Kent Hughes' top draft target appears to have emerged

Why? Well, apart from the opening of the free agent market and the management of the salary cap for the upcoming season, the general manager and his assistant, Jeff Gorton, will have to make an informed decision regarding their first pick in the 2024 draft presented in Vegas.

This draft class, rich in terms of good defensemen, also features a lot of extremely talented forwards, especially concerning those who will be selected first. Ivan Demidov is one of them and could potentially see his name come up in the top 5. The right winger is currently playing with SKA-1946 Saint Petersburg in the MHL.

He has accumulated 60 points in 30 games, which surpasses the production at the same age of several Russian stars currently playing in the NHL, including Nikita Kucherov and Artemi Panarin. While these statistics obviously do not project the career of a future prospect, it's still a good sign.

Extremely skilled with the puck and known for his offensive talent, while not neglecting the defensive aspect of the game, he must be considered as an option for the Canadiens, especially since they still lack pure talent in the attack.

In this regard, it wouldn't be too naive to dream of Demidov in the Canadiens' uniform since Eric Engels from Sportsnet, a renowned insider, claims that the Canadiens will consider the Russian forward:

It's up to you to make your own interpretation of Engels' words, but I believe that considering the pool of quality defensive prospects of the Canadiens, and given the rebuilding situation that will extend over a few more years, it wouldn't really be a big risk to set their sights on the young sensation from Saint Petersburg, despite the geopolitical situation in Russia and his contractual situation. It would surely be a low risk, high reward.

Now that Suzuki is an established first center, Caufield is refining his game in both zones, and Slafkovsky is progressing at a very good pace, we are beginning to see a glimmer of hope and a first line forming. They will probably never be 100-point scorers, but if the team can see in Demidov an excellent top 3, or top 6 (by default) forward to join Kirby Dach and possibly Joshua Roy, the team would have an excellent one-two punch, which often makes the difference in winning a Stanley Cup.

Credit: Habs et LNH - Un futur joueur étoile ajouté par le Canadien de Montréal sous peu? On vient d'apprendre que Kent Hughes et Jeff Gorton n'auraient pas peur d'Ivan Demidov