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Kent Hughes hopes Ivan Demidov will have a “Lane Hutson-like” impact next year
Félix Forget
Kent Hughes hopes Ivan Demidov will have a “Lane Hutson-like” impact next year
Credit: Getty Images
Ivan Demidov is a young player who is extremely highly anticipated in Montreal. The young forward, who is having a great season in Russia (even if his coach is holding him back), is one of the most talented prospects in a long time in Montreal.

And there are a lot of people in town who are expecting great things from Demidov.

The plan, for now, is to see Demidov arrive in Montreal next season. His contract ends on May 31st in Russia, and the Habs hope to bring him to America soon after.

He won’t arrive before May 31st, that’s for sure. You can forget that idea.

But next year, the plan is to see him play a big role in Montreal. And that’s what Kent Hughes confirmed in an interview with Frank Seravalli: the GM hopes Demidov will have an impact similar to Lane Hutson next year.

Naturally, in terms of immediate impact, it’s hard to ask for more than what Hutson is bringing to the Habs this season. Hutson has 53 points in 67 games this season, an exceptional harvest for a rookie defenseman.

And just yesterday, his big goal in a crucial game for the Habs was extremely important.

The team hopes that Demidov will be able to have a similar impact next year. We know that Hutson is a big factor in explaining the Habs’ resurgence this season, and Demidov is another piece that could change the game.

And speaking of Hutson, the GM was also asked if Cole Hutson, Lane’s little brother, was considered by the Habs at the last draft.

And as you can hear in the segment that’s already posted here, the answer is no.

Hughes explains that the Habs liked Cole Hutson, but they already have many good left-handed defensemen, and another Hutson would have been a bit redundant. The GM says that the Canadiens had Cole Hutson higher on their list than 43rd (the rank where he was drafted), but they never thought of taking him instead of the players they did select.

And at the same time, Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage (the two young players drafted by the Habs before the 43rd rank) are also excellent prospects.

We’ll see if the future will prove the Canadiens right… but for next season, the team is expecting big things from Ivan Demidov.

Let’s hope he can, like Lane Hutson this year, change the game for the Habs next year.


In a lot of ways

– Patrik Laine made similar comments.

– Good listen.

– He might have been better off paying a bit more attention to the Habs last night, hehe.

– The support players stood up yesterday.

– Mathieu Boislard leaves the Lions.

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