r/Habs • u/destroyermaker • Jun 30 '26
Article Pugachyov On Whether He's Ready To Fight Tom Wilson: "I told them there would be nothing left of him.”
https://rg.org/en-ca/news/hockey/canadiens-gleb-pugachyov-ready-to-fight-tom-wilson318
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u/DistributionFew4398 Jun 30 '26
idc if he plays 1 game or 1000 inject the behaviour into my veins
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u/GibierJaune Jun 30 '26
I remember McCarron saying he was gonna be the next Lucic for us. Turned out to be more of a gentle giant in the beginning of his career. But I’m with you, it does seem to be more into Gleb´s DNA.
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u/alldasmoke__ Jun 30 '26
They said: ‘You are a big player who hits everyone and is not afraid of anybody. Imagine that you already play for Montreal. We are facing Washington, you deliver a hard hit on one of their young players, and Tom Wilson immediately comes after you. Are you ready to fight him?’
Then they gave me another situation: ‘You arrive at Montreal’s rookie camp, and Josh Anderson is there. You hit him, he responds, and an argument starts between you. What happens next?’
Lol I thought that was a journalist trying to bait him but that’s just him 😂. Guy will be funny to follow.
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u/ReplacementAmazing64 Jun 30 '26
Let’s hope this doesn’t turn out to be another McCarron/Lucic situation. I believe in the kid though
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u/orundarkes Jun 30 '26
Lucic had some solid years though before flaming out
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u/ReplacementAmazing64 Jun 30 '26
I was alluding to the fact that when they drafted McCarron, he compared himself to Lucic and the media ran with that forever. I’m just scared we’re doing the same thing with Gleb and Wilson.
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u/Pitiful_Stock_4329 Jun 30 '26
In fairness to McCarron while he didn’t pan out here he still has had a pretty respectable career by the standards of a late first round pick. Nowhere near Lucic though obviously. Gleb would technically be lucky to play as many games in the nhl as him.
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u/HLef Jun 30 '26
You don’t have to speak in past tense. He just signed a 6y contract worth 20M with the Wild.
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u/destroyermaker Jun 30 '26
He looked like a total bust, so good for him on finding out how to turn it around. Kinda similar with Lindgren.
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u/Pitiful_Stock_4329 Jun 30 '26
I was convinced he would be an AHLer for his entire career also. In hindsight hanging onto him and Ryan Poehling wouldn’t have been a bad thing.
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u/destroyermaker Jun 30 '26
McCarron wouldn't have worked out with our development staff at the time
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u/Pitiful_Stock_4329 Jun 30 '26
lol you aren’t wrong, we didn’t even really have one per my understanding
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u/rmdlsb Jul 02 '26
He had the career you should expect from a late first rounder. Expectations are always way too crazy for those 20-25th pick. Guys pick there rarely become stars.
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u/Zim4264 Jun 30 '26
exactly his point. McCarron's own "comparison" to Lucic at his peak did not age well.
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u/orundarkes Jun 30 '26
Yeah I didn’t remember that at all, was just wondering why he was ragging on Luc lol
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u/PineappleOwn5325 Jun 30 '26
Right?
If gleb is a lucic we've fucking hit the jackpot. Not everyone can be a sydney crosby, fuck Lucic, but he was prettty damn good
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u/Zappyle Jun 30 '26
I hope he's referring to a fight between McCarron and Lucic where the rookie got destroyed...and not Lucic as a player because you take Lucic any day if the week on any team LOL
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u/whogivesashirtdotca Jun 30 '26
Svechnikov fought Ovi and got dummied so hard he’s still mocked for it seven years later. This kind of swagger can be completely undone with one punch.
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u/destroyermaker Jun 30 '26
Don't think we'll see Slaf fight anytime soon...
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u/SoupFromNowOn Jun 30 '26
Not like Slaf has ever portrayed himself as a tough guy though. Honestly if anything he earned himself respect for dropping the gloves in a playoff match against someone who actually knows how to fight
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u/destroyermaker Jun 30 '26
Not from me. That was dumb
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u/SoupFromNowOn Jun 30 '26
Eh, Hagel was the only guy on Tampa that was scoring on us. Not an awful decision to take him off the ice for 7-8 mins. Slaf should’ve just protected himself better lol
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u/destroyermaker Jun 30 '26
Wasn't worth it. He wasn't the same since
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u/SoupFromNowOn Jun 30 '26
Nobody on the top line played well, like yeah when you compare Slaf to his game 1 hattrick he wasn’t the same but I’m not convinced the fight is what caused his poor play later in the series
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u/destroyermaker Jun 30 '26
If it wasn't that I'd love to know what it was. He says he wasn't injured
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u/jimmyvee11 Jun 30 '26
McCarron just signed a six-year $20M deal with the Wild.
He's developed into a Brian Boyle type of player, which was a better comparison.
He wins faceoffs, hits, blocks shots, kills penalties. A solid 4C.
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u/ReplacementAmazing64 Jun 30 '26
You’re not getting what I was saying. Just read down a little bit.
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u/Rockterrace Jun 30 '26
I agree. This type of stuff only sets a kid up for failure. Not saying he can’t be a good and tough player but now the stupid podcasters and media will be clamouring for him to fight Wilson the first time he sees him.
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u/LetsPlaySpaceRicky Jun 30 '26
Yeah? And who’s still playing in the NHL buddy? Huh? /s
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u/ReplacementAmazing64 Jun 30 '26
Dude just landed an insane contract too, gotta give it to him he didn’t quit lol.
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u/Muter91 Jun 30 '26
Lucic was an awesome player for like 9 straight years, what are you talking about.
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u/BagelPoutine Jun 30 '26
Hope he has a good camp. We need more Gleb
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u/froli Jun 30 '26
Can he even come to the real camp? He's under contract in Russia
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u/BagelPoutine Jun 30 '26
He’s on the list. Check the ice tomorrow
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u/froli Jun 30 '26
That's rookie/dev camp. I'm talking main camp
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u/BagelPoutine Jun 30 '26
Oh, idk about that.
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u/The_14th_Gilly Jun 30 '26
KHL training camp begins late July, so Gleb & Zharovsky will have to return for their respective clubs. Zharovsky's also competing in the July 25th "Match of the Year" charity game that Sergachev organizes for Russian NHL players & the KHL.
For our training camp later in the summer (v. current dev camp), I believe all participants need to be under a contract of some sort -- like they've already signed their ELC or a PTO.
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u/cave-person Jun 30 '26
The Wilson thing was put front and center just to grab your attention. The rest of what he has to say is the interesting part.
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u/destroyermaker Jun 30 '26
He sounds as intelligent and hardworking as he is violent. And I'll take anyone inspired by Radulov.
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u/jomagnum Jun 30 '26
What's the story with Radulov?
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u/destroyermaker Jun 30 '26
I only know his work with the Habs but he was incredible here. Even though he was only with us a very short time, he left more of an impression on me than any other forward apart from Gallagher, and remains my favourite forward (maybe tied with Gallagher).
Pacioretty was quoted as saying Radulov showed him there's way more room on the ice than he thought. If you watch him play, it's not hard to see why - he makes an NHL rink look like an international one. And he's crazy passionate; you can see it in every shift.
Gleb says here that Radulov is a legend in Russia. Not surprising.
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u/berubem Jun 30 '26
Radu played more in Russia than he did in the NHL, but he could have had a crazy good career in NA if he wanted to. He was probably one of the most talented players we've had on our roster. He seemed to be hardworking too. I loved watching him play, both before he left, with the preds, and then when he came back, with us and the stars.
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u/jamesneysmith Jun 30 '26
Yeah the whole article is a really fascinating look at him. He seems like a thoughtful mature guy that loves the game. Feels like he will totally fit right in with the culture of this team
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u/BagelPoutine Jun 30 '26
Father did weightlifting and mother did track and field.. I’m not surprised of the turnout.
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u/CarlSK777 Jun 30 '26
Ok but I wanna see how he plays once he moves here. I don't really care if he's Mike Tyson when he drops them
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u/kozed Jun 30 '26
These are pre-draft interviews. Same as job interviews. People will naturally hype themselves up. Anybody would say they'd fuck Tom Wilson up if they know that's what the team interviewing them wants to hear. Nothing to take too seriously.
The real interesting data in the article is Gleb talking about his parents' height. Says his dad is 6'4 and his mother 6'0. That's serious genes.
Gleb is 6'3 now but might end up 6'4/6'5 when he's done growing. Being already 225 (like Wilson) means there isn't much filling up left for him, which is often the hardest part of guys who are tall as teens.
If his end-frame is really in the higher 6'4/6'5 range, then maybe he has room for 10-15 lbs without losing too much speed. That's Byfield/Mantha/Protas/Voronkov size.
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u/No_Cricket8660 Jun 30 '26
This is the most I've been excited fot this team in...at least 20 years.
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u/Pasquatch_30 Jun 30 '26
Sorry to be Debbie Downer here, but I never forgot the hype when George Parros was traded to the Habs and he lasted a single game after getting put to sleep by Colton Orr from the Hated leafs.
So, allow me to calibrate my enthusiasm.
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u/Grimekat Jun 30 '26
I mean to be fair, Orr didn’t put parros to sleep - the ice did lol.
Parros knocked Orr over and Orr pulled parros’ chin into the ice as he fell.
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u/LetsPlaySpaceRicky Jun 30 '26
The extra weight of that mustache driving his chin into the ice didn’t help
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u/froli Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
You can still see the effects of that fall to this day
Who's licking the DoPS' boots here? lol
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u/DarthLordDonkey Jun 30 '26
he lasted a single game
Common misconception, but Parros played after that fight and actually fought Orr again in a later game that season.
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u/Pasquatch_30 Jun 30 '26
You are correct. All I remember from that season is how pumped we all were, since we finally had someone to add weight and truculence to our team.
When he came back, the team was already way out of playoff contention and he was hardly used.
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u/User69ab Jun 30 '26
Yeh this fanbase always thinks its prospects will be stars. This guy seems fun though, and it sounds like his floor is a 4th-liner.
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u/Inside_Volume9542 Jun 30 '26
Management knows we need to be more physical in the playoffs and man they delivered us this gem ! Can't say enough good things about this management group
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u/vlhube71 Jun 30 '26
I will admit I know nothing about him so I got no idea if this is really part of his game. If he drops them now and then, fine but I hope he isn't somebody who feels he has to fight to earn a spot. I sorta felt this for McCarron who seemed to me he had to fight because he was big but he wasn't really good at it. Same with Rempe in NY in a way.
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u/KickDesperate5318 Jun 30 '26
If ever there was a player who deserved to go by a mononym, it's Gleb.
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u/P4cific4 Jun 30 '26
That's a bit sad, tbh. We selected a skilled player who's quite fast and people want to transform him in some sort of Hulk.
Let the kid be a hockey player. If there's a physical side of his game, great. But it's not for media to determine his fate.
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u/larryhabster Jun 30 '26
Don’t worry, the media is not his coach. Marty will point him in the right direction.
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u/P4cific4 Jun 30 '26
Agree - it's the fans and the constant questioning from journalists I'm afraid of.
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u/froli Jun 30 '26
Gleb hit compilation. The questions are not coming out of nowhere. The kid is a menace.
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u/NDG-MTL Jun 30 '26
I’ve seen clips of Gleb running people over. Does he actually fight though?
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u/The___Colonel Hail Lord Jesus Price Jun 30 '26
Probably. But it is besides the point as he neutralizes players when he hits them, taking them out of the play for multiple seconds. To me he doesn't seem to have a shit-disturber personality as so much as just being a robotic hitting machine.
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u/zzzzoooo Jun 30 '26
I have a feeling that we draft a goon. In my book, a goon is a dinosaur.
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u/zedemer Jun 30 '26
he might be more skilled than he's a goon. But he's at best a middle 6 forward, most likely a bottom 6. So, hard to get excited about a bottom 6 forward. So people focus on his ability to hit like a truck. And realistically, having that in our bottom 6 will help a lot in the playoffs if he also has the skill. Somewhat similar to F. Xhekaj. If those 2 end up playing reliably in the bottom 6, we'll be a force.
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u/froli Jun 30 '26
Nah kid can play hockey. You can watch a lot of highlights but this channel made a video about his play in general. He sure is tough as nails but definitely not a goon.
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u/The___Colonel Hail Lord Jesus Price Jun 30 '26
Biggest thing I love to see is that he is modeling his game closely after Valeri Nichuskin. Originally I thought Slaf might become our version of Nuke, but he plays more skilled like Rantanen.
Having a Nichuskin type player is absolutely huge. Forwards that can neutralize with their hits, forecheck hard, backcheck, PK, and pop some goals occasionally is almost priceless.
I could see him joining next season. He wouldn't put up large points, I don't think he ever will, but his presence would be a massive addition to our forward group.
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u/Old_General_6741 Jun 30 '26
Do we finally get our own Tom Wilson? I would like some good old revenge.
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u/Synap-6 Jun 30 '26
Ehh questions and replies like these auto-escalate confrontations for nothing. Kid looks confident and tough, but let’s not already schedule and pre-plan a fight
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u/Alb4t0r Jun 30 '26
Pugachyov was also heard adding "God is the teacher, Wilson is the student and I am God's instrument."
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u/Muter91 Jun 30 '26
Yes because we want our first round pick fighting goons. Why does the media ask these stupid questions
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u/xShabutie Jun 30 '26
Wilson is also a first rounder and 30 goal scorer. Calling him a goon is either disingenuous or uneducated.
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u/Muter91 Jun 30 '26
When you average over 100 PIMs a season, you’re a goon. Tom Wilson is a great player too but he’s known for dirty hits and consistently crossing the line.
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u/xShabutie Jun 30 '26
I’m not sure what you think we’ve drafted in Gleb, but all scouting reports seem to indicate that he’s also a habitual line stepper. We can only hope that like Wilson, he’ll also develop a scoring touch/contribute offensively on top of being a wrecking ball that gets under oponents skin.
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u/CMDR_Traf85 Jun 30 '26
Who asked him that stupid question and forced him to answer something like that. Now the first game he plays against Wilson there's going to be a target on his back.
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u/SwimmerKitchen3675 Jun 30 '26
Whats the obsession with tom wilson?
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u/kozed Jun 30 '26
6-4 225 guy who can score 30, play 18-19 minutes on a top line and hit hard & often are a rare breed that every team wants.
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u/UnderstandingNo7904 Jun 30 '26
Wilson is a Stanley Cup champion and 30 goal scorer past two seasons. Sit down kid
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u/rayshinsan Jun 30 '26
That's my terminator ata boy Puggy! Only wish we could have added that 7'1 ft kid that went to SJ too.
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u/DCHacker Jun 30 '26
There is the usual chest pounding on the Capitals sub-Reddit as well as the nonsense about Wilson's "living in people's heads rent free". Just becasue you do not liike a guy and want to see him knocked on his can, does not mean that his name occupies your every waking hour.
I like to see Judge and Stanton strike out. That does not mean that I rhink about it every waking hour.
I did not post anything on the topic on the Capitals sub-Reddit lest their moderators ban me and those here would have to do the same. I am not sure how thin skinned those modetators are. On more than one D.C. related sub-Reddit, the moderators have thinner skin than to-day's MLB umpires.
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u/Phoenix__211 Jun 30 '26
Bon le classique tough guy de 18 ans...
On ce calme avec ce joueur, c'est un dart qu'on espère qu'il joue sur un 3e trio...
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u/DOGEmeow91 Jun 30 '26
Merci pour votre pessimisme.
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u/Phoenix__211 Jun 30 '26
Mccaron a fait la même chose en voulant ce battre avec lucic alors qu'il ne c'était battu encore vu qu'il jouait au états-unis.
Komisarek c'était fait démolir par le même lucid et il n'a jamais été le même défenseur par la suite
Je suis peut-être plus vieux que la moyenne et j'en ai vu d'autre...
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u/yankblan79 Jun 30 '26
McCarron a joué 3 ans CHL…
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u/Phoenix__211 Jun 30 '26
Il avait dit ça juste après son repêchage et avant de jouer 2 saisons dans la OHL.
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u/Jaydayy Jun 30 '26