On Tuesday, Chris Peters of FloHockey joined Mitch Melnick on TSN 690’s Melnick in the Afternoon and gave his opinion on the development of Montreal Canadiens 2024 fifth-overall draft pick Ivan Demidov.
View the original article to see embedded media.
Peters said that with a fifth overall draft pick, you need to have “cautious optimism.” His input is that “let’s say Demidov does not make the roster so SKA St Petersburg’s KHL team next year, and he ends up in the MHL for the season, then all of a sudden, we’re all talking that he probably needs at least a full year in the AHL after that.”
Peters elaborated even further, saying “I think even if he plays in the KHL there’s still potential that he’s going to have to spend some time in Laval… Because there’s no doubt that he’s exciting, but he also has to get the reps.”
Related: More on Montreal Canadiens Prospect Ivan Demidov
It’s fair to say that Demidov needs substantial playing time in the KHL to prepare for the NHL and that the MHL is not a league that is comparable enough to junior league competition in North America—which Peters does bring up later in the interview. If that’s the case, the Russian prospect is not being granted what he deserves to smoothly transition to the NHL.
Not to come off as short-sighted and make an assumption on a player who has yet to play in an NHL game, but this is Demidov we’re talking about. There hasn’t been a prospect with this high of an offensive upside in the Canadiens system for many years.
I think the strongest argument for Demidov to play in the NHL and not the AHL is that, quite frankly, Montreal does not have the depth up front to ignore what he brings to the table. The first line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky is solid. Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach are looking to have a strong campaign on the second line. Outside of that, there’s been a lot of plug-and-play from the coaching staff to make up the bottom six.
I will take a moment to just say that Josh Anderson hasn’t panned out as the front office had hoped, Brendan Gallagher has endured countless injuries affecting his game and Joel Armia has performed accurately to his abilities with the minutes he’s been given. Kent Hughes wanted to acquire a veteran scorer to lend his skill to the offence but came up empty in free agency.
The Canadiens will have an almost identical roster in 2024-25 that they had a year prior. The anticipation for this season, apart from Joshua Roy’s contributions, is how Logan Mailloux, Lane Hutson and potentially David Reinbacher fair in their inaugural campaign. To put it another way, 2024-25’s will focus on how defensive prospects perform. Of course, there is also hope that Dach stays healthy and does well and to see how the established top line improves, but my point still stands.
If Demidov comes into development camp next season, blows the doors off Complexe Sportif CN, then enters training camp and does the same, the Canadiens’ front office has no choice but to allocate minutes in the NHL for the aspiring phenom.
Related
Canadiens: A New Ivan Demidov Interview
Canadiens: Can Dach Get Back on Track?
Canadiens: Ivan Demidov: Goal Scorer, Young Phenom… YouTuber?
Canadiens: Lane Hutson Shows Off His Handles
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens’ page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens
