“If my job is on the line, I’ll take one of the Canadians before Ivan Demidov”.

There are now less than twenty days to go before the 2024 NHL Entry Draft gets underway. We’re expecting an auction with plenty of surprises… after the top spot.

Macklin Celebrini will almost certainly become a member of the Sharks… and then it’s off to the races.

Yesterday morning, Corey Pronman published a paper in which he tries to get information from scouts and executives in the hockey world. Among his questions, the subject of Ivan Demidov came up.

He knows that the young Russian forward is a divisive figure, so he thought it appropriate to ask some questions.

And on this subject, the response of one of the scouts, who sees Demidov as having the potential to be the second-best prospect of the auction, is very interesting:

If my job is on the line, I’ll take one of the hyper-talented Canadians (Cayden Lindstrom, Tij Iginla or Berkly Catton) before Ivan Demidov. – Anonymous recruiter

New post @TheAthleticNHL: 2024 NHL Draft confidential, what scouts think of the top prospects in this year’s class https://t.co/kxYxB0nGbc

– Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) June 11, 2024

His reasoning is pretty simple: he’s confident that Demidov has the potential to be excellent, but he’s aware that there’s a big risk that comes with selecting a 5-foot-11 Russian winger. It’s much easier to see and talk to prospects playing in the CHL, for example.

So, instead of trying to hit a home run with Demidov, trying to hit a home run with one of the Canadian prospects is possibly less risky, especially since they’re loaded with talent too.

And obviously, the thing that comes back to Demidov is the fact that his skating stroke is… peculiar. Another scout doesn’t think he’s ever seen an NHL player skate like that, so he sees him more as a prospect who would be comfortable being drafted outside the top-5.

Maybe it’s a scout from a team ranked between 6th and 10th trying to get him to drop.

What’s more, an NHL team executive polled about Demidov makes the following assertion:

He’s not even close to Matvei Michkov at the same age. – Anonymous executive

The article also makes some good points about the young Russian, but it’s understandable that he’s not unanimously praised.

And it’s also understandable that some scouts think Demidov’s gamble may be a little too risky. Can’t wait to see if the Canadian is one of them.

Overtime

– Quite a story.

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