The Montreal Canadiens went into the 2024 NHL Draft hoping to draft some offensive talent and move forward with their rebuild. In last year’s draft, they solidified the defence and goaltending by selecting David Reinbacher and Jacob Fowler. This year’s draft focused on improving their offence and hopefully getting all the pieces they need to contend in the next few seasons.
Related: Habs Drafting History & Rebuild Could Determine 2024 Picks
Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes always plans two to three years ahead when making moves to improve the club. The Habs management team first created a plan to build the defence and goaltending because they usually take longer to develop and then draft highly skilled forwards to complete the rebuild. Hughes seemed to have had this plan in place from the beginning and knew exactly who he wanted this year; the problem was he knew he wanted the player before last year’s draft started but couldn’t get him just yet.
Canadiens Wanted a Russian, and It Wasn’t Michkov
When the Canadiens got the 5th overall position in the 2023 Entry Draft, many fans wanted them to draft one of the skilled forwards. Everyone knew the Chicago Blackhawks were taking Connor Bedard, but the rest of the top five were open. It looked like a star Russian hockey player named Matvei Michkov could fall into the Canadiens’ lap, and they would be able to draft their potential star player. As the teams ahead of Montreal drafted, it looked more and more like that would be a possibility, with Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli, and Will Smith all being drafted before Michkov. When Hughes came to the podium, he surprised everyone by drafting a defenceman when he picked Reinbacher.
Everyone was shocked because no one knew this was the direction the Canadiens were going. Even if they picked a player like Ryan Leonard, it would have been a little more understandable because, at the time, Michkov had a lot of red flags. Some people call it the Russian factor: since the Ukraine war began, it’s been harder to scout Russian players, and some teams don’t like not having actual eyes on a potential prospect. The other issue was Michkov’s contract; at the time, he was still signed to SKA St. Petersburgh for another three seasons, and it was unclear when he would be able to play in the NHL. We know now that the young Russian will be in the NHL next season with the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him seventh overall. None of the original red flags were why Montreal didn’t draft Michkov; it was a Russian factor, alright, but the factor was Michkov was the wrong Russian.
Canadiens Wanted Demidov in 2023
The Canadiens once again were in the fifth overall position in 2024, and once again, they were at the mercy of the four teams ahead of them. Macklin Celebrini went first overall with no surprise, but the next three picks were critical to ensure the Habs got the draft pick they wanted. The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Artyom Levshunov second overall, which was no surprise either, but then the Anaheim Ducks shocked everyone by drafting forward Beckett Sennecke third. The Columbus BlueJackets now held the fate of Montreal’s pick in their hands and didn’t disappoint as they selected center Cayden Lindstrom. Finally, Montreal could come to the podium with superstar Celine Dion and draft the Russian they always wanted in Ivan Demidov.
After the selection, Hughes quickly pointed out that they wanted Demidov since the 2023 season and hoped they would have a chance at him this year at the 2024 draft. The reason they wanted Demidov over Michkov is unknown, but it could be that Demidov is a more complete player. Either way, we will be hearing the comparisons for the rest of their careers. Now that the Habs have their potential star player, it’s just a matter of waiting even longer for him to join Montreal. He has one more season left on his contract and will likely play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia with SKA St. Petersburgh. Hughes has proved that patience is the key to getting what you want; he does that with traders and now with the draft. Waiting for an entire season, not knowing where you will finish, is a bold move.
The Canadiens now have their potential superstar player, and he will be ready to go in the 2025-26 season, which coincides with the development path of some of their other prospects and a lot of money coming off the cap. It looks like 2025-26 will be the season Montreal makes a big push for Stanley Cup glory.
