Thursday, Ivan Demidov was benched by his team in a 1-0 loss for SKA. In a game where the club lost, not giving a single second of ice time to the team’s top scorer this season seems strange, but that’s what Roman Rotenberg decided to do.
And inevitably, it brings back bad memories from the start of the season, where Demidov’s ice time was a serious problem.
They questioned Rotenberg on the subject during a press conference, and Demidov’s coach, in a long response, seemed to criticize the young player’s “collective effort”:
Ivan can become one of the best in the world, but he must work hard for the team. Then, he will be able to bring great benefits to the team. – Roman Rotenberg
In today’s press conference, Roman Rotenberg said that Ivan Demidov will play in the next game, compared him to Kirill Kaprizov and said that he needs to work for the team, as Kirill did pic.twitter.com/3DqsOsQ3U1
— Милена (@D1VDsAGUJsk2iPk) February 27, 2025
What seems to be understood by listening to all this is that by “collective effort”, Rotenberg is talking about Demidov’s defensive effort. In his last game before being benched, he finished the game with a -3 differential, and he finished three of the last four games with a negative differential.
Rotenberg also notes that Demidov has been heavily targeted by opposing players for a while and that it’s becoming physically demanding for him. In theory, this is another valid reason, but…
There’s also a world where the coach jumped on the first rational excuse to justify all this when, in reality, it’s a pressure tactic to force him to sign a long-term contract. We know the club has done it earlier this season, after all.
The real answer, only SKA really knows. That being said, we’ll see if, as the coach claims, Demidov will be back in action (and not just on the bench) during the team’s next games. And if he finishes another game with a very negative differential, we’ll see if the song remains the same.
– Ryan Lindgren is heading to Colorado.
Here’s what I have on full trade. #NYR sending Lindgren, Vesey and D prospect Hank Kempf to COL, plus retaining 50% of Lindgren’s $4.5M AAV. Rangers receive F Juuso Parssinen, D Calvin de Haan, 2nd round pick and a 4th. Both picks in 2025 draft.
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) March 1, 2025
– Gustav Nyquist: keep an eye on the Wild.
Nashville and Minnesota are talking about a potential Gustav Nyquist trade, per sources, which is why he’s being held out today. But the trade is still not done. Could be a complication. Let’s see where it goes.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 1, 2025
– Reinforcements in Ottawa.
All three of Tkachuk, Norris and Pinto will play tonight.
Linus Ullmark will start vs the Sharks.
Tyler Kleven is out of the lineup. #Sens
— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) March 1, 2025
– Andrei Vasilevskiy is on fire.
No lineup changes for Lightning today vs. Capitals. Going with 11F-7D again. Andrei Vasilevskiy starts again.
Lightning have won 7 in a row with Vasilevskiy in net for all 7. He’s 7-0-0 with a 1.72 GAA, .945 save percentage and one shutout during that stretch.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) March 1, 2025
– Still!
Largest comeback in the QMJHL in 25 years yesterday in Shawinigan.
The Remparts overcame a 0-5 deficit with less than 12 minutes left in the 3rd to win 6-5 in a shootout.
In December 2000, the Foreurs came back from a 6-2 deficit with 2:06 left in the 3rd vs the Huskies and won 7-6 in overtime.
— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) March 1, 2025
