In his latest mailbag article for The Athletic, Corey Pronman was asked to rank the top five prospects of the last three drafts, and he answered: Macklin Celebrini, Conor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli, and Matvei Michkov.
For some, this is an inexplicable snub of Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Ivan Demidov, but those five players have one thing in common: they’ve had much more time to show what they can do at the NHL level.
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With the San Jose Sharks, Celebrini has played 70 games and picked up 63 points, earning himself a Calder Trophy nomination, finishing third in voting with 1,104 points, behind Canadiens’ standout rookie Lane Hutson and Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf.
With the Chicago Blackhawks, first overall pick at the 2023 draft, Bedard has played 150 games and has gathered 128 points. He won the Calder Trophy by an overwhelming majority with 152 first-place votes and a total of 1,808 voting points (just short of Hutson’s 165 first-place votes and 1,832 voting points).
With the Anaheim Ducks, Carlsson has played 131 games and put up 74 points. He didn’t pierce the top five in Calder Trophy voting for the 2023-24 season, but the fact that he only played 55 games in his rookie year probably didn’t help matters.
With the Columbus Blue Jackets, Fantili has skated in 131 games and put up 81 points, not entering the Calder Trophy conversation in 2023-24 either. However, like Carlsson, he only played part of the season, specifically 49 games. Furthermore, this past season wasn’t easy for the Jackets players who had to face the season without the All-Star contribution of Johnny Gaudreau, who tragically died last Summer. In his rookie season, he skated alongside Gaudreau in his most productive quarter, scoring 15 points in those 20 games.
Finally, with the Philadelphia Flyers, Matvei Michkov completed his rookie season with 63 points in 80 games, finishing fourth in voting for the Calder Trophy with 645 points. The Russian finished strong with multiple multi-point games towards the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Demidov spent the season in the KHL, meaning most people didn’t see him play. I don’t count sporadic highlights on social media as watching him play; it’s not enough to get a real feel of what a player can and can’t do. He joined the Canadiens at the end of the season and played in two games, scoring two points in the process, but that’s not a substantial sample.
There are still many unknowns about Demidov; how will he cope with an 82-game grind of a season? What will happen once the other teams have had a chance to study his game in detail and watch a lot of video? If the opponents adapt to him, how will he react?
I’m not saying it won't go well for him, but what I'm saying is that there is no certainty yet, and I can understand Pronman not having him in his top five. Give it time. If Demidov has a rookie season that’s on par with Hutson’s one, I’d be willing to bet good money that he would be on Pronman’s list come next season.
The Canadiens’ rookie is doing everything he can this Summer to ensure he’ll have a smooth transition to the NHL. He chose to spend his offseason in Montreal, working under the close supervision of the Canadiens’ staff, hitting the ice with skills coach Adam Nicholas and also signing up to play three-on-three hockey with the LSHL. He has even committed to taking part in a skills showdown on July 12, where he’ll perform in a shootout contest in Boisbriand on the north shore.
I would even add that “the snub” isn’t a bad thing; there’s enough pressure to perform on the youngster in the giant magnifying glass that is the Montreal market. I get a feeling Demidov is just fine with proving people who don’t necessarily believe in him wrong.
Much will also depend on who the young Russian gets to play for. To start with, it seems evident that the Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky line is not going anywhere, but who does that leave Demidov to play with? Patrik Laine? He’s an elite sniper, but his defensive deficiencies have resulted in reduced ice time towards the end of the season, and that’s not what Demidov will need. Could he ride shotgun with Kirby Dach? The big center had a bad season last year, and he will be playing with the added pressure of proving what he can do in a contract year.
Kent Hughes is reportedly trying to improve his top-six, which could benefit Demidov, but the Canadiens’ GM is far from being the only GM who’s in the market for that kind of help. Wanting to do something doesn’t mean you’ll be able to pull it off.
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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