Nailed to the bench in the 2nd half: Demidov tastes his coach’s medicine (again)

Ivan Demidov and SKA St. Petersburg were in action today against HK Avangard Omsk.

What caught the eye during the game?

Uh… Mostly the fact that, in the second period, the Canadiens’ prospect was benched. He made a grand total of three appearances (2:22 of playing time), and was the player least used by his coach in the second period. Super.

Demidov didn’t do badly in the first half and gave his club a man advantage early on.

The opposing defender had no choice but to latch on to him, otherwise it was a guaranteed goal:

Ivan Demidov sure draws a lot of penalties for a player with supposed “below average” skating https://t.co/SnXFQcNXNq

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) September 23, 2024

At some point in the first period, SKA enjoyed another power play.

Demidov spent 1 minute and 38 seconds on the ice during the powerplay, and it was afterwards that the coach decided to use him less.

The Habs prospect wasn’t on the ice in the second period when SKA had the man advantage, and it’s as if Roman Rotenberg wanted to punish him by sending him a certain message.

Was this partly due to his lengthy presence on the power play in the first? The question arises…

Demidov was not on the ice for the last two power plays. The coach is benching him.

– bidou18 (@Bidou1422) September 23, 2024

It’s sure a reaction, because before the game, Demidov was (tied) at the top of his club’s scoring charts (six points in seven games).

He’s the SKA’s offensive engine and creates the most scoring chances, but it’s clearly not enough for the club’s head coach to trust him 100%.

That’s where many see the problem, especially as it can have a negative impact on the youngster’s confidence.

But hey.

For the sake of argument, it’s worth noting that SKA eventually won the game 4-1.

Demidov spent 3 minutes and 20 seconds on the ice in the third period, and finished the game with 10:54 to play.

He was also cleared from the scoresheet and was his club’s third-least-used forward.

Now, I can’t wait to see if he’ll be used on the third line again in the team’s next game, after getting another taste of his head coach’s medicine…