How to steal the show in Las Vegas?
You invite the queen of the city. You entrust her with the announcement of the selection of the team’s most electrifying prospect in a long time. Then you end the evening by offering a chance to a Francophile center whose personal story will move even the most hardened supporter.
Jackpot!
Well, we don’t yet know what it will look like on the ice in five years. But for one evening, Friday, the Canadian shined as bright as the neon lights of the Strip.
“We are honored to welcome our biggest fan, the one and only Celine Dion,” said general manager Kent Hughes when his team was first selected. The diva, radiant, emerged from the backstage of the Sphere on the arm of her son René-Charles. A rare public outing for the Quebec star, who suffers from stiff person syndrome. Commissioner Gary Bettman was very proud to welcome him to the big stage.
“I’m excited. I am a hockey mom ! “, she said, before taking her time to theatrically announce the identity of the Habs’ first choice, Ivan Demidov.
Here again, a nice surprise. For several weeks, the arena echoes had been associating him with the Canadian. It was still necessary for the Russian hope to be available at fifth place. It was far from certain. Because have you seen his clips on the internet? I swear, it is great art.
Ivan Demidov has an innate sense of the game, astonishing agility and exceptional hands. His style is somewhat reminiscent of another Artist we liked in Montreal, Alex Kovalev. You have to see his high-speed feints, in tight spaces. That explains how he was able to maintain an average of two points per game last season in Russia. Now, a little warning before immediately casting his bronze statue in front of the Bell Centre. Unlike Matvei Michkov the year before his selection, Demidov did not spend the majority of last season in the Russian first division. He played instead in the country’s junior league, with teenagers and young adults. We will have to see how he will adapt his game against veterans in the KHL next winter, then in North America, probably the following year.
Still, on paper, Canadiens fans have reason to be excited. Ivan Demidov is the type of player every organization dreams of.
On TVA Sports, the Canadiens’ director of recruiting, Martin Lapointe, even wondered if his new recruit wasn’t the most talented forward in his cohort. Demidov also has a profile that complements the club’s other wingers. He’s not a natural scorer, like Cole Caufield. He’s not as physical a player as Juraj Slafkovsky. He’s more of a playmaker, like there are too few among the organization’s wingers.
In the short term, Demidov will expand to St. Petersburg. In the medium term, rest assured that the Canadian will give him every chance to establish himself on one of his first two lines, as well as on the first wave of the numerical advantage.
With its other first round choice, the CH drafted Michael Hage, to whom Montreal fans will quickly become attached. This Ontario center player, a Habs fan since childhood, has roots here. His grandparents live in Montreal. His French is also impeccable.
Hage suffered the loss of his father in a tragic accident last year. Despite that ordeal, he just finished fourth in USHL scoring. As with Demidov, don’t expect to contribute quickly.
Hage won’t play in Montreal next fall, and probably not the one after that either. He’ll be a long-term project, as are pretty much all the players drafted around No. 21.e rank.
Finally, a small downside in this evening full of emotions: the Canadian was unable to exchange one of his defenders for immediate help in attack. The winning conditions do not seem to be met. It must be recognized that there were a lot of good defensemen in the draft, and that there will be others available when the free agent market opens on Monday. It’s annoying. Trading a defender remains the Canadian’s best option to acquire offensive reinforcements and progress in their reconstruction – while waiting for Demidov.