That’s it: it’s draft day. From the first round, at least.
In Montreal, fans were so invested in knowing who will or will not be available at #5 that it will be nice to have Finally some answers to questions that have been asked for months.
Obviously, the Montreal Canadiens have 12 picks for the auction, but pick #5 overall attracts more attention than the Oilers’ right to speak in the seventh round, for example.
In the coming days, we will have to monitor who will be the #5 pick, if the #26 pick will be traded for immediate reinforcement, if a Quebecer from the QMJHL will be drafted, if a transaction involving a young defenseman will materialize, etc.
There will be no shortage of action.
But to know who the Canadiens will draft, they will first need to know who will be available. Then, they need to establish who the Flannel’s priorities are in relation to the players who will not come out in the top-4.
Everyone has been playing this game for two months now… and the answers vary greatly.
In the most recent episode of Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Mark’s 32 Thoughts podcast, the two guys tried to play “who’s going to come out in the top-5 tonight” and it’s no surprise that Macklin Celebrini is at first rank.
But it is obviously the sequel that interests us.
According to what Jeff Marek has heard between the branches, he sees Artyom Levshunov coming out at #2, which is not a surprise. But at #3, among the Ducks, he thinks Californian Zeev Buium can be Martin Madden Jr.’s choice.
And that’s a game-changer.
Jeff Marek then sees Cayden Lindstrom exit at #4 in Columbus before seeing Russian Ivan Demidov fall to the Canadian to end the top-5.
This would be a dream scenario for many CH fans, who want either Demidov or Lindstrom.
But does that mean it’s going to happen like this? Not necessarily. After all, apart from Celebrini, nothing is set in stone… although I would be very surprised to see Levshunov ignored by the Hawks.
Anaheim has the potential to change everything by drafting just about anyone.
However, when you listen to Friedman’s comments, you realize that the Blue Jackets can really change everything with the #4 pick in tonight’s draft.
Why? Because a trade is definitely possible. Fresh off the job, Don Waddell would be motivated to make a big move, and moving his No. 4 pick is apparently on the table.
It’s rare that a top-5 pick gets traded, but does Waddell, who probably didn’t have time to fall in love with a big prospect this year because he was the head of can a club (Hurricanes) that won’t draft that high, do it? It’s possible.
Friedman recalls that the Flyers, as we know, tried to convince the Blue Jackets to trade them their #4 pick. We can assume that the club, angry to see the Sharks move up to 11th place (Cole Eiserman?), now wants to give up its 12th choice to get Ivan Demidov.
Talks could resume between Columbus and Philly, but there would also be another club in the race. And Friedman would not be surprised if it involves Carolina in the Martin Necas case.
And if that happens, I would have been wrong when I said a few paragraphs ago that the Canes wouldn’t draft with a high pick this year…
Note also that the Flames could possibly seek to move up to fourth place if the club ever feels that Tij Iginla could fall into the hands of the Canadian, for example.
But the question to ask is this: to what extent does the Canadian want to take Jarome’s son?
On this subject, there seem to be several schools of thought. There are those, like Tony Marinaro, who believe that the Canadian will not draft a defenseman if Lindstrom and Demidov are not there. In his eyes, Iginla is a possibility.
And there are those who see a defender coming to town in the right conditions. Craig Button is one of them.
However, is it guaranteed to see the Canadian draft Demidov if the latter is ever available? In my eyes, it’s not necessarily a certainty, no.
I think the CH likes him, even if François Gagnon didn’t seem to think that Jeff Gorton was the Russian’s #1 fan, during his meeting with the media yesterday.
Gorton may prove me wrong in less than 24 hours, but I didn’t sense much excitement from him regarding Demidov.
Notice he wasn’t tap dancing when he talked about Lindstrom either. He simply limited himself to saying that his medical assessment was satisfactory. – François Gagnon
Note, if we want to go in the direction of François Gagnon, that according to the most recent mock draft model from The Athletic, Ivan Demidov could slip out of the top-5.
Here’s what the top of the draft will look like, according to Corey Pronman and his sources. He sees eight players (!) coming out before Demidov for the Flames.
- Macklin Celebrini
- Artyom Levshunov
- Anton Silayev
- Cayden Lindstrom
- Zeev Buium
- Sam Dickinson
- Beckett Sennecke
- Carter Yakemchuk
What I notice is that Pronman, in his text, mentions that even if the CH prefers an attacker, seeing a defender of Buium’s caliber available would give Montreal management pause.
In his eyes, many teams could take Buium before Demidov. A defender of this caliber is impossible (or almost, we agree) to find otherwise… especially for a CH that will not aspire to draft so high in 2025.
Even though Pronman mentions that if Lindstrom were available at #5, it would mean teams ahead of the Canadiens would be afraid of his back, I believe he will be in play for the Flannel.
Actually, right now I think it’s going to be between Demidov, Lindstrom and Buium. But we’ll see once we’re on dry land.
A lot of
– The Four Nations Tournament teams are slowly taking shape.
– Bruins to watch in Rutger McGroarty case?
– Big night for the Blue Jays.
– He came close.
