NHL Legend Has Kind Words for Canadiens Rookie

Demidov is a rink rat, and the Canadiens welcome that, just take the way the club welcomed Lane Hutson and allow him to take risks and develop into an offensive dynamo defenseman, for example. The Canadiens are going to give Demidov everything he needs to succeed. 

He also has the work ethic, that spirit that Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and many of the great Russian hockey players have. They are durable and strong, and the longevity is rare, but Demidov has the extra something to him; he is going to change so many things for the Canadiens.

Demidov is the type of player that will make No. 93 a household name for Canadiens fans all over the globe. It's no wonder that the organization was sent into a frenzy when he dropped into general manager Kent Hughes' lap at fifth overall in 2024.

His play in the KHL reinforced Hughes' decision as a positive one, and his NHL arrival only solidified that the Canadiens struck gold with Demidov. The fact that he slid past No. 2 overall makes this pick one that will be featured in many future iterations of 2024 re-drafts.

The city of Montreal is already in love with Demidov, and the fact that his jerseys will litter the crowd through all 41 of the Canadiens home games, and likely many of their road games, despite playing only seven games donning the storied franchises famous colors, says a lot about the kind of play that he is.

Demidov's maturity and ability to handle the pressure of the hottest hockey hotbed of all is a testament to his character, which the Canadiens' European Director of Scouting, Nikolai Bobrov, knew all about, thanks to his meticulous scouting of top Russian prospects.

While Demidov slipped down the board to fifth, there was zero chance that Bobrov was going to let Hughes pass up on the next Canadiens superstar forward, even if he was overlooked four times