Kent Hughes almost added another big scorer this summer

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Carl Vaillancourt
August 24, 2024 (11:41 PM)

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The final round of the NHL draft provided quite a spectacle for hockey fans, especially for Canadiens fans.

Between Céline Dion's appearance and the selection of Russian Ivan Demidov, the Montreal Canadiens' general manager, Kent Hughes, had two options before the Blue Jackets' pick, according to what we now know.

In the documentary about the behind-the-scenes of the 2024 NHL Draft, released by the Montreal Canadiens last night, we can see that Kent Hughes was pleased after the Ducks selected Beckett Sennecke with the third overall pick.

«I would pick Demidov, who has the potential to become a number one center, unlike the other [player], who is a big top-6 winger capable of scoring goals.

Both are excellent players, and I'd be happy to draft either one of them.

I just believe that the potential here [with Demidov] is to secure a possible future NHL star.»

- Billy Ryan

The other Montreal Canadiens scouts questioned about the two options between Linstrom and Demidov all opted for Demidov. Some scouts went further. For them, no other player was close to him, and Ivan Demidov was in a class of his own.

It seemed to come down to Cayden Lindstrom and Ivan Demidov for the Montreal Canadiens

This seems to confirm that it indeed came down to two players for the Montreal Canadiens, and we can even add that it was between two forwards.

As for the other player in question, they refer to a big top-6 winger who is a goal scorer.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this refers to the Medicine Hat Tigers' forward in the Western Hockey League, Cayden Lindstrom. The big guy scored 27 goals and added 19 assists last season in the WHL in just 32 games.

We can also think of Beckett Sennecke, who scored 27 goals and added 41 assists last season in the OHL (in 63 games), but in his case, he is still slightly slight. He was interesting, but his record of 27 goals in 63 games doesn't allow him to be categorized as an extraordinary goal scorer.

Let's also remember that Kent Hughes received a huge trade offer involving three elements, including a possible first overall pick.

For Kent Hughes, luck was on his side. The player he most desired ended up being available for his pick, even though various simulations had placed Ivan Demidov in the top-4 for nearly all experts. The slide to the fifth spot was due to the fact that Ivan Demidov is a Russian player. As often happens in the draft, just think of Matvei Michkov the previous year.

In any case, we highly recommend watching the full video.

For those who are fans of Kevin Costner and the Cleveland Browns, you could say that Kent Hughes would have said, «Ivan Demidov no matter what!»