Scouting Focus: From Role Player to Game Breaker - Tracking Alexander Zharovsky’s Explosive Rise

Some prospects glimmer—Alexander Zharovsky blazes, his pure puck skills tearing up the script for the 2025 draft class.

His start was dim: averaging just 13:37 per game and scraping together 3 goals and 6 points across 15 contests… a slow burn at best. But then came the flip of a switch. Since the new year, Zharovsky has stacked up 26 points in 18 games. From a bottom-six two-way forward, he rose to become Tolpar Ufa’s linchpin, finishing with a team-leading 24 goals and 50 points, tops among all MHL U18 skaters in both categories. That surge even earned him a three-game call-up to Salavat Yulaev Ufa, though he didn’t crack the lineup.

It’s not just the dazzle that turns heads—he’s a dual-threat menace in the offensive zone and a transition maestro like no other. That versatility makes his ceiling an intriguing puzzle.

What could he unlock in the CHL?

PHYSICAL TOOLS / ATHLETICISM

Alexander Zharovsky has two skating styles. The first comes in transition, where he moves like a gazelle. He stands tall, knees subtly bent, just grazing the tips of his skates, with a straight back and a very upright stance. It’s elegant and controlled, and it allows him to see through traffic and weave with ease. This is especially noticeable when he isn’t stickhandling with the puck—he just floats.

The second style comes when he needs to work in tight spaces. His head stays up, still scanning, but his back bends at about a 70° angle. His knees are deeper now, with around a 3–4 inch gap between knee and toe. This style gives him a lower center of gravity, making his stickhandling and directional changes far more efficient.

Zharovsky is one of those rare players who’s able to toggle between these two styles seamlessly, making him a problem in all three zones.

OFFENSIVE IMPACT

This is the pure strength of Alexander Zharovsky’s game—and what teams will be drafting him for.

All Microstats are in Z-score formatting!

Zharovsky is a pure dual-threat offensive dynamo, widely regarded as the best puck-handler in Europe for the 2025 NHL Draft. Alongside that talent, he brings flair and confidence. He’s willing to try anything in the offensive zone or in transition, using a combination of slick hands and fluid edgework to slice through defenders like butter, often leading to highlight-reel finishes.

Watch any game from the second half of his season and you’ll see the trend: so much of his production is driven through transition. He generates chances off the rush, exploits gaps with speed, and makes a habit of attacking the slot. He’s creative, confident, and not afraid to make bold plays in high-danger areas.

But he’s not just a finisher—he elevates his linemates. Few players in the MHL this year produced as many slot passes and pre-shot movement setups as Zharovsky. He knows where his teammates are going to be and delivers passes with accuracy and deception. Sometimes they were even too crisp for teammates to handle. His ability to manipulate defenders, draw attention to himself, and create space is what makes him so dangerous.

He’s a 360° offensive threat. His ability to keep plays alive along the wall, shift his weight effortlessly, and work through contact makes him almost impossible to pin down when he’s feeling it.

ZONE ENTRIES

Another major strength of Alexander Zharovsky’s game is transition. When you combine high-end mobility, a 6’1” reach, the ability to stickhandle in a phone booth, and the skating agility to move 360° and carve through defense cores, you have a pretty dangerous transition threat—and he knows it.

Of course, he can skate through all three zones, especially in the MHL, and opponents can do little to stop him. But that’s not where his transition impact ends. Entering the zone, you can see he heavily favours carrying the puck in himself, or entering with support—he’s not going to dump the puck in, and he wouldn’t fit that system at all. What makes him dynamic on entries is his vision and playmaking. He knows when to skate it himself and when to pass. He does an excellent job pulling attention toward himself and slipping the puck to open teammates once coverage collapses.

This part of his game is projectable, because he’s smart. He knows what plays to make and which ones to avoid. Once he’s across the line, overconfidence and flair can sometimes creep in, but when it comes to getting into the zone, he’s calculated, controlled, and efficient. That said, he does lean into the classic Russian cut-back. While it helps slow down the play and pull his teammates into the offensive zone, at higher levels that move can be dangerous, inviting pressure and leading to turnovers. And he’s already seen a bit of that.

ZONE EXITS

Much of what applies to his entries applies to his exits. Zharovsky is just as impactful bringing the puck out of his own zone.

While the microstats don’t jump out quite as loudly as they do with entries, the process is clear. His preference is to stickhandle it out—and when he does, he brings the same confidence and control. His hands stay active, and his head stays up. He makes strong reads, strong plays along the wall, and he’s more than capable of passing out of pressure when needed.

This is another area where his creativity shows. Some of his most impressive puck-moving sequences started with zone exits.

TECHNICAL SKILL AND SENSE

With high-flying, talented players, the concern is often whether their brain can keep up with their feet—but in Zharovsky’s case, it absolutely does.

His issue isn’t awareness—it’s trust. He trusts his skill, his reads, and his ability to recover. When he makes a mistake, it’s rarely because he didn’t see the play—it’s because he tried to do too much. His processing speed is elite, and it shows in how he threads impossible passes, including no-look and behind-the-back setups.

He does these things not to show off, but because he knows where his teammates are going to be. His spatial awareness and anticipation are high-level.

You also see it along the boards—how he uses his reach and edgework to maintain possession under pressure, how he absorbs hits to make plays, and how he controls the game’s tempo. He’s constantly manipulating his surroundings.

PROJECTION AND RISK

So, what can you expect from Alexander Zharovsky?

He’s someone who could enter the CHL today and make an immediate impact—likely as a top-line winger with the puck-driving ability to elevate his linemates. He plays a fast, skilled, possession-heavy game that thrives in open ice, and that makes him incredibly appealing as a modern offensive winger.

The upside is there. The tools are elite. The vision, skating, and play creation are all high-end.

But the risk? It comes from the same place. He thrives off the rush and in open space, but moving to North American ice will test him. Tighter gaps, more physical opponents, and less time to make plays will force him to adapt. His cut-backs, his lateral moves, and even some of his hands-first exits and entries may get exposed early on.

He’ll need to build on his great skating posture, improve his strength in puck battles (where he’s hovering around 50%), and learn to simplify when necessary. But if he figures that out?

You’re looking at a human highlight reel who plays with pace, thinks two steps ahead, and could become one of the most dangerous offensive creators in his draft class.