Demidov was almost certainly outside their top 7
Seidel is the director of player development for Barrie, where Beaudoin plays. He would certainly know who liked him, and was given direct info from Marek on the teams picks. We know how he’s been getting every pick correct along with info for the past 5 or so drafts. Not sure why he was musing as though it was his savant scouting and contacts throughout the league that was making him think that way, whereas he was being spoon fed everything, but he’s likely to pay for that in some kind of way in the future.
I don’t think he was in their top 5-7, I don’t think he was going to be taken at 7, but I think he was absolutely a guy they’d have been taking if they moved down to 9-12, and he was definitely much, much higher on the Sens list than would be deemed “reasonable” on here. I almost guarantee he was in the tier of guys to be thought of for a pick around 7-10.
Sens can’t be trading picks like that, unfortunately, because they have depleted and wasted so many the past 3 drafts, along with no 2nd in 2026 and having to give up a 1st in 2025/2026.
They never had a 3rd this year, and if they gave up a 2nd next year they only get to choose in the top 2 rounds 1 time in the next 2 drafts. They legitimately can’t be making trades to move up like that because they don’t have the draft capital, and their prospect pool is so bad.
Like, how would the Sens outbid 38, 71 and 2025 2nd with what they have in draft picks? They don’t have the available picks to outbid that.