CH Draft Analysis: Mission Accomplished Despite a Rather Gloomy Saturday – Magdalen Islands Portal

Unsurprisingly, Saturday was certainly not as exciting as Friday’s magical evening for CH supporters. But it’s not a big deal: everyone was pretty sleepless… maybe even the leaders!

Because it must be said, by having allowed them to complete what appears to me to be a core worthy of the elite within 2-3 years by the selections of Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage in the first round, the Flannel could well have experienced its two most defining hours in recent years.

So let’s focus first on these players and some surprises from the first round before saying a few words about the other Habs selections.

5^e rank: Ivan Demidov

I have said repeatedly since February that if anyone could ever approach, or even surpass, Macklin Celebrini as the best player in the 2024 draft, it was Ivan Demidov. That’s why I ranked it at 2^e ranked on my list and remained there until the end.

So I tend to agree with his agent Dan Milstein when he says that if Demidov had played in North America this season, there could have been a real fight between him and Celebrini.

Milstein used the same logic to assert that Alexander Romanov (38th) should have been a top-10 choice in 2018. We have to admit that what happened next proved him right…

In short, I am writing these lines a few hours after Demidov was selected by the CH at 5^e rank and I still can’t believe it.

Demidov in Blue-White-Red, it’s a reality.

There were, however, signals pointing to the possibility that Demidov was still available at 5^erank, but I was basically thinking that Chicago, Anaheim AND Columbus won’t all be able to get past him.

The selection was a bit of a surprise – even for the main person concerned! – but perfectly defendable from Beckett Sennecke at 3^e rank by the always enigmatic Ducks has of course upset several predictions.

Basically, the Hawks, Ducks and Jackets seem to have prioritized certain needs or types of players, once again throwing a wrench into the theory that teams should always draft the so-called “best available player” in the top-5.

Without saying that they choose exclusively according to needs, this proves once again that the teams rather choose the optimal option in their own context; they opt for the player who will help them the most to become overall better.

Now, I really feel like the teams that were picking 2-5 this year were all able to go for their option optimale.

If I read this correctly, that means that they would have made exactly the same selection if they had all been able to choose at 2^e rang!

But hey, Demidov, it’s still a hell of a chance for the CH from here! We’ll talk about it at length in the coming months!

In the meantime, we can already say that the dynamic Russian attacker has the potential to become a superstar, just like Slafkovsky, and that this is exactly what the doctor recommended to the CH.

21^e rang : Michael Hage

Following the exchange by Pierre-Luc Dubois the day preceding the publication of our mock draft home, I had targeted Michael Hage as an alternate option for the Kings at…21^e rank, well then!

Hage would have been a nice long-term replacement for Dubois in LA’s plan. But Rob Blake decided to go in another direction instead, opting to get the Canadiens’ second-round pick that ultimately allowed them to fill a need by selecting top goalie Carter George at No. 57.

Hage has a certain talent. Even though he’s not short at 6’1, he’s a bit of a version light Beckett Sennecke in this draft. A smooth skater with excellent hands, a good shot and good offensive vision.

After a difficult start to the season following the tragic death of his father – understandably – he was the USHL’s top scorer in the second half of the season, recording no fewer than 50 points in his last 29 games. A simply exceptional performance, better than Trevor Connelly, chosen two places earlier…

Hage just needs to continue to gain experience and then develop physically and tactically, especially in his zone.

This is great potential as a mid-training attacker, an intelligent player who can even be moved to the first three lines if necessary.

The very definition of an “impact” player; a better than average soldier.

It was also very refreshing to hear him express himself in excellent French, he who spent part of his youth in the Montreal region. Bravo!

I really don’t think Hage could have made it to 26^e rank. So, it seems like a great move by Kent Hughes to have been able to move up 5 ranks to select a player that the organization liked, a scenario that was discussed the day before the draft.

Buium from 12^e rank??? Luchanko, 13th?

Not to say that Zeev Buium was a slam dunk As the best defender in this draft, he was nevertheless my favorite in this role ahead of Sam Dickinson.

I had it at 3^e rank behind Celebrini and… Demidov.

Superstar potential, Buium.

By Friday afternoon, there were even strong rumors that the Ducks were going to turn to him at 3rd overall.

That said, Buium, who has literally won everywhere he has been these last two seasons (U18, U20, NCAA), does not seem to think he is a 7up. flat and maybe in the very conservative NHL, his lack of humility didn’t please everyone in interviews. According to him, he will single-handedly bring a “winning culture” to the team that drafts him, nothing less!

But, I swear to you, if at the end of his career, in 15-20 years, he only ranks fifth best defender in this draft, I will have to go get a hair transplant at Hairfax in memory of Guy Lafleur!

So what were the Flyers thinking when they swapped their pick with the Wild, leaving Buium and his incredible potential to the Wild and then turning to… Jett Luchanko at 13th?

For what it’s worth, we recently had him ranked 32nd in our mock draft, Luchanko…

We’re talking about an improved version of Owen Beck in the best of all possible worlds. A third center. A kind of “North American Canadian” Konsta Helenius, as Elvis Gratton might have said,

For his admirers, the good Konsta was released just after Luchanko at 14^e rank among the Sabres…

Funny like that!

70th Rank : Aatos Koivu

I admit that I didn’t really understand the hasty selection of the son of Saku, former captain of the Canadian, and nephew of Mikko, Mr. Wild from Minnesota. Is it pure feeling or pure feeling? Not according to Bobrov and the Canadian, but… The mystery looms.

We don’t want to be mean, but in the case of Aatos, we want to say that the apple fell a little far from the family tree.

We can well believe that he only turned 18 last week and that he is only just starting to gain strength, that he is very far from the finished product, but still. The whole work remains modest, without great panache, nor great demonstration of character…

However, he is recognized for his fairly good hands, a good shot – without being sensational – and good agility on skates. For the moment, he may compare his style to Sebastian Aho, but he looks more like a poor man’s Jesse Ylonen (ouch!) capable of playing center…

So, nothing earth-shattering from Koivu’s side, even in a very ordinary caliber of play in Finland in U18 and U20 leagues.

At the U18 World Championship, he was completely invisible, recording only a very small assist in 5 matches… The U18, however, is not a tournament where it is difficult to collect points for good players.

Draw your own conclusions…

Others!

For the rest, there is the charismatic Logan Sawyer (78th) who has great qualities: energetic, intelligent, rushes to the net at the right time, a bit of creativity and a precise shot. But we are probably talking at best about a guy who has a chance to reach the NHL on a fourth line. The Vinzenz Rohrer of this vintage…

Owen Protz (102nd) for his part becomes the annual obscure big and mean strictly defensive back who likes to hurt his opponents. Even if there is a project to follow, you always need one somewhere.