Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.

Four Big Hype Prospects

Alexander Zharovsky, RW, Montreal Canadiens (Ufa Salavat Yulayev, KHL)
31 GP 11G 17A 28pts

The Montreal Canadiens are currently benefiting greatly from the nightly performances of star rookie Ivan Demidov, a hugely talented Russian winger with the kind of offensive ability that can dazzle fans on a nightly basis. Demidov’s excellent rookie season does not come as a huge surprise to most, as just last season he managed to lead his KHL team in scoring — a hugely impressive feat for an 18-year-old player.

And yet Demidov may not be the only Canadiens prospect to accomplish that feat. Zharovsky, the club’s top selection at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, currently leads the KHL’s Ufa Salavat Yulayev in scoring with 28 points in 31 games. The next-highest scorer, veteran Jack Rodewald, has 25 points in 39 games. Just one other player on the team has reached the 20-point mark.

The fact that Demidov led SKA in scoring last season threatens to leave Canadiens fans somewhat jaded at the prospect of another youngster leading his KHL team in scoring. But they should be reminded that the KHL, Russia’s top professional league, is a circuit with a longstanding reputation of being notoriously difficult for teenage players to gain a foothold in. Demidov himself had to contend with this, sometimes finding himself in an extremely limited role in SKA’s lineup despite his obvious talent.

Zharovsky’s brilliant 2025-26 campaign thus far has served as a clear indication that the Canadiens likely nabbed a first-round caliber talent in the early portion of the second round of the draft. Zharovsky was one of the fastest-rising players of last year’s draft process. He barely registered on scouting radars early last season. NHL Central Scouting did not include him on their preliminary watch list last October, nor was he ranked in the midterm rankings in January. Central Scouting caught onto Zharovsky by the end of the season, ranking him No. 5 among international skaters in their final rankings.

Most public-facing outlets had Zharovsky ranked in the early to middle portion of the second round of the draft, as high as No. 35 (TSN’s Bob McKenzie) and as low as No. 49 (Corey Pronman of The Athletic). In his ranking, Pronman wrote that while Zharovsky’s MHL production “needs to be looked at with a grain of salt,” due to the fact that he managed those numbers “in the clear worst division in that league.” He finished writing Zharovsky “could be a bottom six wing,” but it’s clear the Canadiens disagreed.

In their media availability following the draft, the Canadiens’ co-directors of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov and Martin Lapointe indicated to the media that not only did they project Zharovsky as a future top-six winger, but they also had him ranked on their draft board inside the first round, right around the slot of the two first-round picks they ultimately dealt to the New York Islanders in the Noah Dobson trade.

While it’s still far too early to tell whether Zharovsky will live up to the Canadiens’ expectations or fall more in line with Pronman’s projection, the early returns have been extremely promising for Montreal. Just as he did in the MHL, Zharovsky’s KHL performance will likely be met with some skepticism due to the fact that the division Zharovsky plays in, the Chernyshev Division, is arguably the league’s weakest.

But it is nonetheless extremely impressive to see a winger of Zharovsky’s age lead his team in scoring in his rookie KHL campaign. Zharovsky was named a KHL All-Star and the league’s rookie of the month for October and November. He ranks second in scoring in the KHL among all players aged 22 and younger, behind only Chicago Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov, who is 21 years old. While we won’t know for some time whether Zharovsky will truly end up as the top-six offensive talent the Canadiens believe he can be, his progression at the moment has been highly encouraging.

Colby Barlow, RW, Winnipeg Jets (Manitoba Moose, AHL)
25 GP 2G 3A 5pts

Of the first 20 picks of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, just four selected players have yet to make their NHL debut: No. 5 pick David Reinbacher (MTL), No. 14 pick Brayden Yager (PIT, traded to WPG), No. 18 pick Barlow (WPG), and No. 20 pick Eduard Sale (SEA). While the pace of a prospect’s development is no sure indicator of that player’s future NHL success, and it must be repeatedly emphasized that player development is not a linear process, it is still notable when a highly-drafted prospect begins to fall behind his peers.

In Barlow’s case, he appears to have fallen behind quite considerably. This is actually not the first time Barlow has appeared in the Big Hype Prospects series, as he also was covered in a September 2024 article written by colleague Gabe Foley. Foley correctly noted that Barlow was a lock to be traded from his OHL team at the time (the Owen Sound Attack) and expressed some hope that the expected OHL trade would provide Barlow with some much-needed momentum in his final year before turning pro.

While OHL trades provided a spark for other CHL first-rounders to have hugely productive final campaigns in junior hockey (Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie were two names specifically referenced by Foley) that didn’t happen for Barlow, who scored 32 goals and 61 points in 62 games as a member of the Oshawa Generals.

While Barlow did score at a higher rate in the second half of the year, and did follow up the regular season with a stellar postseason run (33 points in just 21 games), it appears he hasn’t been able to translate that momentum into tangible production to start his pro career.

Barlow is now 25 games into his first full season in the AHL, and he’s managed just five points.

The 20-year-old has long been viewed as a potential NHL sniper, with his shot credited as one of his standout tools. Pronman wrote in August that “Barlow’s calling card is his shot” but noted that “his offensive inconsistency is a concern.”

Elite Prospects’ Lauren Kelly wrote around the same time that Barlow’s “playmaking showed significant growth” in Oshawa, and that the development “bodes well for his move to the AHL.”

Breaking down exactly why Barlow’s offensive momentum appears to have stalled at the AHL level isn’t a simple task. He does get to play with some talented linemates, currently skating alongside 2022 first-rounder Brad Lambert and 2021 second-rounder Nikita Chibrikov.

But neither Lambert nor Chibrikov have been particularly productive this season. Despite having linemates that are, on paper, of high quality, Barlow hasn’t had the chance to play all that much this season. He ranks last in average ice time per game among all Moose skaters with at least 20 games played this season.

Given Barlow’s struggles in his rookie AHL campaign and the Moose’s apparent reluctance to play him higher in the lineup on a regular basis, it could be that a change of scenery ends up the best outcome for both Barlow and Winnipeg.

Barlow has, without question, thus far failed to live up to the Jets’ investment of a first-round pick in him. And Barlow could argue that the Jets have similarly failed to give him the kind of high-minute AHL role that would allow him to build momentum early in his pro career.

As the Jets look to plot their way forward amidst a deeply disappointing 2025-26 NHL campaign, they could seek to acquire reinforcements for their NHL roster via trade. If they end up doing so, Barlow could be one of the top prospects the Jets elect to trade in one of those transactions.

Vaclav Nestrasil, RW, Chicago Blackhawks (UMass Amherst, NCAA)
18 GP 10G 10A 20pts

If there’s one single player archetype that is most widely coveted across the NHL, a strong argument could be made that it’s a forward who combines devastating size and physicality with a high level of offensive skill. Those players come few and far between, and when one manages to establish himself at the NHL level, there’s usually no shortage of teams trying to line up to acquire his services.

Selected No. 25 overall at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Nestrasil has a very real chance of becoming that kind of player at the NHL level. The 6’5″, 190-pound winger still has a ways to go in terms of his physical development to reach that point, but the start to his collegiate career has been extremely impressive.

The Blackhawks’ selection of Nestrasil No. 25 overall was met with some skepticism. The player managed only 42 points in 61 USHL contests as a member of the Muskegon Lumberjacks, which is below the typically expected level of production for a first-round pick.

Though Nestrasil’s 13 points in 14 playoff games did help Muskegon win the Clark Cup Championship, his eventual draft ranking varied wildly in the public sphere. The team at Elite Prospects ranked him No. 26 on their board, but most other outlets ranked him somewhere in the 35-45 range. He was even ranked as low as No. 65, by TSN’s Craig Button.

While most scouts commended Nestrasil’s energy level, non-stop motor, and ability to impact a game even when he couldn’t score, many questioned whether he’d be able to bring a level of consistent production that would justify the investment of a first-round draft choice.

Nestrasil’s first 18 games of college hockey have gone a long way towards addressing — but not permanently silencing — those skeptics. He has managed 10 goals and 18 points, good for second on the team behind undrafted 22-year-old Jack Musa.

Because other freshmen players are also having an incredible start to their NCAA career (Pittsburgh Penguins 2025 first-rounder Will Horcoff has 19 goals in his first 20 games, for example), Nestrasil’s sharp improvement in offensive production over last season has flown more under the radar than it perhaps deserves to. But if any Blackhawks fans decide to tune into Amherst games this season, it’s possible they could be watching a long-term linemate for franchise face Connor Bedard.

The team is still searching for long-term pieces to pair Bedard with, and Nestrasil’s compete level, size, physicality, and offensive touch could complement the star center quite well. There’s still a ways to go before Nestrasil reaches that point, but so far in his NCAA career, Nestrasil’s stock appears to be rapidly rising.

Simon Zajicek, G, Boston Bruins (Providence Bruins, AHL)
12 GP  10-1-1, .934 sv% /1.93 GAA

The history of free agent imports from European professional leagues is a spotty one. Where there have been teams that have found considerable success bringing over star players from top European pro circuits, others have seen their investments flame out and quickly return to the other side of the Atlantic. For every Karel Vejmelka or Alexander Radulov there appears to be five Jan Kovar’s or Jakub Jerabek’s.

The Bruins have traded away a considerable number of draft picks over the last half-decade as a result of the organization’s push to win the Stanley Cup within that time frame. Those moves have depleted the Bruins’ prospect pool, and left their scouts with fewer resources at their disposal to replenish that pool of prospects.

One route organizations in that sort of a position often take to try to maintain a pipeline of young players despite having fewer draft picks is signing free agent players from the NCAA, the CHL, or the European pro circuit. Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman is an example of a hockey operations executive that has been aggressive in his targeting of European free agents, and he had some success doing so with the Chicago Blackhawks, landing long-term NHL players such as Antti Raanta, Erik Gustafsson, and most notably, Artemi Panarin.

The Bruins appeared to try to replicate his approach this past summer when they signed Zajicek, a netminder from the Czech Extraliga. In his age-23 season, Zajicek led the Extraliga in save percentage, putting up a .930 mark across 29 games played. The year prior, he posted a .909 save percentage across 20 games for HC Litvínov.

Zajicek was signed to form a tandem with AHL star Michael DiPietro, and despite his inexperience in North American pro hockey, Zajicek has been stellar to start his AHL career. Through 12 games, Zajicek has gone 10-1-1 with a .934 save percentage. His performance, along with the strong performances of DiPietro, have helped Providence rank No. 2 in the AHL in fewest goals surrendered so far in 2025-26.

While it’s too early to tell whether Zajicek’s performance is truly a reflection of a promising NHL future or more of a product of a high-quality defensive environment around him, his stellar form to start the year does suggest that he may end up making a push for an NHL role in Boston or somewhere where there is more of a pressing need for goaltending.

Photos courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images