Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson are two young people who will, if all goes well, change the course of the history of the Montreal Canadiens. That’s my opinion – and that of many people in the industry.
The two guys, who are 18 and 20 years old respectively, are among the best rookies in the two best leagues in the world, the KHL and the NHL. Hutson is playing really well in the NHL…and Demidov is dominating in the KHL.
Only when he gets playing time, though.
But just because people who gravitate around hockey in Montreal see the two guys in their soup doesn’t mean that’s necessarily the case for everyone in the NHL.
Example? Corey Pronman of The Athletic doesn’t have the same view of things.
In a ranking intended to talk about the best players under 23 in the NHL and among the prospects of the league’s 32 teams, he ranked the two youngsters higher than many people would have done.
Demidov (16) and Hutson (39) do not have a place of choice in the rankings considering their talent and their 2024-2025 season.
I don’t think Juraj Slafkovsky was ranked poorly (14th), but Demidov and Hutson should be about ten ranks higher each – and maybe even more for Hutson, who dominates on the ice.
The stats also confirm that the eye test is good. After all, he’s the best rookie in the NHL in terms of points (for a 20-year-old defenseman who plays big minutes) and one of the best scorers among defensemen in general.
David Reinbacher (51), Kaiden Guhle (82), Michael Hage (103) and Logan Mailloux (107) are also in the ranking. This shows that the CH still has several good elements.
But the fact remains that seeing Demidov 10 rows behind Matvei Michkov, it doesn’t work in my eyes. And this, even if fundamentally, it is not the end of the world, this classification.
in burst
– Good question.
– Cole Caufield has a good team game. [NYT]
– Indeed.
