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What Ivan Demidov has accomplished in the KHL this season is without precedent
Félix Forget
What Ivan Demidov has accomplished in the KHL this season is without precedent
Credit: Getty Images
Yesterday afternoon, Ivan Demidov’s season came to an end in the KHL. The SKA was eliminated… and even though some had hoped to see the Habs be able to bring him back to finish the year, we’re more likely to see him finish the year in the VHL.

He would have the opportunity to play with his brother… and on June 1st, he will be able to come to Montreal, as he will be released from his contractual obligations in Russia.

That being said, even though it’s been a frustrating year for Demidov in terms of his playing time being managed all wrong, he still amassed 49 points in 65 games. For a rookie who turned 19 in December and was facing adults, that’s very far from being bad.

He finished the season as the top scorer on his team, after all.

And that impresses a lot Craig Button, who spoke about Demidov on the Recrutes Draftcast, and who had this to say about the young player:

What Ivan Demidov accomplished in the KHL this season is unprecedented. – Craig Button

Button explains his point like this: Demidov wasn’t just a good rookie in the KHL, he was actually one of the league’s best players. And that’s not common for players of his age in the KHL.

Button insists that Demidov already plays like a player who has the assets to be successful in the NHL… and even though we can think that there will be an adaptation phase when he arrives in America, we can see in the kid’s game that he is a special talent.

Usually, in Russia, players of this age don’t play big minutes on good teams. In 2023-24, for example, Matvei Michkov was in the same situation as Demidov… and the SKA sent him on loan to another team rather than letting him shine in their colors.

Unfortunately, we shouldn’t expect to see Demidov come and give a boost to the Habs in the playoffs this season… but if we have to take away one thing from this sometimes laborious season, it’s that the young player did something exceptional for a player of his age in the KHL.

And if the Habs, who will almost certainly be a playoff team this year, add a player like that to their lineup next year, it won’t hurt…


Overtime

– It’s 2/3 of his goals, that.

– Wow.

– Indeed. I was talking about it earlier tonight.

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