When the Canadiens interviewed Ivan Demidov before last year’s NHL Draft, Jeff Gorton had a question for him.
“Are we crazy if we don’t take you?” the Canadiens’ executive vice-president of hockey operations asked Demidov about the decision the team would have to make if he was still available as the No. 5 overall pick.
“Yeah,” Demidov replied.
“We’re crazy, right?” Gorton responded.
“Yeah … if you didn’t take me,” Demidov said.
“Like a franchise player?” Gorton asked.
“Yeah, I think. Yeah,” Demidov responded.
Time will tell if Demidov eventually becomes a franchise player for the Canadiens, but the 19-year-old Russian winger is showing they made a smart decision by selecting his with the No. 5 pick at last year’s draft.
On Tuesday, Demidov recorded his first KHL hat trick as his St. Petersburg SKA team beat Vityaz 4-1. His third goal was an empty-netter.
In 48 games this season, Demidov has 19-21-40 totals.
Last Thursday, Gorton was a guest on The Sick Podcast — The Eye Test with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy and he was asked about Demidov.
“Obviously, very talented,” Gorton said. “We felt that at No. 5 it was an obvious selection for us to get a guy of that kind of calibre. Since we took him, to this day, nothing’s ever changed. He’s an exciting player. It’s all good there.
“Our market is very excited about this player,” Gorton added. “We’ll see what’s next. He’s got another 20 games there this season, so hopefully they go on a long run and he gets in the playoffs and those kind of experiences come his way.”
During his midseason news conference, Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said Demidov wouldn’t be able to join the Canadiens until next season because of his KHL contract, which expires at the end of this season.
Habs prospect Fowler shines
Canadiens goalie prospect Jacob Fowler was named the Hockey East Player of the Week on Monday.
Fowler made 61 saves and didn’t allow an even-strength goal as Boston College swept a two-game weekend series against Boston University, winning 6-2 on Friday and 2-0 on Saturday.
Fowler, selected by the Canadiens in the third round (69th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft, improved his record this season to 17-3-1 with six shutouts, a 1.63 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.