For the second consecutive year, the Montreal Canadiens will be selecting fifth overall in the draft. Last year they went for defence by picking David Reinbacher. This season, they seem determined to address the forward depth of the organization, which has been lacking for some time.
The Canadiens find themselves selecting after a group of teams going through the first stage of a rebuild. The Habs have advanced to the tail end of that phase, and can address some of the holes that have been left during that process.
It’s not often much is known about the selections beforehand, but this year it seems teams are letting much more slip about their thought processes. First of all, San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier confirmed publicly than he would be taking Macklin Celebrini first overall. As we approach the draft, it also seems like the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks have their eyes on defence.
- Macklin Celebrini – San Jose Sharks
- Artyom Levshunov – Chicago Blackhawks
- Anton Silayev – Anaheim Ducks
- Cayden Lindstrom – Columbus Blue Jackets
Should picks two and three go that way, that would be good news for Montreal, which has addressed the defensive depth in recent years. The Habs would be able to select either Cayden Lindstrom or Ivan Demidov when their turn comes at fifth, with the other likely taken off the board by the Columbus Blue Jackets. For this exercise, the EOTP staff debated as if those two forwards are both options for the Canadiens, and it was a unanimous decision to select Demidov, while knowing that Lindstrom would be an excellent consolation prize.
Ivan Demidov – #5 Selection
The Canadiens are in need of dynamic forwards, and they couldn’t hope for a better player than Demidov to add to the organization. The team is clearly very interested in him — another of the teams not keeping their pre-draft desires a secret — having met with him several times over the past few weeks.
Demidov is an excellent puck-handler, dancing around defenders like they’re not even there by keeping the puck close to their feet. He’s an assertive offensive player who sets his sights on the net and isn’t afraid to go through multiple opponents to get there. He’s a very intelligent player who sees things developing on the ice before anyone else can, and at most times the game looked too easy for him, which it certainly was in the Russian Junior league this season.
In his case, there’s little reason to be concerned that he was just feasting on poor competition to get his points. All of his offensive moves are translatable to the NHL, where he’s still going to be one of the smartest players on the ice.
It would be a lot of fun to see what he could do on a line with the current most intelligent player in Montreal, Nick Suzuki. The interplay between two players who possess the dual threats of shooting and passing could unlock the best in both players and lead to a long partnership. The presence of Kirby Dach in the organization allows Cole Caufield or Juraj Slafkovský to drop down a line with little impact on his effectiveness, or for Demidov to work with Dach instead. Having a gifted player like Demidov adds some needed versatility to the top six and gives the Canadiens an enviable forward core, potentially for a long time.
Demidov has just one year remaining on his contract with the KHL’s SKA Saint Petersburg. He will be free to join the NHL team for the beginning of the 2025-26 season.
(Note: To see results, click “See previous responses” after voting)
Andrew Basha – #26 Selection
Kent Hughes has established a pattern of making a trade with one of his first-round picks to acquire an established NHL player, and the indication is that this year will be no different. Should he choose to hold onto his other first-round pick, the one acquired from the Winnipeg Jets for Sean Monahan, there will be some enticing players available. For this pick we leaned on the EOTP consensus draft rankings, letting the top 25 in that list serve as the top 25 selections, and then made our choice from the players remaining.
Looking at the available names, Lindstrom’s Medicine Hat Tigers teammate Andrew Basha was the one who stood out as a player who should probably have been ranked higher. He’s another dynamic forward whose game is based on speed, skill, and energy. He’s very strong in all three zones, and has several paths to an NHL role. Coming away from the opening night of the draft with both Demidov and Basha would change the complexion of the Canadiens’ forward depth dramatically.
The history of Eyes On The Prize’s NHL Mock Draft selections
2024: Andrew Basha (26th)
2024: Ivan Demidov (fifth)
2023 Gracyn Sawchyn (31st)
2023: Zach Benson (fifth)
2022: Jagger Firkus (26th)
2022: Shane Wright (first)
2021: Xavier Bourgault (31st)
2020: Mavrik Bourque (16th)
2019: Thomas Harley (15th)
2018: Filip Zadina (third)
2017: Urho Vaakanainen (25th)
2016: Tyson Jost (ninth)
2015: Thomas Chabot (26th)
2014: David Pastrnak (26th)
2013: Josh Morrissey (25th)
2012: Mikhail Grigorenko (third)
2011: Mark Scheifele (17th)
2010: Ryan Spooner (27th)
2009: Scott Glennie (18th)
