After striker Macklin Celebrini, it cannot be said that there were many dominant offensive players left in this draft. However, many agree that Russian Ivan Demidov was the most talented candidate among the other players. Even ahead of Cayden Lindstrom, Tij Iginla, Beckett Sennecke or Berkly Catton.

Many even think that Demidov is a bargain at number 5 on the Canadian, as he will quickly develop into an important player in the NHL. At least that’s what Canadian development director Martin Lapointe thinks. But he’s not the only one.

We’ll have to wait to see his true potential, but the 18-year-old is already being compared to Nikita Kucherov and Kirill Kaprizov on the Bettman circuit, and having his name alongside two dominant players is no small feat.

“Demidov is the highlight of the draft. He is the player we were looking for. We were lucky to have five of them. He was the player we had our sights on for a long time. Nick saw him play in Russia in person. We know he has good relations with Russia. Ivan also wanted to play in Montreal. » Martin Lapointe

Demidov is under contract for one more season with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL and will be coming to America in just a year, but another season of experience in Russia won’t hurt either.

He still has a lot to improve, including his physical strength and skating, but he already has golden hands and impressive offensive vision, traits that make him a promising player for the Habs in two years.