“Ivan Demidov is a better puck handler than Connor Bedard”

It’s already been just over a month since Ivan Demidov became a member of the Habs. The Russian forward, considered by many to be one of the Bettman circuit’s elite prospects, is one of the most promising youngsters in the Habs’ recent history.

We’re talking about a guy who has the potential to become one of the NHL’s top forwards, after all.

For many, seeing him drop to fifth was almost a surprise. After all, in terms of pure talent, he seems to have a head start on guys drafted before him.

Because clearly, there’s a buzz in the hockey world about Demidov’s offensive potential. We’re talking about a guy who excels on many levels, including his ability to handle the puck.

And in a paper written before the draft (found by the HabsOnReddit account on X), Sebastian High, who works for the Dobber Prospects site (a reference when it comes to prospects) made the following statement:

He’s the best puck-handler we’ve seen in the last three vintages, and that includes Connor Bedard. – Sebastian High

Dobber Prospects’ Sebastian High on Ivan Demidov back in June (pre-NHL draft):

pic.twitter.com/EQKNHLPo6r

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) August 5, 2024

Of course, we know that Bedard isn’t exactly a bad player. His main asset is his shot, but we’re talking about a puck handler of very, very high quality.

In junior, when he was spied on by scouts, he had a few sequences where he made opposing players look pretty bad.

Bedard backhand toe between the legs to avoid the secondary defender. Nasty handles pic.twitter.com/fk7xyO4H0M

– Pavel Barber (@HeyBarber) December 5, 2022

And clearly, the experts at Dobber Prospects are thinking big about the Habs prospect’s offensive potential. In addition to talking about his puck-handling skills, they (as with all prospects) gave each player’s offensive potential, as well as a conservative projection.

For Demidov, the conservative projection sees him scoring 30 goals and 70 points in a season… but the more optimistic projection sees him as a guy who can score 50 goals and 120 points in a season. Remember that in the history of the Habs, only Guy Lafleur has ever reached the 120-point plateau, having done so five times.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Demidov will ever reach that plateau. What it does mean, however, is that the hockey world sees in Demidov a guy who, as High says, could be in the top-10 NHL scorers for many seasons to come.

Nothing less.

Overtime

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