Habs Daily: Demidov Top NHL Prospect, 2025 NHL Draft, Volokhin

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Thursday.

Montreal Canadiens News

ESPN ranked the top 50 prospects outside the NHL, with top Habs hopeful Ivan Demidov taking the top spot. His recent uptick in scoring is encouraging, but the value being attributed to the 18-year-old forward goes beyond his limited usage in the KHL. There are few who can match his offensive prowess. Fellow Habs prospect David Reinbacher also made the list (27th). [ESPN]

It’s not what most fans want to hear, but the Montreal Canadiens are trending toward another lottery pick this summer, and that’s far from the worst possible result when viewing the situation from a long-term perspective.  [Canadiens Could Be In the Mix For A Lottery Pick, And That’s Okay]

The Canadiens players got together for their annual Halloween party. There are clearly a few Oompa Loompas in the mix, and I’m fairly certain David Savard dressed up like an old man, which is perfect, and hilarious. Even though he’s only 34 years old, he’s roughly a decade older than most defencemen on the team, if not more.

The Habs at their Halloween party 🎃 pic.twitter.com/kwD4Tgemuw

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) October 24, 2024

Prospect Yevgeni Volokhin enjoyed a solid start to his KHL, saving 21 of the 23 shots sent his way as Sochi lost 2-1 to Nizhnekamsk. For those who aren’t aware, Volohkin was drafted by the Canadiens in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately, footage from his time in the MHL, where he dominated, has been hard to find. Now that he’s in the KHL, we will finally have more to go on than just his fantastic statistics from seasons past.

National Hockey Now Network

Maybe some people thought the 4 Nations Face-Off in February would be the ideal time for some torch-passing on Team Canada. Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid is not in that camp. He likes the old guard when it comes to who should be team captain for that international tournament. [Pittsburgh Penguins]

The Penguins’ biggest problems take up approximately $25 million in cap space per year. And the second-biggest problem is a gargantuan hole in the lineup. [Philadelphia Flyers]

Their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning the other night was supposed to be a statement. A bounce back after a poor effort on home ice against the Washington Capitals two days prior. Instead, they rolled over, laid there, and let the Lightning put up eight goals on them. [Florida Panthers]