The first Montreal Canadiens pick of the 2024 NHL Draft is officially in.
Taking to the podium with special guest Celine Dion, the Habs addressed one of their needs by selecting Russian forward Ivan Demidov with the fifth overall pick.
ICONIQUE ✨#GoHabsGo | #RepêchageLNH | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/NTHOxwRDaA
— Canadiens MontrĂ©al (@CanadiensMTL) June 28, 2024
Projected to go second overall in Bob McKenzie’s final draft ranking, Demidov is considered an elite, offensively productive playmaker.
The Elite Prospects 2024 NHL Draft Guide called Demidov “the most singularly skilled prospect in this year’s draft,” referring to him as a “human highlight reel.”
He’s coming off an explosive campaign that saw him net 60 points in just 30 games.
“We’re not surprised. We believed and hoped that [Demidov] would fall to five,” Canadiens GM Kent Hughes told TVA Sports after making the selection. “We got the player that we were targeting the whole time.”
After making a trade with the Los Angeles Kings this afternoon, the Canadiens have nine more picks remaining in the ongoing draft at the Las Vegas Sphere.
They’ll select another player at 21st overall.
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