NHL teams enlisted the help of celebrity guest pickers to announce first-round selections in Friday night’s 2024 NHL Draft, with former San Jose Sharks star Joe Thornton announcing the team’s first overall pick, Macklin Celebrini.
When it came to the Montreal Canadiens’ pick at No. 5 overall, however, they brought some real star power to the table.
In a stunner, world-famous singer and Quebec native Celine Dion took the stage, and she certainly brought some drama to the affair. After quite a bit of fanfare and extended pauses, she announced the selection of Russian winger Ivan Demidov of SKA Saint Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League.
IVAN DEMIDOV HAS BEEN DRAFTED BY THE HABS AND CELINE DION JUST MADE THE PICK 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lIeLgwup2e
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 28, 2024
Even the broadcasters described the pick as the most dramatic of all time.
After beginning his NHL career with a celebrity photo-op, Demidov will join one of the league’s most historically successful teams in Montreal, which has won 24 Stanley Cups, though it’s searching for its first since 1993.
The Habs got close in 2021, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals, but they’ve missed the postseason in each of the last three campaigns. With Demidov, they’ll hope their fortune changes.
