Montreal Canadiens Release Their Behind the Scenes Draft Video

When the NHL released its video about the 2024 Draft in Vegas a month ago, some Montreal Canadiens fans were disappointed by the absence of Ivan Demidov. Judging by the behind the scenes pictures the organization has already released, they won't be this time. 

In the sneak peaks that were showed, there was a particular picture where you could see Jeff Gorton, Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov looking very pleased by how their future first-round pick was answering their question at the draft combine interview. 

The video finally came out last night, some 75 hours after news of the Patrik Laine trade broke out. The Canadiens are being smart here, feeding the fans bit by bit as we inch closer and closer to rookie camps. 

In a 27 minutes video that feels like it lasted about two, the Canadiens really allowed the fans to go behind the scenes and feel almost as if they had a seat at the table. The video is wonderfully put together, it's a real rollercoaster of emotions. 

Demidov comes across as the happy go lucky guy who hasn't got a care in the world, because he's so confident in his own abilities and talent. There's a bit of a language barrier there, he's kind of looking for his words at times, but not much more than Martin St-Louis in French during the pressers. Still, in his second language, he's able to make the whole team laugh which is always a good sign. 

Fans should particularly appreciate the moment when he's asked about Slafkovsky and comes back with:

I played against him at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Yeah... he lose. 

Needless to say, the whole room started to chuckle as the youngster's laugh was infectious. 

While Demidov provides the laughter, Michael Hage pulls at your heartstrings. There's the moment when he's drafted that we've already seen on the Welcome to the NHL video, but there's also a moment in his combine interview that is hard not to tear up to. 

Dr. David Scott, a sports psychology consultant, has the last question of the meeting and he warns Hage that he doesn't have to answer what he's about to ask, he can just pass on the question and you just know it's going to be about his father's passing. He essentially tells him he knows a nine or 10 year-old who's going through what the center has been through and he wants to know what to tell him, he looks at Hage and says: "How did you survive?" I won't spoil the answer on that one, but I found it quite moving. 

From the combine, the video takes us to the pre draft meetings as the Canadiens' scouting staff go over their list of prospects and tries to finalize their battle plan. Two days worth of discussions about what would be best for the franchise. It's quite obvious that the whole staff was infatuated with Demidov.

Scout Christer Rockstrom gives him high praise comparing the way he enters the zone to the likes of Sergei Makarov and Alex Kovalev adding a defenseman has to be a great skater to defend against that. The experienced scout didn't think he would still be available at five, saying there would be anybody close to him at that point. 

For those who held their breath at the draft and were annoyed when the New York Islanders picked Cole Eiserman, the video makes it clear that he was never on the Canadiens' radar at 21. There was a lot of discussion about Hage and how much potential he has, clearly, he was their man. 

It's also interesting to know Kent Hughes had trade options at the ready for both first-round pick if the chips didn't fall how the Canadiens wanted them to fall, but with Demidov being still on the board at five and Hage at 21, the GM said thanks but no thanks. 

As for the conclusion of the video, there was a neat shot of many of the last few years picks and looking at them, it's hard not too be excited about what the future has in store for this team. Watch the video, it's a well-invested 27 minutes. 

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