Ivan Demidov: Scott Wheeler’s top 3 NHL prospects

Ever since the Canadiens succeeded in drafting Ivan Demidov, everyone in Montreal has been very happy. The club sees him in its soup, the fans see him as a saviour… and we understand that he’ll be under pressure.

He looks like a guy who can take the pressure, which is a good thing. We’ll have to wait and see in Montreal, however, before we can judge all that in his case.

That should be a year from now.

To (among other things) talk about Ivan Demidov, Tony Marinaro invited Scott Wheeler to his Sick Podcast last night. The Athletic’s hopeful specialist is a good resource on the subject.

Here’s the result, for those who want to listen.

Scott Wheeler Breaks Down The Habs’ 2024 Draft | The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro July 11 2024 https://t.co/cAPVUNaDmY

– The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) July 12, 2024

Those who follow his work on The Athletic know that Wheeler is impressed because he sees from Demidov. In his eyes, he’s the second-best player in the 2024 draft.

The fact that the Habs were able to land him at #5 is quite a feat in his eyes.

It’s not just his great talent that has Wheeler ranking him high on his list of prospects for the 2024 auction. His physical maturity, his play without the puck and the way he fights on the ice are also factors to consider.

In fact, in his eyes, Demidov is a star who has more skill with the puck than Macklin Celebrini. That doesn’t mean he’s better: just that with the puck, he’s more talented.

“I think he’s a star…he’s the most purely skilled player in this class, Celebrini included, [in terms of] puck skills…He’s one of the most talented 1 on 1 individual creators that I’ve ever scouted in 11 years…”

– Scott Wheeler on Ivan Demidov on the Sick Podcast tonight pic.twitter.com/8meBCcrvpw

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 12, 2024

But how does he compare to other NHL prospects?

Marinaro asked Wheeler if he preferred Matvei Michkov to Ivan Demidov, and the prospect expert said that next week, he’ll be releasing his ranking (top-100) of the best prospects in the entire NHL.

He added that the two guys were nose-to-nose in his rankings and just behind Celebrini. So that means Demidov is in Wheeler’s top-3.

He seems to be saying that Mishkov is ahead of Demidov, but…

You can argue both positions [Demidov in front or behind Michkov], but I’m leaning towards Michkov because I think he has a bigger killer instinct offensively. – Scott Wheeler

In his eyes, however, the Habs prospect has more highlights than the Flyers prospect with the puck on his stick. They’re both talented prospects, but I’d add this: don’t forget that one of them has a bad reputation and the other doesn’t.

Wheeler also believes that Demidov is more complete than Mishkov. We’ll see who has the better career in the end.