Ivan Demidov prefers center to wing

Expectations will be high when Ivan Demidov arrives in Montreal.

There’s been a lot of talk about him since the last draft, and that’s normal in a way, because in the eyes of many, he should never have slipped to the Montreal Canadiens’ No. 5 spot in the first round.

Good for the Habs!

The Russian will continue his development in his homeland next season, and it’s worth remembering that his contract with the SKA St. Petersburg organization expires at the end of the 24-25 season.

That said, it will be interesting to see where he’ll be playing next season and when he arrives in town.

Why do I say this? Because the kid is just as comfortable playing center as he is on the wing.

In fact, he said in an interview that he likes playing center better because it allows him to be more creative and have a better vision of the game.

He also feels “more involved” in the game:

Ivan Demidov says he is “perfectly comfortable playing either center or wing” & has expressed that he enjoys playing center more

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– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 17, 2024

During the interview in question, the Canadiens prospect also confided that he realized he could be the best player on the ice last season.

As a result, he’s gained in confidence and now knows how to control a game.

But let’s get back to his preference for playing center.

When you look at the Habs’ bank of natural centers who have the potential to make the team in the long term, you realize that there’s a certain amount of “congestion”:

• Nick Suzuki (He’s already established)
• Kirby Dach
• Alex Newhook
• Owen Beck
• Oliver Kapanen
• Michael Hage
• Joshua Roy (who played wing with the Habs last year)

And that’s not counting guys like Aatos Koivu, Sean Farrell, Filip Mesar and Xavier Simoneau.

I didn’t want to put them on my list, because I find it hard to believe that they have a great chance of ever playing in the NHL.

All this to say that there could be a lot of center players on the Habs in the future, and that some of them will be converted to wingers.

Of course, the Habs will have to evaluate them individually to see how effective all the guys at center are… Especially since we’re talking about a difficult position in the NHL.

On the other hand, knowing that Demidov likes to play center is important because you can never have too many of them in an NHL club.

It’s an extra capacity in his toolbox… And it’s great news for the Habs.