Nailed to the bench in the 2nd half: Demidov tastes his coach’s medicine (again)
Auteur: Jessica WilliamsUh… 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.
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
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.
For the sake of argument, it’s worth noting that SKA eventually won the game 4-1.
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…