Habs scout makes a crazy statement between Ivan Demidov and Guy Lafleur
Photo credit: NHL
Kent Hughes places his bets to create a solid roster, with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, and Juraj Slafkovsky, paired with Ivan Demidov.
That sounds promising.
Martin St-Louis will have several options at his disposal to create the most effective combinations possible. One of these could be an Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky duo.
We just learned that Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky already know each other a bit, having faced each other twice!
As former NHL scout Grant McCagg informs us, the two Canadiens prospects already know each other. They even faced each other twice during the 2021 Hlinka-Gretzky tournament. At that time, Slaf was 17 years old while the Canadiens' most recent pick was only 15.
A sequence during one of those games shows, despite his youth and limited ice time, how Demidov got the better of Slafkovsky. You can see that his small stature did not disadvantage him against the great size of his future teammate and how he managed to dodge a check to make a magnificent pass in front of the goal.
"The young Ivan Demidov, 15 years old, faced Slafkovsky twice during the 2021 Ivan Hlinka tournament. He didn't play much in those games, but he got the better of Slaf with that beautiful decisive pass. Even then, you could see how strong he was on his skates as Slaf tried to check him against the boards." - Grant McCagg
This shows that even at 15, Demidov already had good lower-body strength that helped him compensate for his height. Now that we know he is over six feet tall, we can imagine he has retained that strength and will still be able to use it against men.
In a recent edition of the Sickpodcast with Tony Marinaro, McCagg gave the ultimate compliment regarding Demidov. He claims the Russian is the best pure talent drafted by the Canadiens since Guy Lafleur!
"I think he may be the best pure talent the Canadiens have drafted since Guy Lafleur." - Grant McCagg
Wow!
We are already dreaming of what he could do in the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge uniform as early as 2025. In the meantime, we have this to look forward to.
Credit: HABSolumentFan
Ivan Demidov et Juraj Slafkovsky se sont déjà affrontés à deux reprises
Ivan Demidov et Juraj Slafkovsky se sont déjà affrontés à deux reprises
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