3 play, where he cycles well, makes poised decisions, and connects dangerous give-and-go passes. Even in the more subtle areas of the game, Pugachyov finds a way to disrupt play, always looking to take routes to set picks on opponents and give his teammates that extra second of space to create plays.
It's a slightly different story when the puck is on his stick, though. Pugachyov shows the ability to make good reads in the offensive end and in transition when he's looking to pass, but when he's determined to make a play himself, the decision-making can be flawed. Entering the zone with possession is not a strong suit, as stated in the “Skills” and “Shot” sections. If he isn't chipping it in, Pugachyov tends to either skate directly into pressure or just shoot the puck on net when crossing the blue line. The shooting habits improved as the year went on, but he still opts for low-danger shots, or shooting it directly into a defender more than you would like. Pugachyov was only 17 years old when playing at the pro level this year, and adjusting to the speed of play is a normal hurdle for younger players. At these higher paces of play, his quick reads and ability to track the play wasn't as consistent, but there was enough there to believe that this will improve with more reps in the KHL.
A classic Pugachyov-style play. Off the draw, he gets possession facing away from the net and leaves a nice drop pass to the center. He keeps his head up to scan and very quickly understands where the loose puck is, where the defender is going, and is able to close him off in the corner. After coming away with the puck, he throws a pass to the front of the net, and without hesitation, goes right to the back post, where the puck comes free and gets an easy goal.
A great shift by Pugachyov here. He reads the play so well, collecting a puck and giving it to his winger in space upon entry. He goes right to the net for a deflection then is so quick to react to the loose puck, gets it in deep and again gets right into position at the net front, where he, once again, is quick to get his stick on the puck behind the net. After losing possession he puts himself in a perfect gap to deny the clean exit and dumps in deep for a change. A little shove at the end too for fun.
At the lower levels, Pugachyov can make some boneheaded plays trying to test his skill. Here, on a 5-on-3, he skates right into a defender and wastes valuable time on the power play.
Here is Pugachyov's ability to make reads in transition and support his defenders on the breakout. He makes a couple of nice passes under pressure. The final pass is slightly behind the center, resulting in a turnover, but it is a fantastic read.
Pugachyov scans the ice constantly and it's on display here in the defensive end, reading the play, getting into lanes and switching off to block a shot.
Pugachyov makes a great read at the point to force a turnover. When they regain possession he drives right to the far post where he is in perfect position to score.
A play where Pugachyov doesn't scan before throwing a scary pass to the middle of the ice. When they regain possession, he does the thing where he takes a bad low-danger shot as he crosses the blue line.
GRADE: 55
Physicality/Compete
Pugachyov puts the “power” in power forward. While there are plenty of big forwards in this draft class, it is hard to find one who can match up with the strength and intensity of Pugachyov. He’s proved his physical prowess at a level of competition that few can say they have at 17 years old. He hunts down pucks on dump-ins with great tracking and finishes his checks every chance he gets. He decimates opponents in open ice and along the boards. He also uses his 6-foot-3, 200lbs frame effectively in board battles. There is great awareness of his body position as he can get low, leveraging his size, to slip underneath defenders along the boards and be the first to the puck, before man-handling his way out of the battle with possession. At the net front, he is nearly impossible to move, absorbing checks and creating havoc in front, using his size to screen the goalie effectively. With the puck on his stick, he often chooses to simply power right through defenders rather than win with skill. He is a freight train with a full head of steam. Over the course of the game, he wears down the competition with his style of play, and by the 3rd period, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with his motor.
Pugachyov never stops going. The motor is unmatched as he will relentlessly pressure the puck in all zones. He is constantly looking to get involved in the play when the puck isn't on his stick, calling for passes, supporting along the boards, and setting up in front of the crease or near the boards so he can always be near loose pucks and attack. It's rare to see him fly the offensive zone or not hustle on a backcheck. The extra effort in his game is on display night in and night out, diving for loose pucks, and throwing his whole body in the way of shots and eating pucks. The rest of his game will only get better from here, and improved skating and puck skills on top of this baseline of physical dominance will turn Pugachyov into a nightmare for any team that has to face him.
Pugachyov puts his body on the line to block shots regularly.
Pugachyov is the hardest-hitting player in the draft class. Here are 2 minutes of Pugachyov doing what he does best, tracking down opponents and laying the boom.
Pugachyov almost has the puck stolen from him, but he locks up with his opponent and takes him for a ride right into the boards to prevent any offense.
Pugachyov is a madman. He doesn't quite get the shot block on this play, but he dove face-first into the shot attempt with no care for his own well-being.
Here’s Pugachyov's ability to win body positioning along the boards, getting low and pinning the puck. He loses the battle as his skill in tight still needs work, but he doesn't give up on the play, applying pressure to the defenders deep in their zone.
Just an annoying guy to play against. He drives hard to the corner and lands a hit, loses his stick, and gets right to being a menace, shoving the defender and disrupting their ability to make a play.
After blocking a shot, Pugachyov stays active in the defensive zone, applying pressure, scanning the ice to read the play. After the puck is turned over, he hustles and puts his body right in front of the net.
The bread and butter of his game. He denies the exit along the boards and engages in battle. His team comes up with the puck and he goes right to hunting as the F2, landing a solid hit and forcing an icing.
The motor, physicality, and compete all on display as he lands 3 hits on this play. He goes right to the corner to support the battle, gets extra nasty with some secondary shoves, then attacks on the backcheck.
GRADE: 62.5
OFP: 54
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.