“It’s not completely out of the question for Demidov to slip down to 5th place”.

In a few weeks’ time, the Canadiens will have the fifth-highest draft slot. It’s the first time the club has drafted this high since… 2023, when David Reinbacher was selected fifth overall.

I wonder if Carey Price, another fifth overall, will come back to announce the Flanelle’s pick.

Between now and June 28, when everyone is gathered in the Vegas sphere, everyone will be trying to guess who the Habs’ pick will be. I already started a bit this morning… #CaydenLindstrom?

Basically, even though we’re only a few weeks away from the auction, we understand something: the “pivotal” pick of the auction will come well before the Habs’ pick, unlike last year.

In 2023, we knew that Connor Bedard was going to be the first pick, but we also knew that, in no particular order, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli and Will Smith were going to come out before the Montreal pick.

In fact, the consensus this season is that by the second pick (Chicago), it could go either way.

Scott Powers, who covers the Chicago Blackhawks for The Athletic, wrote about the fact that we still don’t know whether Ivan Demidov or Artyom Levshunov will be the Illinois club’s pick.

The way I see it right now, I really don’t think it’s possible for Demidov, a top-notch left-shooting winger, to make it out of the top-3 and Levshunov, a top-notch right-handed defenseman, to make it out of the top-4.

But reading a piece by Radio-Canada’s Marc Antoine Godin, we find the following words:

That said, it’s not completely out of the question that Demidov slips to No. 5, which would undoubtedly be a godsend for the Habs. – Marc Antoine Godin

I’m not holding my breath on this one, and I still think that if Demidov lands in Montreal, it will be because the Habs will have managed to move up in the draft via a trade(which is possible) on auction day.

Let’s not forget that the Habs would be confident of having a good forward on hand, given that several defensemen could go quite high in the draft.

The way I see it, Celebrini, Demidov and Levshunov won’t be available to the Habs. It just remains to be seen whether the Ducks or Blue Jackets will choose a defenseman to leave the Habs with all the other forwards.

Arpon Basu, of The Athletic, took a look at the needs of the clubs ahead of the Habs in the draft. And his conclusion is that the Blue Jackets can take the best player available and that the Ducks would be better off taking Levshunov.

That would leave Lindstrom to the Habs. But obviously, it’s still too early to draw any conclusions.

We should also mention that, according to Bob McKenzie, five defensemen will be drafted in the top-10, including two in the top-4: Anton Silayev and Artyom Levshunov. In his view, only Celebrini and Demidov will be unavailable to the Habs among the forwards.

In bursts

– Logical.

– The Habs look bad, indeed.

– Ouch.

– Of note.