films and numbers can only give you half a picture. not having him play against teams out side of Russia, and not being able to talk to him is the other half.
That's true but hardly unusual. Plenty of good Russian players never played in NA before being drafted. Yeah, there's always going to be concerns about how his game will transfer but that's on the mind of every scout regarding every single European player they want to draft. That's even a concern for NCAA and CHL players. Hell, look at Bemstrom - AHL stud, NHL dud. You just never know, that's why the draft is a crap shoot to an extent.
But realistically, Demidov displays skill sets well above his peers in the MHL. I don't buy that the MHL is in any meaningful way different than years past that would make it an unreliable benchmark for assessing talent.
Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Ivan Demidov, 2005-12-10 Sergiyev Posad, RUS Russia. Most recently in the undefined with SKA St. Petersburg. Complete player biography and stats.
www.eliteprospects.com
He's the consensus #2. There are a couple of random lists that have him higher but outside of Bobby Mac's, I don't put much stock in the lists. One of them has Eisermann at #2 with Demidov at #3 which I don't buy into at all. Bobby Mac is the only credible list that doesn't have him at #2 so that can be taken for what it's worth.
As I've said in previous posts, the only reason I can see a team not taking Demidov is if there's a true organizational need for a dman. Then you look at Dickenson, Levshunov, or Parekh. I could also see a team opting for the size of Lindstrom if they want to add a power forward. That said, skill wise, Demidov is way past Lindstrom but again, organizational needs may dictate.