F Ivan Demidov - SKA St. Petersburg, KHL (2024, 5th, MTL)
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Bounces R Way
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I would also take Demidov over Lindstrom and I like Lindstrom a lot. Silayev I could see that happening, should be the 1st D off the board.
- Jun 13, 2010
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I think it's going to come down to team needs, honestly. If it's Chicago with 2OV, I could easily see them taking Demidov to go with Bedard. If it's Anaheim, who just got Gauthier for Drysale, I can see them taking Levshunov or Dickenson. I think San Jose takes Demidov as well.
Maybe, but I could also see CHI thinking that a 6'4" 220+ lb Lindstrom would be a nice wingman for Bedard in years to come, especially in light of recent events.
- Jun 13, 2010
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True. I think there are going to be a bunch of teams gushing over that. Tough call though, let's go back to 2012 - would rather have taken Forsberg or Wilson?
Gaylord Q Tinkledink
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Tom Wilson was barely a .5 ppg player in his draft year.
Cayden Lindstrom is possibly both of those players. I'm not sure of his mean streak.
You say that like it's the only possible scenario. Would you rather have Drouin, or Tkachuk? In their respective drafts, Drouin was considered to be a bigger name, and far more skilled.
- Jun 13, 2010
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I get that, but it's more of a though experiment of philosophy, not pure numbers.
I'm not speaking purely about draft pedigree. I'm talking about assuming both become impact players, what type of impact player would you prefer? I would venture the guess that Demidov becomes the more point productive person but Lindstrom's size and physicality will also provide value outside of numbers. You could also look at it like this - given the choice, would you take Brady Tkachuk or Tim Stutzle? Stutzle is more productive but Tkachuk bring a lot of other elements that clearly add value.
We've seen teams pass on the big sized guy before - M. Tkachuk is 2016. Matthews - Laine - PLD - Puljujarvi - Juolevi (oof) - then M. Tkachuk. That said, I think Laine and Puljujarvi were well ahead of Tkachuk in the prospect rankings making their selection above him obvious but still, we have a similar situation growing here where there is a clear number and a lot of quality guys in 2-6 and they all bring different styles at different positions.
Lindstom is definitely a project. I think he will look like a bust for a few years and then burst on the scene in the playoffs where his size and skill combo will shine. His measurables and skill combination is truly rare. I see a 50 point player who is a weapon in the playoffs where he can wear down a blueline over a long series
Again, you keep throwing out comparisons that skew in favor of Demidov, as if it's a no brainer that he, and not Lindstrom, will be the better player. The truth is that we just don't know.
- Jun 13, 2010
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I'm not skewing it at all, I'm just trying to provide current NHL comparisons for the sake of discussion about who a team might select if both are on the table.
That said, I won't shy away from my opinion that Demidov is the more skilled player. The crux of the question I posed was - if you are getting an impact player, would you rather they be high-skill, less physicality or higher-physicality, less (but still good) skill. Anything suggesting "but Lindstrom has skill!" as grounds that I am underselling Lindstrom is absolutely false.
To me Demidov reminds me... Bobby Orr. He skates circles around opponents the same way Orr did. I think, their skating looks similar.
samsagat
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- Jun 20, 2013
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Lindstrom is a NHL coaches/GMs wet dream, a unicorn...
Plus he's been on an explosive development curve, something NHL scouts love.
Wouldn't surprise me if he's taken 2nd overall.
Anaheim might be the only team passing on him, considering they already have McTavish and Gauthier in the system.
Demidov is a hell of a talent, but he has the Russian factor and a less attractive playing style (according to most NHL coaches/GMs) against him..
Lol, unicorns are players like Kane and Kucherov who have 5 cups between them...
samsagat
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Unicorns are big, strong and talented power centers (or simply power forwards), as those are very rare and sought after kind of players in the NHL.
Does it means that those kind of players ends up as better players or win more Stanley cups than others?
Nope, in fact a study demonstrated that globally, smaller players have a higher "value/position drafted" than bigger players.
And power forwards tend to be slower to develop.
How many exemples do we have of big power forwards that were drafted early and took an eternity to develop.
So much that they didn't paid off to the team that drafted them: Nishushkin, Crouse and Zacha comes rapidly to mind.
Does it means that those kind of players ends up as better players or win more Stanley cups than others?
Nope, in fact a study demonstrated that globally, smaller players have a higher "value/position drafted" than bigger players.
And power forwards tend to be slower to develop.
How many exemples do we have of big power forwards that were drafted early and took an eternity to develop.
So much that they didn't paid off to the team that drafted them: Nishushkin, Crouse and Zacha comes rapidly to mind.
Yeah, but there are a lot of smallish forwards in the current NHL, there are no a lot of kucherovs and kanes amongst them, though.
If you take Demidov's combination of skating, stickhandling and IQ I can't even say what winger you can compare him to. I personally don't see any in the current NHL.
If you're looking for a unicorn like that you need to look for signs of an unreal iq, both michkov and Bedard have insanely high iq, does demimedov possess that or is he more of a highly skilled guy that gets by purely on his insane tools
Demidov's IQ isn't as high, but it's still very high. And if you add skating and stickhandling to it, you'll get a pretty unique combination. I'd even say very unique.
I'd say out of all Russian players Demidov is the closest to Kharlamov/Makarov. Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovy, Duts, Kuch all played/play different kind of hockey than those Soviet legends. Demidov looks very similar to them.
I think he does have gamebreaking ability but is it kane/kucherov level or more of a panarin/Nylander level? Either way a top 3 talent in my eyes this year and almost assuredly a surefire top 6 option with dynamic game breaking offensive ability.
You'll never get the answer untill he's in the league. It's true about any prospect, though.
Absolute, I just personally find it fun to project and the team he ends up on will mean a good bit too, I good see Anaheim being a really good fit for him with the players they already have in the top 6.
I personally think him and Bedard together could be nasty and entertaining as f***.
Kinda similar to what Kane and Panarin were but probably with even more talent.
samsagat
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Agree with you.
Those 2 are franchise players.
They're certainly unicorns of their own kind, but I was formerly talking about the kind of unicorns present in the majority of NHL coaches/GMs wet dreams...
I love Demidov, he's an exceptional talent.
But the NHL draft isn't solely based on players talent.
When teams are drafting top 5 or even top 10, they want a combination of talent and high probability of the player making it up to his potential.
Plus they want the aforementioned player to make it to the NHL in a short span of time.
The Russian factor is downplaying Russian prospects at the draft because of the uncertainties surrounding them.
I think Lindstrom will be drafted before Demidov because he's a unicorn by NHL standards, plus there's less uncertainty surrounding him...
They would absolutely tear down defenses and give goalies nightmares
