Montreal Canadiens Trade Update: the Montreal Canadiens keep their desire to select…………

Kent Hughes said after the 2024 NHL Draft that the Montreal Canadiens were trying to keep their desire to select Ivan Demidov a secret. He didn’t do a very good job of that however, because there were several reports before the event that the team was very interested in him, and they also met with him on several occasions in the days before the draft in Las Vegas.

Several teams attempted to trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets to move up to fourth overall and steal Demidov, indicating that other teams were also aware of the best course of action for Montreal after three selections had been made. Refusing to back down, the Blue Jackets selected their desired prospect, Cayden Lindstrom, and Demidov—who many scouting sources agreed was the second-best player in the draft—lost to Montreal at fifth overall.

The “Russian factor” was at play as it often is with uncertainty about the career path for players from a nation with no transfer agreement with the NHL. Just days earlier, the main face of that debate, Matvei Michkov, had been confirmed to join the Philadelphia Flyers after a couple of years of uncertainty about his situation. In that case, his KHL contract was actually terminated early to allow for the move, and that suddenly boosted Demidov’s stock. A handful of clubs had him near the top of their lists, but Montreal was the team to claim his rights.

The player they selected had just put together a great year. Despite playing only 30 games in the regular MHL season, Demidov posted 60 points, four back of the Russian Junior league’s leading scorer, Ivan Volgin, who played 24 more games. He then co-led the post-season with 28 points in 17 games. Even with his limited playing time, he finished third in the league in plus-minus at +47, and tied for the top spot in the playoffs at +19.

Voting

Though he is a new addition to the organization, Demidov received no votes lower than third from our 11 individual panellists, and received four nods as the best player under 25.. Adding in the community ballots, his most common landing spot was two, where he ultimately ends up.

When doing my ballot, the top debate was between Demidov and Cole Caufield for second place. For the majority, the debate was actually between Demidov and Juraj Slafkovský for top spot, with over a quarter of community ballots having the new draftee at the very top of their lists.

First-Round Pick Debuts

We’ve seen new first-round picks debut in third place in our rankings before: Alex Galchenyuk (2012), Mikhail Sergachev (2016), and Slafkovský (2022) have all done so. Demidov is the first 18-year-old to start off his seven years of eligibility in the project at second.

History of #2

Strengths

The skill that immediately stands out when you watch Demidov is his stick-handing ability. The puck stays precisely where he wants it to as he carries it around the ice, and he can quickly move it in any direction to make a play. He can handle it close to his body rather than dangling it several feet ahead of him, making it more difficult for opponents to intervene.

What becomes quickly apparent after watching him for a few shifts is how intelligent he is. He anticipates the movement of players on both teams, and seems to be a step ahead of everyone else. It often looks like he’s playing a different game, and to an extent that is true. Most players, even at the NHL level, view a defender as having about an eight-foot radius that needs to be avoided to stay out of a player’s reach. Demidov’s quick hands allow him to disregard an opposing stick completely, and only has the three-foot radius of a player’s feet to concern himself with. He’ll drive right at defenders through their stick-check, and then only has to get the puck past — or through — their feet to make a play.

 

 

The offensive zone must look a lot bigger and more open than it does for fans and even other players with such small obstacles in the way, and that leads to an effective playmaking game. He treats defenders the same way when trying to send the puck past them, finding tight gaps in front of their skates to slot the puck through. Sometimes his calculated trajectories don’t work and the puck fails to reach its destination, but when a cross-ice pass does connect through traffic it leaves little chance for a goaltender.

His great hands and smarts combine with agile feet to make a good transition skater. He can glide around the ice on his edges waiting for his lane to open up. He sees a route to the offensive zone and works past players to get there, but can get too ambitious in those situations and have the play turned back. When he does get into the offensive zone he’ll usually just decide to keep going to finish off the rush with an offensive chance. A couple of quick dekes at the top of the crease to tuck it past the goaltender or pulling the puck in to his body to use the defenceman as a screen are among his favourite methods of shooting the puck, making most of his shots of the dangerous variety.

Ivan Demidov pulled off the Nikita Kucherov “no shot, fake shot” move today 😮‍💨

The hype keeps building (via @khl_eng) pic.twitter.com/WQV9Jj12uL

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) August 29, 2024

He is a solid 192 pounds at 6’0″, and says he wants to be closer to 200 pounds before arriving in North America. That build is key to the style he plays to power past defenders and work the puck off the boards, and he shouldn’t have too much trouble versus better defenders in the KHL and NHL.

He clearly doesn’t lack for confidence. Taking his time at the draft to find the right words in English for his answers to reporters despite not being fluent in the language yet was what impressed me the most after he was selected. He saw it as a challenge, and passed that test as well.

Weaknesses

At times he can be too confident, as the failed cross-crease passes and thwarted neutral-zone rushes indicate. Sometimes the better play is to defer to a teammate or turn back to try a rush again, and he will learn which strategies are the most effective as his career continues, but high-risk plays will always be a hallmark of his game.

What he needs to work on most is his defensive play. It’s difficult to convince such a gifted player that he needs to put in the work in his own end, but those offensive tools can’t be used if he spends his time inside his own blue line. There’s nothing missing from his skill set to let him become a good defensive player, with the awareness, strength, and good stick to make any play a forward needs to, and he’s already an average player in that aspect. It’s just a matter of him committing to the role, and really unlocking his full talent.

Projection

There should be no questioning his commitment to the NHL and joining the Canadiens. He’s stated repeatedly that his plan is to spend just this season in the KHL before heading to Montreal, and he’s already begun to learn French, in addition to his English studies, in preparation for that move in the near future.

Before that happens, he’s back in action for the 2024-25 season, set to play his first game of the KHL season today after four limited appearances in the league last year. He hit the highlight reel several times on the league’s under-23 team in the pre-season tournament, and we will be seeing many more incredible scoring plays from player #91 throughout his first and only full KHL campaign.

He should slot directly into Montreal’s top six when he arrives as long as his defensive play doesn’t hamper the team there, though that likely won’t be the case. With his intelligence close to that of Nick Suzuki, the interplay between those two on the same line could be quite the spectacle. While Demidov is listed as a winger, all of these talents lend well to a spot at centre, and he does occasionally play the position. If he does play with Suzuki, their listed positions would be moot once the puck is dropped.

Demidov is a top-line player, and one who drives the play on the ice (ultimately what led me to place him ahead of Caufield, who is more of a complementary player on a main trio). He has the skills to be a major contributor, and superstar status as a 100-plus-point player is an attainable ceiling.

Ivan Demidov, with Hadi Kalakeche of EOTP and Elite Prospects.

1:30 – Hadi’s excitement
2:30 – Having fun on the ice, the unpredictability.
3:30 – Demidov’s ‘weird’ skating.
6:00 – SKA Arena and the St Petersburg Ice Palace are NHL dimensions.
8:00 – The difference between Demidov and Michkov.
10:45 – The implications of Demidov staying with SKA.
12:15 – Who got the best player?
14:15 – Wing or Centre?
15:30 – Commercial Break
15:35 – Will Demidov play MHL this season?
16:30 – What is a good season for Demidov this year?
20:00 – Player comparison.
22:00 – Ranking him as number one in the top 25 under 25.
22:45 – Splitting up lines when Demidov comes over.
24:00 – AHL?