Kent Hughes and the Canadiens could add future star player Ivan Demidov this summer

Everything indicates that Martin St-Louis, Kent Hughes, and Jeff Gorton will have the opportunity to make a great pick in the draft in June, but that's not all.

Even though the 2024 NHL draft class is not as talent-rich as that of 2023, there are still many talented young players who will be selected in the top 10.

And as you know, the Canadiens will most likely have a pick among the first 10 selections, and there is always the possibility of winning the lottery.

In fact, a top-5 pick is very plausible.


If the unanimous first pick this year is named Macklin Celebrini, it becomes a bit more complex to know who will be the second pick of the 2024 class, but there is a young player who could potentially go in the second spot, namely Ivan Demidov.

Playing in the MHL, the junior league, the young right winger, whom some compare to Matvei Michkov, is having a great season there with a tally of 60 points in 30 games, thus averaging two points per game, with SKA-1946 St. Petersburg.

However, there might be some concerns surrounding him, as happened last year with Michkov, but as reported by Cédrick Gervais from the site Marqueur.com, the Canadiens' management will not have any concerns regarding Ivan Demidov.

At least that's what Sportsnet's insider Eric Engels recently stated.


It's very interesting to learn that unlike Matvei Michkov, Kent Hughes could seriously consider choosing the young prospect with his first-round pick.

However, as the Canadiens are ranked 26th in the overall standings at the time of writing these lines, which would give them the seventh overall pick, and it is very likely that the young forward will be chosen among the first five players selected.

Luck will have to play its part and the CH has to be one of the two teams to choose among the first two, or the team must collapse miserably by the end of the season and the Sharks and the Blackhawks overtake the Canadiens in the final standings of the 2023-2024 season, which is very unlikely to happen.

Sean Monahan's potential trade value and the possibility of Trevor Zegras joining the team are hot topics for Montreal Canadiens fans right now.@EricEngels covers that and more in his mailbag. https://t.co/PId4fcoCKt— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 30, 2024