Canadiens sign Bogdan Konyushkov to entry-level contract
The Montreal Canadiens are locking up a draft pick that has been playing overseas.
On Friday, the Canadiens signed defenseman Bogdan Konyushkov to his two-year, entry-level contract.
Montreal is expected to loan Konyushkov back to the Kontintenal Hockey League (KHL) for the 2026-27 season. Since he is 23 years old, his upcoming season in the KHL still counts as the first year of this new deal.
Konyushkov played 67 games for the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod last season, where he had seven goals and 31 assists for 38 points, making him the 12th-highest scorer in the KHL among defensemen. He then added no goals and five assists in 10 playoff games.
The Canadiens drafted Konyushkov in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he put up two goals and 23 assists for 25 points in 64 games for Nizhny Novgorod.
In the 2023-24 season, the Penza, Russia native notched six goals and 22 assists for 28 points in 65 games for Nizhny Novgorod. He saw a slight decline in his production for the 2024-25 season, as he registered three goals and 14 assists for 17 points in 67 games. He did join Nizhny Novgorod’s VHL affiliate Torpedo-Gorky during their playoff run to a Petrov Cup championship that season, scoring three goals and adding 10 assists for 13 points in 17 games.
At 6’0″ and 172 pounds, Konyushkov is a right-shot defenseman known for his steady play and awareness.
Montreal is coming off an exciting season that saw them finish third in the Atlantic Division with 106 points and ultimately lose in the Eastern Conference Final to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. They’ve had a relatively quiet offseason so far, as their biggest moves have been multi-year extensions for winger Ivan Demidov and goaltender Jakub Dobes.
