F Ivan Demidov (2024, 5th, MTL) Part 2

And Cooley, could you imagine?

Caufield - Suzuki - Dach
Demidov - Cooley - Michkov

That would have the potential to be the most potent top 6 in the NHL, especially with Hutson creating from the blue line. Two potential 90+ point wingers, and another with 40 goal winger. Surrounded by two #1 caliber 2 way centers...

That second line would be unreal with Cooley's elite puck transporting abilities and Demidov and Michkov's offensive zone talent. They would honestly probably end up being the first line.

And they have Hage coming up who would slot in nicely as the 3C down the line.

Slaf and Reinbacher should be good consolation prizes, but man what could have been.

OMG, I totally missed that.
 
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In a vaccum....yeah Michkov over Reinbacher. But he might not be the best piece for us. I don't think our management would trade Rein for Michkov at this point, as it is too close to the draft and they drafted Rein for what he will become in the future.
Immensely talented as he is, 6 teams passed on MM for a reason, or reasons. Kid wanted Philly, he got philly. Best of luck to him.
 
He was real fun to watch last night. Played with a lot of speed and great confidence for a first game player. Habs fans are going to enjoy this guy for sure. One thing that impressed me the most were his edges. Could turn on a dime with speed. Impressive.
 
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No objective Habs fan would turn down that trade.
I don’t comment on Montréal affairs too often on here, but I think the more interesting eventuality to see will be if Sandin-Pelikka (who in my opinion, based on his incredible u18, was the best RD in the draft) or Reinbacher turn out to be the better player. I personally take Sandin-Pelikka, he reminds me a lot of Josh Morrisey.

For whatever reason, based on what I’ve heard, Michkov was never even a consideration for Montréal
 
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I don't think they should regret picking Slafkovsky, he's a good young PWF, and that was a tough draft to be picking first. Cooley was the best choice of the 3 guys they were considering, but it's not like Slaf is a bust by any means.
On absolute talent, I agree, but there is merit to preferring Slaf because at some point, the mix of talent of a group is more important than the sum of their individual talent.

Slaf brings the size and sandpaper that the Habs absolutely need up front, while Cooley is somewhat redundant in a group of forwards that leans on skill more than physicality.
 
There's no way the Habs wouldn't trade Reinbacher for Michkov if it was offered.
I don't think Montreal would do that. The only way they would trade Reinbacher is for a young, top pairing RHD. Their need for a RHD is so much bigger than their need for a top 6 F. You can't expect a rebuild to be over when your only two RHD in the organization would be Carrier and Mailloux.

I don’t comment on Montréal affairs too often on here, but I think the more interesting eventuality to see will be if Sandin-Pelikka (who in my opinion, based on his incredible u18, was the best RD in the draft) or Reinbacher turn out to be the better player. I personally take Sandin-Pelikka, he reminds me a lot of Josh Morrisey.

For whatever reason, based on what I’ve heard, Michkov was never even a consideration for Montréal
Two very different type of D. With Huston already taking the offensive and PP1 role, Montreal need is more in line with a Toews than a Makar. If Reinbacher could turn into that kind of two-way minute-muncher (which he's trending to be if he stay healthy) then yeah, huge win for Montreal.
 
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I think this is very true. It wasn't the russian factor or the contract. Montreal never even hinted they wanted MM. One day we'll find out why.

He turned them down when they wanted to talk to him. Like he did with most teams. There could be other reasons as well but his lack of availability sure got him listed as a DND with many teams.

During their draft season, prospects have to deal with requests from NHL teams pretty much non stop. If you opt to not play along that's gonna cost you come draft day. Which is what happened to Michkov. Maybe he just opted to focus on his hockey or he wanted to get drafted by the Flyers and piss of other organizations but I'm pretty sure the lack of availability did cost him a few spots at the draft.
 
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He turned them down when they wanted to talk to him. Like he did with most teams. There could be other reasons as well but his lack of availability sure got him listed as a DND with many teams.
Habs met with him I'm pretty sure. I'm sure they were grateful for the opportunity. The only two teams on record that he said he wouldn't play for was Arizona and for whatever reason, Washington. But I could see if he was difficult or reluctant to get ahold of it would be a huge red flag. Anyway. He really wanted Philly and he got them so everyone is happy.
 
Habs met with him I'm pretty sure. I'm sure they were grateful for the opportunity. The only two teams on record that he said he wouldn't play for was Arizona and for whatever reason, Washington. But I could see if he was difficult or reluctant to get ahold of it would be a huge red flag. Anyway. He really wanted Philly and he got them so everyone is happy.

From what I remember they met with him after the season or late in the season after he had turned them down on other occasions earlier... like he did with many other teams. It was well within his rights to turn down requests and I'm not gonna criticize him for it but he definitely irritated NHL teams by doing so. He certainly pissed off Bobrov.
 
And Cooley, could you imagine?

Caufield - Suzuki - Dach
Demidov - Cooley - Michkov

That would have the potential to be the most potent top 6 in the NHL, especially with Hutson creating from the blue line. Two potential 90+ point wingers, and another with 40 goal winger. Surrounded by two #1 caliber 2 way centers...

That second line would be unreal with Cooley's elite puck transporting abilities and Demidov and Michkov's offensive zone talent. They would honestly probably end up being the first line.

And they have Hage coming up who would slot in nicely as the 3C down the line.

Slaf and Reinbacher should be good consolation prizes, but man what could have been.

Do this with any other team too btw.

Maybe they draft Wright/Nemec and don't draft Hutson, maybe they pick Iginla instead of Demidov. Hell maybe Slaf still ends up the best of the bunch. I know you liked Cooley at the draft, but it was all over the map with the scouts.

I feel like criticizing this Habs management drafting is a bit out of line considering the picks they've gotten right, and how young their players still are.
 
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Does anyone want to talk about Ivan Demidov?
Agreed. As a Flyers fan, i'm tired of every conversation about Michkov being invaded by bad faith actors, and as a person who loved watching Demidov last night, i'd hate that to happen here, too.

he looked great. Poor back checking on the third goal, but even if that's the "bad" you're more than happy to take the good that comes with it
 
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I always thought the Habs were caught in perpetual "meh" status because they were never able to get the game-breaker they needed to become a contender.

They seem to have two right now (Hutson and Demidov).

I watched Demidov for the first time last night and I was mostly impressed by his vision and anticipation in the o-zone. He makes himself available and is always looking to find the empty space (with or without the puck).
 
I'm glad Michkov went to a different team so there can be some rivalry and competition.

Retrospective drafting is also a fool's errand. Detroit could have had Necas and Quinn Hughes instead of Rasmussen and Zadina. It's all obvious in retrospect.

Michkov-Demidov will be a good rivalry for years to come.
 
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