Ivan Demidov and Cale Makar: the cherry on top of a rebuilding sundae

Montreal Canadiens fans were extremely spoiled at this year’s draft, thanks to the electrifying selection of Russian Céline Dion forward Ivan Demidov at No. 5ᵉ.

It was obviously a landmark moment for everyone, but it was also a landmark moment within the Habs rebuild.

Indeed, the selection of Ivan Demidov really adds even more excitement to this rebuild that is (finally) coming to an end soon.

In other words, Ivan Demidov is the cherry on top of the Habs’ rebuilding sundae.

A very nice cherry, at that.

And that really bodes well, especially when you look at a recent Stanley Cup champion.

Indeed, if we look at the Colorado Avalanche’s rebuilding journey, we realize that, like the Habs, there was a very nice cherry on the sundae at the end of the Avalanche’s rebuild.

Makar, selected 4ᵉth overall in 2017, should ultimately have been drafted higher, as should Demidov, but ultimately landed in the Avalanche’s hands.

Makar then made his way to the NHL while the Avalanche were in the playoffs, so were finally done with their rebuild.

The star defenseman capped off this rebuilding process, as Demidov could do in the next few years, and certainly as early as next season.

This is a really interesting comparison made by Max Van Houtte via his YouTube channel, which I invite you to follow.

Van Houtte explains that with the Avalanche, Makar is the only one who didn’t have to go through the rebuild.

He arrived later as the last big prospect drafted in Colorado’s final years of misery, and came to the NHL when the Avalanche were ready to compete again at the highest level.

The same could very well happen with Ivan Demidov.

The Habs prospect could arrive in the NHL as early as the 2025-2026 season, and that season, well, for many, could be the one when the Montreal Canadiens can finally aspire to the playoffs again.

This season could therefore officially put an end to the rebuild, and Ivan Demidov would not have had to live through the painful years of this rebuild, as was the case for Nathan MacKinnon or Juraj Slafkovsky, for example.

Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen can also be added to the list.

They’ve all had to endure difficult seasons without success, something Makar hasn’t experienced and Demidov (let’s hope) won’t.

By the way, Makar won the Stanley Cup in his third full NHL season.

Could this be the case with Demidov?

We can only hope.

Overtime

– Very well done.

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– Incredible.

– What do you think?

Are the #NYR still the biggest threat for the Panthers in the Eastern Conference?

We break it down herehttps://t.co/Tl6vhTTN30

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– Nicolas Deslauriers will be very important for the Flyers this year.

– He’ll be one to watch.

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