What we just saw is EXTREMELY good news for the Montreal Canadiens...

This is some extremely good news for Montreal Canadiens fans as we have Alexander Zhuravsky showing out, scoring a beautiful goal in the KHL preseason, getting second line time, second power play. He is showing exactly why we traded up to get him and why he was looking like a first round selection by the Montreal Canadiens. We got to dive into Alexander Zhuravsky and how he is making a case to be a stud in the KHL this year, but it's not just that. The rest of the good news comes in practice where Kirby Doc is out there once again with a bunch of the forwards and a bunch of the defensemen. Where we see Lane Hudson, Noah Dobson, and David Reimbach are working together, but all topped off by something absolutely incredible from Ivan Dmitrov. It's every single day this dude finds a way to, oh, absolutely impress us. Look at this snipe, we got to dive into all of that, plus a pretty cool list from the NHL Network that is pretty Habs heavy all coming up on this episode. And we'll start there, notable Canadians on the players born in the 2000s list. And actually, before I get into this, Nick Suzuki was born, of course, in August of 1999, so he's just about four months away from being on this list. Though, you could also say there's a lot of other players that could, you know, are just a few months away, so we're not going to dwell too much on that. But I want to look into this list here, and we got guys like Toffield, Hudson, and Dobson who all made this list. And to me, I'm very happy, because, look, I understand you can't put Ivan Dmitrov in there yet because the dude has two points in the regular season, and, you know, what are you going to do? He's going to be a rookie coming into this year. And, like, you know, Suzuki's a bit off there. Slath, I think, could very well make his way on this list. I will say, I find it really crazy how ubiquitous it feels like Habs praise has been for our young players, whether it's Lane Hudson or Ivan Dmitrov. Like, Hudson here at 14 over a guy like Dobson who's at 22. Even though Dobson has a 70-point season, his last year was a bit of a down year. After Hudson's rookie season only, that's pretty crazy. But this is 2024-25 statistics they're showing, of course. But, man, Toffield, Hudson, and Dobson all being able to make this list, all within the top 22, is crazy. Considering we also have guys like Uri Slavkovsky, who after this year, at least in my opinion, is going to take a leap to absolutely be named in that same echelon, that same tier of player that we're seeing here with Toffield, Hudson, and Dobson, three guys who are top-line or top-pairing style guys in the NHL, right? Record-breaking seasons from Hudson, and Toffield's going to go out there and score 40 goals this year. Slath can absolutely bust his way into this. And, again, it's just a matter of him putting together, I think, a regular season and maybe longer playoff run that will give people that opportunity to really see what he could be. Because I also understand, like, a lot of Slath is... He is very impactful, but those numbers just gotta come before places like NHL Network and maybe some other outlets are going to give him that next level of respect. And that's fair. I think Slath could be on this list. Maybe it's fair he's not there yet, but he absolutely will crack into there. And Ivan Demidov, of course, is the other guy that we know. This year, I mean, more than 2005, he's going to be cracking this list, I imagine, before the end of the season. So, what I'm saying is there's a real chance that we could have five Montreal Canadiens of all the best players, top 25, born in the last 25 years. That is crazy. All on the same team, all at the same time. So, I don't think it's crazy to say that. Let me know if I'm maybe missing anyone, anyone that you would include, exclude, switching those rankings up a bit. I'd love to hear from you, because it's just so cool to see, like I said, that Habs love coming out from all these different places. But, look, speaking of Habs love, I'm loving to see practice every single day. And, again, a lot of these videos, Patois and Faux, and this last Demidov video is from the Curfew Boys podcast on Twitter. Two great followers. They're posting lots of content from Brasov. But you can see, right, Kirby Doc out there, you see the defensemen out there. There was also another part where Lane Hudson and David Reimbacher and Noah Dobson were all working together. That Ivan Demidov shot at the end here. Just, I mean, I put it in slow-mo just for you guys. This is a Curfew Boys video, but my goodness. Domesh didn't even see it. Anyway, but I want to move on. They said here, so for a second straight day, Kirby Doc is out there in Brasov. Cue the animation. He was out there with Laine, Demidov, Bolduk, Jake Evans, Joe Valeno, Samuel Bolduk, Jakob Dobesh, and the Hughes brothers, the two sons of Kent Hughes, who I believe are both NHL draft picks, or at least are both part of NHL organizations, maybe even if it's on a lower level. But, yeah, really cool to see all these forwards out there. Again, didn't get, I mean, there was some Laine and Demidov stuff out there today, Zach Bolduk, but it's just cool to see, again, all these guys out there at once. And Hudson was the first defenseman on the ice. Doc and Laine were out there as the first forwards on the ice, which is really awesome to see. But, again, for the defensemen, you had Hudson, Reimbacher, Carrier, Gouley, and Strubel. You're getting to the point now, we're getting to the point now. This is a collective. We're all here to share in the glory of Habs practice, baby, because they're all getting back onto the ice now. We're starting to get closer and closer to that full team, and that's the most fun part of this, in my mind, because, again, we're watching all these clips. They're all with the boys. They're all moving faster. The drills are getting a little more intense, and it's just that sign that we're just right around the corner from the regular season, and then, you know, you see the defense. Oh, what pairings could we do? We see Hudson working a lot with Dobson. Reimbacher's out here with them. Is he going to get a spot? And then you find Demidov in 3v3, cooking like he always does, this insane shot. I mean, I know we say it, like, almost every day. These clips from practice, though, are extremely valuable. They get me so hyped, and I think they're getting you guys hyped, too, because we see the hype. I know it's just practice, but, again, like I said, it signifies something bigger. So, I mean, really great news to see Doc out there again, great news to see Hudson out there, really good to see some of these guys showing those signs of greatness, like Reimbacher working with our veteran defensemen, and, I mean, Hudson's not, you know, Hudson and Dobson, but the guys who are already in the NHL, I guess, almost NHL veterans, working with them a lot, Demidov, Schott, Kirby, so many great things. So, I'm so excited from what we're seeing from practice, but, like I said earlier, it just doesn't stop there, because Alexander Zhuravsky just keeps it going for these Montreal Canadiens, and if we're talking young fellas, we're talking prospects, this guy, some lists have him all up and down in terms of where he ranks in terms of Montreal's prospect. I think the recent top 25, under 25, by, I think it's Habs Eye on the Prize, has him at, like, 13th or 14th, but I would have him higher. Like, here's the thing with Zhuravsky. I don't know if I'd have him higher. There's so many good guys in our system. Right now, this right here is such a good sign, and let me explain specifically why. There's a couple parts of this that I noticed some other people were talking about. It's what first caught my eye, and it's what I wanted to focus on, okay? So, before I get there, I just wanted to say this, like, Hockey News Hub on Twitter, another good follow for KHL stuff, but Zhuravsky's goal, what a stunt, but Salabat up 2-1 versus Medalert, and here's the full clip, which I'm going to show you. Look at the determination first to win the puck battle and drive to the net. Those are the two things that absolutely stood out to me, and two things for a guy like Zhuravsky, who, again, is, like, one of the big things when he was drafted is, look, the dude has crazy skill, unreal skill, like, arguably top 5, top 10 in the draft in terms of pure skill. Hockey sense maybe needs a little bit of work. There were some pretty bad decisions at times in the MHL, but he was still toying with them, but he also needs to put on a few pounds, right, to really play that next-level game, but you just watch this. He's fighting along the boards. He wins the puck battle. Look how he shields the bigger defenseman with his body. Look at this. He uses his back, gets right to the net. He doesn't lose it. Watch it here. He has full control over this puck the entire way and, like, basically roofs it while he's falling down. This kind of drive to the net is not easy, especially if you're underweight, and people say you need to gain some weight before you make the NHL. This is the kind of play that you need to gain the weight for. Yes, I also understand on the forecheck, when you're playing along board battles, like, it matters there, too, but this is exactly what he's showing. Now, again, it is just one goal for Alexander Zhirovsky here, but the fact that he was getting second-line winger minutes there with the KHL team in the preseason and he goes out there and scores a goal, he was getting second power play minutes. To me, it's like, where are the stats? To me, it's like, there is not a single bad sign from this. This is really good news for us because getting him into the KHL this year would be unreal. Like, you know, we were saying when we drafted him, look, if it's VHL, fine, if it's KHL, that's what we would love to see, right? Because, again, like, we often say on the show, we said it before, their coach at Ufa Salavat, they were like, listen, like, he forced our hand. He made us play him in the playoffs last year when we brought him up from the MHL. And right now, they're like, hey, we're going to give him the runway, like, see what he can do. And what does he do? He goes out and does this. In his first game, in the first period, you know, there were some mistakes here and there. He's still very young, of course. This was not a perfect game by any means. But this is the kind of play that I really love to see. Like, if you could have asked me to pick a play from Alexander Zhuravsky that I would like to see, something like that. Win a board battle, get the puck, drive strong to the net, and score a beautiful goal off of a little toe drag move in traffic, not losing the puck. Because, again, we know he has the skill. He'll show that off all the time. It's this, this aspect of his game that I think is really good news to see. But look, there's so much time before he makes that jump to the NHL. There is still a lot of time before the season starts, but I'm just pumped. I'm pumped with all this good news, and I hope you guys are too, because right now, the Montreal Canadiens are just looking like, I mean, we said it once, we'll say it again. Did I use that saying twice in this show? Whatever, it doesn't matter. Maybe you can think of another one in the comments, but I'm just so excited. This is one of the most fun teams in all of hockey, with the current players, the prospects in the AHL, the prospects overseas. Everything is going right, and I cannot wait to see what's next. But that'll do it for this episode of Habs Digest. If you enjoyed, leave a like, comment, subscribe to the channel. Thank you all for tuning in every single day. I've been your host, Josh Goss, and I'll catch you in the next one.