Stu Cowan: Canadiens focus on offence during memorable draft night

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The Canadiens stole the show during the first round of the NHL Draft Friday night in Las Vegas — even before they made the No. 5 overall pick.

“Bonsoir, Las Vegas,” Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said after taking to the stage at the stunning Sphere, before thanking Montreal fans in French for their support.

Switching to English, Hughes then said: “To make our 2024 first selection, I’m pleased to invite on stage our No. 1 fan — the one and only Céline Dion!”

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The singing superstar then walked toward the stage holding hands with the oldest of her three sons, René-Charles.

“With the fifth overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, the Montreal Canadiens are proud to select … Ivan Demidov,” Dion announced.

It was a smart pick by the Canadiens, who must get more offence from their forwards and Demidov can bring that.

It was a brilliant move to have Dion make the announcement.

Demidov, a 6-foot, 192-pound Russian winger, was ranked No. 2 among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting behind defenceman Anton Silayev, who went to the New Jersey Devils with the No. 10 pick. TSN draft guru Bob McKenzie had Demidov ranked No. 2 overall behind forward Macklin Celebrini, who as expected went to the San Jose Sharks with the No. 1 overall pick. The Chicago Blackhawks took defenceman Artyom Levshunov with the No. 2 pick, the Anaheim Ducks took winger Beckett Sennecke at No. 3 and the Columbus Blue Jackets took centre Cayden Lindstrom at No. 4 before the Canadiens and Céline took the stage.

Demidov posted 23-37-60 totals in 30 games last season with the St. Petersburg junior team in Russia. He was held pointless in four games with the St. Petersburg KHL team and has one year remaining on his contract with that club. That means the 18-year-old won’t be able to join the Canadiens before the 2025-26 season. Demidov doesn’t have a Canadian visa — only an American one — so he won’t be able to attend the Canadiens’ development camp, which opens next Tuesday in Brossard.

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Last year, the Canadiens took a pass on Russian forward Matvei Michkov with the No. 5 overall pick, opting for Austrian defenceman David Reinbacher instead. The Philadelphia Flyers ended up taking Michkov at No. 7.

“I think (Demidov’s) a better player than Michkov,” TSN director of scouting and NHL analyst Craig Button said on the league website. “He’s (Nikita) Kucherov to me. He can pass, he can shoot. He’s brilliant. Like Kucherov, they (both) step out onto the ice and they’re immediately dangerous. The puck ends up on their stick and it’s like, buckle up, pay attention, you’re going for a ride.”

The Canadiens also had the No. 21 overall pick after making a trade earlier in the day with the Los Angeles Kings to move up from No. 26. The Canadiens used the No. 21 pick to select 6-foot-1, 188-pound centre Michael Hage, who had 33-42-75 totals in 54 games last season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel and is headed to the University of Michigan next season. He was ranked 10th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and 24th overall by TSN’s McKenzie.

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Hughes told reporters in Las Vegas that Hage was the player the Canadiens were targeting when they made the trade with Los Angeles, giving the Kings the 26th pick, the 57th pick (second round) and the 198th pick (seventh round) in exchange. Hughes said the Canadiens had Hage ranked much higher than No. 21 and had other plans in place if he was picked before No. 21 by another team.

Hage’s father, Alain, died last July in a freak swimming pool accident.

“Growing up as a kid, he did everything for me and I couldn’t be happier,” Hage said while holding back tears in an interview with Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek after getting drafted. “Honestly, grew up as Habs fans. Both my parents are from Montreal. My dad would be so happy right now. It’s a dream come true for me, honestly.”

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Hage played his minor youth hockey with the Toronto Junior Canadiens and posted 46-70-116 totals in 57 games with the triple-A U16 team in 2021-22. Hage was born in Oakville, Ont., but speaks very good French after going to French school from age 4-12. He still speaks French with his grandparents, who live on Nuns’ Island. Most of his extended family also lives in Montreal.

“This is a team I dreamed of playing for as a kid and I’m going to do everything I can to be as impactful as I possibly could be when I get there,” Hage said about getting drafted by the Canadiens.

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Demidov was the player the Canadiens were hoping to get with the No. 5 pick. Hughes told reporters in Las Vegas they had him ranked No. 2 behind Celebrini.

The Canadiens did their homework on Demidov with Nick Bobrov, the team’s co-director of amateur scouting, visiting with the player throughout last season in Russia. Hughes said the Canadiens were already interested in Demidov last year, looking ahead to this year’s draft.

The Canadiens scouts were also high on Hage.

“The guys love his speed, his skill set, character, the fact that he’s going to get a couple of years in college to keep getting bigger and stronger and they think he’s going to be a really good player for us,” Hughes told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman after picking Hage.

Demidov considers himself to be more of a playmaker than a scorer. He shoots left and is listed as a right-winger, but he can also play left wing and centre. Six of his 23 goals last season in the Russian junior league were game-winners and he averaged 4.8 shots on goal per game in the regular season. He added 11-17-28 totals in 17 playoff games.

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“It’s an unbelievable moment,” Demidov, who started learning English a year-and-a-half ago in school with his sights set on the NHL, told reporters in Las Vegas after getting drafted. “I think from childhood all players dream about it and now the dream comes true in an unbelievable city like Montreal. It’s crazy.”

Demidov said he’s “very happy to be with Habs” and added he needs to start learning French now. He isn’t concerned about the pressure of playing in the Montreal market.

“I think it’s good because (Montreal) fans really love hockey and I, too, love hockey,” he said. “That’s why it’s not a problem for me.”

The Canadiens need more forwards who can produce offence if this rebuild is going to work and Demidov and Hage definitely have the potential to do that. Céline was the icing on the cake on this night.

“It’s unbelievable,” Demidov said about Dion announcing his name. “It’s like a book, like a movie. It’s me! It’s cool.”

It sure was.

scowan@postmedia.com

x.com/StuCowan1

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