Can Ivan Demidov become the Canadiens’ first superstar scorer since Guy Lafleur?

Credit: Ivan Demidov (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

LAS VEGAS – To follow along with Ivan Demidov’s Friday evening was to experience joy incarnate.

It started with a dramatic, WWE-inspired entrance by pop ballad icon Celine Dion, who took the podium at the 2024 NHL Draft in Vegas, her current hometown, to announce the pick for her original hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens. The dazzling, overwhelming atmosphere of the state-of-the-art Sphere seemed to pause, the crowd holding its breath as she took her sweet time building suspense.

When she spoke Demidov’s name, Habs fans who’d made the trek let out a guttural roar from the rafters. And Demidov was equally floored. It was all so surreal.

“It’s like a book, like a movie,” he said. “I know who she is. I watched the movie Titanic.”

With the fifth pick, Montreal landed a player perceived by most scouts to be worthy of a top-two pick, talent wise – and perhaps even the most purely skilled player in the entire class of 2024. His creative, crafty offensive game has been likened to that of two-time scoring champion Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Demidov sees some Kucherov in himself in terms of hockey IQ, and he described his game Friday as “a bit of Jack Hughes and a bit of Kirill Kaprizov.” Whichever comparison you like, it’s clear the drafting of Demidov is a potential landmark moment for the franchise. Yes, they nabbed hulking power forward Juraj Slafkovsky first overall in 2022. They also drafted a record-breaking goal scorer out of USA Hockey’s National Team Development program in 2019 in Cole Caufield. But the Demidov pick is different. If he’s able to reach his ceiling, he represents the greatest pure scoring threat the Habs have drafted since…Guy Lafleur.

Wait, what?

No. Seriously. Take a breath and dive into the facts. The last Hab to win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring champ was indeed Lafleur in 1977-78. The last Canadiens player to score 100 points in a season was Mats Naslund 38 years ago, and that was only good for eighth in NHL scoring during the the peak era of offense. The last Hab to score 50 goals was Stephane Richer 34 years ago. This franchise has been starved for the type of upper-echelon scorer who regularly challenges for scoring titles, and Demidov has a very real chance to be one.

No pressure, kid. But if Friday’s post-pick media availability was any indication, Demidov will handle the heat in Montreal very well. The 18-year-old out of Sergiyev Posad, Russia, was positively ecstatic to don the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge sweater, practically trembling with euphoria, showing reporters the goosebumps on his hands. He happily dove headfirst into speaking English, a language he only started learning one and a half years ago, in hopes of adequately expressing how amazing he felt. But as he pointed out Friday, he’ll have to start working on his French, too. He explained that he thought about being a Hab on Thursday night when he went to sleep, wondering if he might fall to the No. 5 slot.

“When they called my name, it’s an unbelievable moment,” he said. “From childhood all players dream about it. And now dreams come true. And in an unbelievable city like Montreal. It’s crazy, you know?”

Demidov simply oozed excitement Friday and can’t wait to make an impact at the NHL level. Unlike with many Russian born prospects, he isn’t too far away from doing so. He confirmed Friday that he plans to come to North America as soon as his current KHL contract with SKA Saint Petersburg expires after the 2024-25 season. He made a mockery of the MHL, the Russian junior circuit, this past season, compiling a staggering 60 points in 30 games. He’ll earn some experience against pros in Russia this coming season, but the KHL has never been a league that prioritizes giving young players big minutes. He’ll arguably have a better chance to develop in North America. He probably has the skills to put up numbers in the NHL right away but recognizes that he’s not yet a complete project, especially considering he only recently had a growth spurt to reach six-foot and 192 pounds.

“I need to be more explosive and have a little bit more strength,” Demidov said. “[But] The other skills I have to be an NHL player.”

If there’s any coach who can help him smooth out the rough edges in his game, it’s Martin St. Louis. But ultimately, it’s not 200-foot play that will make Demidov a potential franchise-changer anyway. The Habs haven’t finished with a top-25 offense or power play since 2020-21. Nick Suzuki will top out as a great two-way center, and while Slafkovsky and Caufield both have potential to be all-stars going forward, Demidov is singular in what he can bring. To be clear, nothing is guaranteed. But there’s no denying what type of ceiling he offers.

If everything breaks right, Montreal could have its first marquee point accumulator since the Flower ruled the late 1970s.

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Can Ivan Demidov become the Canadiens’ first superstar scorer since Guy Lafleur?

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