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Ivan Demidov won’t get the Owen Beck treatment in Russia
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Since Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton took over, the Habs have put more emphasis than ever on development. This applies not only to the NHL level, but also to young prospects, of course.

In junior and everywhere else, the prospects are visited by Rob Ramage, Francis Bouillon, Paul Byron or another member of the club affiliated with development in Montreal.

And that makes all the difference. Remember what center Owen Beck said on the subject recently: Paul Byron’s visits “greatly helped” him improve his game in 2023-2024.

He’s the one who got the most press last week, but that’s how it is for many prospects.

For example? David Reinbacher, who played for an ugly team in Switzerland, also benefited from Rob Ramage’s advice to keep his head held high in the face of adversity.

And that brings us to Ivan Demidov.

Since he’ll most likely be playing in Russia next year, we can’t expect Rob Ramage to be able to easily get in touch with the prospect for a chat.

Does this mean he’ll be left to his own devices? Not necessarily.

After all, as Stu Cowan mentions in his piece of the day, Rob Ramage is quite confident that the Habs will be able to make contact with their top prospect.

Nick Bobrov is very well connected in Russia. We’ll do our best.

But it’s a bit more difficult. – Rob Ramage

Obviously, not having the development director in an optimal position to help Demidov, who will no doubt be under pressure to extend his stay on Russian soil, won’t be ideal.

Let’s see if he can keep his head on the ice. After all, his performance will be watched by the fans…

Overtime

– Another name to watch in Russia.

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