LAS VEGAS – Canadiens director of player personnel and amateur scouting Martin Lapointe and co-director of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov were very satisfied with the Habs’ prospect haul following the conclusion of the 2024 NHL Draft.
Here are a few highlights from their press conference on Saturday:
Please note that answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.
Lapointe on Ivan Demidov’s personality:
You could see it when he got on stage. He has a bit of flair and is confident. It’s a good kind of confidence. We like his fight, he’s a young guy who wants to be a game-breaker and get the crowd on its feet. He has a lot of dimension to his game and I think he’s the steal of the Draft. He’s the player we were looking for and we’re lucky that he was available at pick No. 5.
Lapointe on drafting Aatos Koivu:
We watched Aatos a lot this season. He’s a responsible guy on the ice, a guy who is very dedicated to hockey. Obviously, his dad was also a player, and Saku’s talent has carried over to Aatos. We like how responsible he is on the ice and he’s going to keep improving.
Lapointe on selecting many forwards at the 2024 NHL Draft:
We added a lot of offensive talent and skill. [...] We picked guys with good size who like to compete, so Nick and I are really happy with our haul.