Habs Prospect Report: Hage Dominant, Demidov Decreasing TOI

Most of the attention following the 2024 NHL Entry Draft focused on the Canadiens prospect who was picked fifth overall, rather than Michael Hage, who ended up joining the Canadiens with the 21st overall pick.

And while Ivan Demidov’s potential is bordering on elite, Hage falling to the Habs is an early candidate for the steal of the draft, as evidenced by his fantastic start in the NCAA.

Before we get going with the report, I’d like to take a moment to point out we often use the prospect videos uploaded on YouTube by HarryHood1919. It’s a fantastic resource for Canadiens fans, and I strongly suggest subscribing to the channel to support their excellent work.

Blistering NCAA Start For The Canadiens Prospect

Hage’s first career NCAA game was a disappointment from a team standpoint. The University of Michigan dropped their season opener 5-2 to Minnesota State, although Hage still managed to standout, assisting on both Michigan goals.

Not only did he provide the primary assists, but he clearly did not look out of place, a reassuring situation given the jump from the USHL to the NCAA is quite difficult, regardless of the talent a player may possess. Even with the loss, it was a dream start for the Mississauga native.

His speed in transition was particularly noticeable, which confirms the pre-draft scouting reports that suggests he can become a dominant player on the rush. Skating fast is important, and great puck handling is crucial, but it’s only when you combine the two that you have the necessary ingredients to one day ascend to the NHL as an impact player.

We’re far removed from that day, but suffice it to say, Hage’s NCAA start was just about as encouraging as possible.

The 18-year-old centre followed up his great performance by scoring his first goal in the NCAA in just the second game of the season. It also happened to be the game-winning goal for Michigan, as they avenged their opening-day loss to Minnesota State with a 4-1 win.

The video embedded below is timestamped to his goal, but even if we slow down the play to evaluate frame-by-frame, it’s a little difficult to see exactly what Hage did to score. Believe it or not, he did end up taking a shot with his forehand, despite carrying the puck on his backhand until the very last moment. It was the perfect example of Hage’s greatest strength; his speed of execution in transition. The goal was actually Hage’s second point of the game, as he once again provided the primary assist for Michigan’s opening goal.

There’s a lot of hockey left to play, but it’s hard not to pay close attention when a freshman produces a goal and three primary assists in the opening-weekend of the season.

Classic Kontinental Hockey League

The last time we checked-in on Demidov, he was enjoying a strong start to his professional career despite being given very little ice time. As a rookie, it’s understandable he has to work for his ice time. As Rob Ramage mentioned in a recent media availability, in that situation you need to get better, not bitter.

But now that SKA Saint Petersburg has played almost 20 percent of the schedule, the molehill is starting to become a mountain. Demidov’s ice time decreased significantly in the last few games, culminating with a paltry 3 minutes and 22 seconds TOI in Saturday’s game versus Severstal Cherepovets.

Keep in mind, even with the lowered ice time, Demidov is among the team’s top point producers, with four goals and four assists. Now, we have to acknowledge we’re looking at this from a Habs-centric point of view, and every team has reasons why a certain player gets used less often than others. SKA has a very strong lineup, and Demidov is one of the youngest players in the KHL.

That being said, regardless of the strength of the roster, given Demidov’s offensive contributions as a rookie, you’d be hard-pressed to argue he deserves the downtick in usage. It’s also not the first time SKA head coach Roman Rottenburg has focused on a young player as the object of his ire, seeing as Philadelphia Flyers prospect Matvei Michkov was also given very few opportunities in his brief time with SKA.

ON TOPIC: Canadiens Prospect Rankings – Ivan Demidov Is A Game Breaker

Fortunately for Michkov and the Flyers, SKA ended up loaning him to Sochi, where he immediately received an increase in ice time, and predictably, flourished, both offensively and defensively. Unfortunately for Demidov, moving to a team like Sochi is not an option, as KHL teams can’t loan a player when they’re in the last year of their contract.

It’s a little too early to panic when it comes to Demidov’s ice time. However, it’s also fair to suggest that at the moment it’s far from an ideal situation for the top Canadiens prospect.

Other Montreal Canadiens Prospect News And Notes

– After a very solid showing at the Canadiens rookie camp, Vancouver Giants forward Tyler Thorpe has maintained a point-per-game pace in the WHL (5 GP, 1G, 4).

– Vinzenz Rohrer is in the midst of a great Cy Young campaign for Zurich. The hard-working prospect has scored four goals in nine games, and is on pace to produce 23 goals and no assists in 52 games. Those four goals include a fantastic end-to-end effort for the Lions last Sunday.

🚨ALERT 🚨Habs prospect Vinzenz Rohrer scored his 4th goal of the season, the only goal of the game, with a game-winner. He logged 16:58 of ice time and registered 1 shot on goal. “BEAUTY” goal.#GoHabsGo #Habs @CanadiensMTL pic.twitter.com/xb0JPoaaBI

— HABS NATION (@CoachFrenchy10X) September 28, 2024