It's still far too early to draw any definitive conclusions about the 2024 draft.
But Grant McCagg is already convinced of one thing: The Blackhawks will regret letting Ivan Demidov slip through their fingers.
Chicago had the second overall pick that year and ultimately opted for defenseman Artyom Levshunov. Demidov had slipped to fifth overall, right into the Canadiens' hands.
Two years later, McCagg still believes the Hawks made the wrong choice.
He spoke about it on the Habscast:
What makes his comments interesting is that he isn't jumping on the Demidov bandwagon simply because the young forward now plays for the Habs.
Even before the draft, McCagg ranked the Russian second in the draft class and considered him one of the best prospects he'd evaluated in the previous 12 years. He'd even told the Chicago Tribune that he didn't understand how the Hawks could pass on Demidov.
His opinion clearly hasn't changed.
McCagg remains particularly critical of Levshunov's decision-making. Even before the draft, he criticized him for tending to think offensively rather than thinking like a defenseman.
According to McCagg, these bad habits are still evident today in the NHL. That obviously do...