F Ivan Demidov - SKA St. Petersburg, KHL (2024, 5th, MTL)

[WeThreeKings]

Not a bad consolidation prize when the Sharks get screwed and CHI gets 1OA back to back.

You really think the Sharks are gonna draft a forward not named Celebrini after picking only forwards in the 1st round for like 10 years?

 

[57special]

The stands look to be completely empty?

 

[LilLeeroy]

You really think the Sharks are gonna draft a forward not named Celebrini after picking only forwards in the 1st round for like 10 years?

We've seen somewhat recently that reaching for a defenseman and passsing up on talented forwards isn't always the best decision.

 

[Kshahdoo]

We've seen somewhat recently that reaching for a defenseman and passsing up on talented forwards isn't always the best decision.

Habs know what they are doing, even when they don't...

 

[WeThreeKings]

We've seen somewhat recently that reaching for a defenseman and passsing up on talented forwards isn't always the best decision.

We have?

Nemec is working out great yet people were baffled Wright didn't go 1, 2 or 3.

And when have we seen a team ignore a massive need for their roster and prospect pool, to jump the consensus group of prospects at that position (Dickinson-Levshunov-Silayev-Yakemchuk) and take a forward who is not consensus above them.

Not to mention I don't think there's a whole lot of GMs who think Smith Demidov and Eklund is the right blend of talent and size.

 

[coooldude]

We have?

Nemec is working out great yet people were baffled Wright didn't go 1, 2 or 3.

And when have we seen a team ignore a massive need for their roster and prospect pool, to jump the consensus group of prospects at that position (Dickinson-Levshunov-Silayev-Yakemchuk) and take a forward who is not consensus above them.

Not to mention I don't think there's a whole lot of GMs who think Smith Demidov and Eklund is the right blend of talent and size.

If Lindstrom's back injury is not a concern, he has a ceiling as high or higher than Smith and fits Grier's idea exactly of "bigger, faster, tough to play against." There is absolutely a world where we draft him above any of the available D. It all depends on our scouting team's evaluation of the messy D tier. "consensus group" you mentioned sometimes has Parekh and Buium and no Yakemchuk, but sometimes Yakemchuk is at the top of the list and Levshunov and Silayev at the bottom. It's a total mess out there.

I'm not saying I prefer one or the other. I'm hondestly trying to keep preferences out of it. It's just not a certainty that we pick a D at 2-3.

At the very least we need to see playoffs, NCAA tourney, and world champs for some.

 

[Faceboner]

If Lindstrom's back injury is not a concern, he has a ceiling as high or higher than Smith and fits Grier's idea exactly of "bigger, faster, tough to play against." There is absolutely a world where we draft him above any of the available D. It all depends on our scouting team's evaluation of the messy D tier. "consensus group" you mentioned sometimes has Parekh and Buium and no Yakemchuk, but sometimes Yakemchuk is at the top of the list and Levshunov and Silayev at the bottom. It's a total mess out there.

I'm not saying I prefer one or the other. I'm hondestly trying to keep preferences out of it. It's just not a certainty that we pick a D at 2-3.

At the very least we need to see playoffs, NCAA tourney, and world champs for some.

I think even though demidov is talented enough for 2nd overall but you have lev and Lindstrom ahead also a good chance that silayev goes before him as well along with Dickinson I could see demidov from no.2 to no.6 I think if the hawks lose celebrini and pick no.2 they add lev because they lack puck movers and their right side looks thin and the d core overall lacks puck movers to get it up the ice.

 

[Makoshark]

Sharks tipped thier hand by firing thier Russian scout for not getting enough in person prospect viewings. Demidov or Silayev are definitely being targeted.

 

[cheechoo]

Sharks tipped thier hand by firing thier Russian scout for not getting enough in person prospect viewings. Demidov or Silayev are definitely being targeted.

That's how I interpreted them firing Eronko as well. They're clearly after doing their due diligence of the region. Demidov is a total animal. Almost too good to be considered a consolation prize.

 

[coooldude]

Sharks tipped thier hand by firing thier Russian scout for not getting enough in person prospect viewings. Demidov or Silayev are definitely being targeted.

Diligenced, yes. Targeted, I don't think we can say. Clearly they're not willing to give up on the idea, which is a good sign for the Sharks organization on the whole (doing their diligence) and lends credence to the "Michkov said he wouldn't report" rumors... Hasso (owner) "loves Russian forwards" yet Grier was super terse when asked if they talked to Michkov, saying only, "we talked to every player we wanted to talk to."

So I suspect they want to do full diligence on both the top Russians you named, but I doubt it's "targeted" at 2-4 pick... Grier also took a specific trip to watch Lindstrom play (maybe some other CHL too) and I'm sure they're all over Levshunov and Buium in the NCAA.

Demidov is super talented and intriguing, but for the rebuild I am not sure he's the right piece for the Sharks... we will find out though! Interesting draft.

 

[Guadana]

Would be great if Arizona will draft him with desire to play for Arizona from Demidov's side. Arizona fans deserves happiness and fun product.

Of course if he sleeps because of Russian factor, I will be happy to see Devils draft him. But I see only 2-3 idiotic gms ahead of us, not 5-6.

 

[bert]

I said this last year when everyone said Michkov wouldn’t get past Montreal at 5 and nobody listened. I said Rossi was going to go to Minnesota at 9 after 120 points in like 50 games and everybody said I was crazy. Small players drop. Wingers drop. Russians drop. It’s history. More than likely a GM isn’t going to pass on big players who can skate at premium positions for a small Russian with skill.

Anyone that watched the 2020 draft class closely specificslly the 67s knew Rossi would go after Quinn around the 10 spot.

Small players that aren't exceptional skaters should drop. That's what Rossi is. As should undersized skill wingers unless they are generational like a Patrick Kane. It's the easiest position to replace.

Demidov is an elite skater but is an undersized winger. To me it's a big risk with what's available this year specifically all the really good d men I think he gets picked in the 6 to 12 range. Could be anywhere in there. Catton likely drops to 9 to 12 as well. For the reasons you listed.

 

[bert]

The guy does have a point - I think it is very likely that Demidov is the 3rd forward off the board.

Celebrini is going at 1. The next forward going is likely going to be Lindstrom - why? He's a center, that's value for teams. His production was very good pre injury. He's also a big, athletic and competitive prospect. That is going to land higher than a Russian winger playing in the MHL for NHL teams and scouts.

The question is when does Lindstrom go and which defenseman go ahead of Lindstrom and Demidov.

I think you can pretty much guarantee that Dickinson and Levshunov are going in the top 4 picks. Silayev was 2 on Bob's poll, so I think its safe to say that as long as that holds, he is the 3rd defenseman off the board when those two go (teams will go for the shorter contract and NA born players here).

Then Pronman is pretty convinced 4 defenseman are going in the top 6 and that 4th defenseman is Yakemchuk. Then you have the wildcards in Parekh and Buium who Pronman mentioned as the 6 defenseman who will go in the top 10.

The other thing that I would look at is - who will be picking in the top 10.

Chicago could use anything but there's more holes in their defense prospects than forward prospects in their pool. 50/50 they go F or D.
San Jose hasn't taken a defenseman in the first round in what seems like forever, if they don't win the Celebrini lottery, they are definitely taking a defenseman.
Anaheim has been rebuilding since light bulbs were invented, they are 50/50 in any direction since their pool is full everywhere but I do think they'd slant defense after moving Drysdale for Gauthier and drafting Carlsson last year.
Columbus seems like a good bet to go forward but could go either way.
Arizona could go either direction but would think defense would remain a priority for them over another smaller skilled forward.
Ottawa would be dumb to do anything but defense.
Montreal will be taking a forward.

Bingo. Nailed it.

We've seen somewhat recently that reaching for a defenseman and passsing up on talented forwards isn't always the best decision.

Do you have examples? Nemec was quite clearly the right pick. D men are way more valuable than undersized skill forwards.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Bingo. Nailed it.


Do you have examples? Nemec was quite clearly the right pick. D men are way more valuable than undersized skill forwards.

Im also waiting for examples

 

[Castle8130]

The guy does have a point - I think it is very likely that Demidov is the 3rd forward off the board.

Celebrini is going at 1. The next forward going is likely going to be Lindstrom - why? He's a center, that's value for teams. His production was very good pre injury. He's also a big, athletic and competitive prospect. That is going to land higher than a Russian winger playing in the MHL for NHL teams and scouts.

The question is when does Lindstrom go and which defenseman go ahead of Lindstrom and Demidov.

I think you can pretty much guarantee that Dickinson and Levshunov are going in the top 4 picks. Silayev was 2 on Bob's poll, so I think its safe to say that as long as that holds, he is the 3rd defenseman off the board when those two go (teams will go for the shorter contract and NA born players here).

Then Pronman is pretty convinced 4 defenseman are going in the top 6 and that 4th defenseman is Yakemchuk. Then you have the wildcards in Parekh and Buium who Pronman mentioned as the 6 defenseman who will go in the top 10.

The other thing that I would look at is - who will be picking in the top 10.

Chicago could use anything but there's more holes in their defense prospects than forward prospects in their pool. 50/50 they go F or D.
San Jose hasn't taken a defenseman in the first round in what seems like forever, if they don't win the Celebrini lottery, they are definitely taking a defenseman.
Anaheim has been rebuilding since light bulbs were invented, they are 50/50 in any direction since their pool is full everywhere but I do think they'd slant defense after moving Drysdale for Gauthier and drafting Carlsson last year.
Columbus seems like a good bet to go forward but could go either way.
Arizona could go either direction but would think defense would remain a priority for them over another smaller skilled forward.
Ottawa would be dumb to do anything but defense.
Montreal will be taking a forward.

I don't think Dickinson and Levshunov are a guarantee at all to go top 4. Levshunov likely goes ahead of Dickinson, but scouts have mixed opinions on both players.

I can definitely see Demidov somehow slipping to Montreal if that is your hope. I question whether teams still value position way more than they should when the disparity is so high between players.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Do you have examples? Nemec was quite clearly the right pick. D men are way more valuable than undersized skill forwards.

LHD aren’t that valuable compared to wingers that produce at a top line level rate, unless you are specifically limiting yourself to top 5-10 league wide D men. They are a lot more dime a dozen and not that hard to fill a positional need for. RHD are much rarer and that’s why you see a player like David Reinbacher get over drafted. That’s what makes Levshunov so intriguing. He’s possibly the best D in the class already and a natural RHD.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

I don't think Dickinson and Levshunov are a guarantee at all to go top 4. Levshunov likely goes ahead of Dickinson, but scouts have mixed opinions on both players.

I woud like to know the mixed opinions you are talking about? Both seem pretty surefire top pair defenseman and Dickinson even look like he could play in the NHL next season. If anything I think the GMs are excited about potentiallly getting a franchise D in both of them.

 

[Castle8130]

I woud like to know the mixed opinions you are talking about? Both seem pretty surefire top pair defenseman and Dickinson even look like he could play in the NHL next season. If anything I think the GMs are excited about potentiallly getting a franchise D in both of them.

Mixed opinions as in scouts have the defensemen ranked in different orders. A few will have Dickinson ranked as their 3rd or 4th best defenseman and a few might have Levshunov as the 3rd or 4th. That would push them out of the top 4 range. Dickinson is seen as a safer pick than some of the guys like Yakemchuk, Buium, and Parekh. The offensive upside for Dickinson is seen as limited, but his elite skating ability combined with size and reliability are heavily in his favor.

These defensemen are ranked all over the place on scouts boards, so the liklihood of guessing which exact two go top 4 is fairly low. Mckenzie was discussing these players on Mckeggs podcast and mentioned the high disparity amongst the defenders. Pronman also noted this as well when he was talking with scouts

 

[Kshahdoo]

Anyone that watched the 2020 draft class closely specificslly the 67s knew Rossi would go after Quinn around the 10 spot.

Small players that aren't exceptional skaters should drop. That's what Rossi is. As should undersized skill wingers unless they are generational like a Patrick Kane. It's the easiest position to replace.

Demidov is an elite skater but is an undersized winger. To me it's a big risk with what's available this year specifically all the really good d men I think he gets picked in the 6 to 12 range. Could be anywhere in there. Catton likely drops to 9 to 12 as well. For the reasons you listed.

Demidov looks much better than Kucherov did in MHL, it's just a reminder...

 

[coooldude]

Mixed opinions as in scouts have the defensemen ranked in different orders. A few will have Dickinson ranked as their 3rd or 4th best defenseman and a few might have Levshunov as the 3rd or 4th. That would push them out of the top 4 range. Dickinson is seen as a safer pick than some of the guys like Yakemchuk, Buium, and Parekh. The offensive upside for Dickinson is seen as limited, but his elite skating ability combined with size and reliability are heavily in his favor.

These defensemen are ranked all over the place on scouts boards, so the liklihood of guessing which exact two go top 4 is fairly low. Mckenzie was discussing these players on Mckeggs podcast and mentioned the high disparity amongst the defenders. Pronman also noted this as well when he was talking with scouts

Totally, as has been discussed ad nauseum! It seems like a lot of folks have locked into 2 of the top 6 D as the ones they talk about "at 2OA" or "after Celebrini and Demidov" but basically any list is a complete shuffle of Dickinson, Silayev, Levshunov, Buium, Parekh, Yakemchuk. Teams likely have their own opinions based on what they like and need, so predicting the top 10 is crazy hard.

Demidov could go 2OA or 9OA and you could understand why. Most of this is because of the big slug of same-tier but different-style D men, but you also have to consider the odd cases of Lindstrom, Catton, and even Eiserman and Iginla at F. It's just gonna be a wild first 15 picks.

 

[Castle8130]

Totally, as has been discussed ad nauseum! It seems like a lot of folks have locked into 2 of the top 6 D as the ones they talk about "at 2OA" or "after Celebrini and Demidov" but basically any list is a complete shuffle of Dickinson, Silayev, Levshunov, Buium, Parekh, Yakemchuk. Teams likely have their own opinions based on what they like and need, so predicting the top 10 is crazy hard.

Demidov could go 2OA or 9OA and you could understand why. Most of this is because of the big slug of same-tier but different-style D men, but you also have to consider the odd cases of Lindstrom, Catton, and even Eiserman and Iginla at F. It's just gonna be a wild first 15 picks.

I do have to say, out of the big 6 defensemen and the big 4 forward group, I think it is likely one of them will fall out of the top 15. I'm not sure which one it is, but the most likely to do so is one of Catton, Parekh, Buium, or Yakemchuk. There seems to be a huge divide on these players in the NHL scouting community from what I'm hearing.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Mixed opinions as in scouts have the defensemen ranked in different orders. A few will have Dickinson ranked as their 3rd or 4th best defenseman and a few might have Levshunov as the 3rd or 4th. That would push them out of the top 4 range. Dickinson is seen as a safer pick than some of the guys like Yakemchuk, Buium, and Parekh. The offensive upside for Dickinson is seen as limited, but his elite skating ability combined with size and reliability are heavily in his favor.

These defensemen are ranked all over the place on scouts boards, so the liklihood of guessing which exact two go top 4 is fairly low. Mckenzie was discussing these players on Mckeggs podcast and mentioned the high disparity amongst the defenders. Pronman also noted this as well when he was talking with scouts

Scouts always have different opinions, just last year we knew who was the top 5 talent but we did not know in which order they would go. I highly doubt a team drafting 4th or 5th overall will expose who they prefer to chose at any point. My opinion is that some player profile standout nore than other and are downplayed by team in hope they can be available at their rank. The only x factor is the LD vs RD argument, I feel some teams will favor RD because they carry a bit more value. I am also quite sure player like Yakamchuk and Parekh will have a rise in the draft ranking before the draft, their profile will be in high demand also. I think the biggest issue with Demidov is the lack of live viewing and the level of competition. He is 100% going top 10 but I feel some teams might go the safer route especially with the amazing quality of defenseman available this year.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Not enough hype for this guy I have never watched

 

[Kshahdoo]

 

[dmcccdmn]

Demidov looks so good. Is it crazy to think that he might actually have higher ceiling and turns out better than Celebrini?

He is listed at only 5'11" but why does he look bigger? Did he have a growth spurt since he last measured? I wouldn't be too sad having to pick Demidov at #2. He looks real good in these videos. Perhaps the gap between him and Celebrini is not as wide as people have been saying or am I just underestimating Celebrini's abilities?