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Nikita Zadorov does not understand why the Hawks ignored Ivan Demidov in the draft
Credit: Getty Images
When the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Cayden Lindstrom with the 4th pick in the last draft, we all said the same thing.

Yeah! Ivan Demidov is coming to Montreal!

Many were truly satisfied with the choice of the Montreal organization, and that’s understandable. Demidov was seen even before the draft as a player of great talent, and we’ve seen that since the beginning of the season in the KHL. The Canadiens are lucky to have seen him slide to the 5th selection!

At this level, Nikita Zadorov, who played in Chicago in recent years (2020-2021), does not understand the Hawks’ decision to have overlooked Demidov in the draft.

It doesn’t take anything away from Artyom Levshunov, but he was surprised to see the Hawks select a defenseman when Demidov was still available.

He talked about it during an interview with RG Média:

If I were Chicago, I would have taken him. When you have a player with such natural talent and such a hockey IQ, in my opinion, you take him, and the rest will sort itself out later. – Nikita Zadorov

It’s hard to believe that Zadorov is the only NHL player who thinks this way:

By drafting Ivan Demidov, the Hawks could have had one of the good one-two punches in the National Hockey League.

Demidov with Connor Bedard, it seems that would be enough to scare any NHL team… But the team decided to take a different path by improving its defensive corps.

They drafted Levshunov because they had a need, but it’s not like the kid is tearing it up this season in the AHL:

(Credit: HockeyDB)

I know, I know…

It can take a while before a defenseman reaches the peak of his potential. But Levshunov’s performance is far from spectacular, and in the meantime, Ivan Demidov is one of the best players in the KHL at only 18 years old…

After all, since Bedard was selected first overall in 2023, we keep saying that the Hawks need to find a way to surround him well.

That said, Bedard would have had a hand quickly with Demidov in the lineup, and that’s where I think they missed out.

Again, Bedard and Demidov in the same lineup would have been frightening…


In Brief

– Things are going well for the Canadiens prospect lately.

– That would be quite a surprise.

– It’s Kidney’s time to shine.

– It’s true that we hardly hear about him anymore.

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