Ivan Demidov’s agent tempers expectations and calls for patience

“I hope to celebrate the Stanley Cup with my client soon,” Ivan Demidov’s agent, Dan Milstein, said moments before tempering expectations and calling for patience from the Canadiens’ fans. Ironical, isn’t it?

It’s worth noting that he’s already sparked some discussion and keyboard tapping over the past three days, and he added more fuel to the fire tonight. Milstein gave an interview to Patrick Friolet today, and some interesting points were presented on the 5 à 7 show this evening.

Let’s talk about pressure first.

A message to the fans: be patient. Good things are coming, but they won’t happen overnight. – Dan Milstein

While waiting for Ivan Demidov, an interview with his agent Dan Milstein.

Expectations, his personality, his path, and great ambitions…https://t.co/VawUvDEbvH

— Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) April 10, 2025

In short, the agent knows his job and doesn’t want too much pressure on the kid. However, it’s essential to put things into perspective: there’s a difference between expectations and

Personally, I’m extremely excited to see Ivan Demidov wear the Habs’ jersey, but I won’t throw tomatoes or other fruits/vegetables at his apartment window if he’s not a point-per-game player in the playoffs.

Later, I found it interesting to hear from Milstein that Rotenberg’s constant “.tightening of the screws” in the KHL was part of the development plan to prepare him for his jump to North America.

That’s not how it was perceived here.

“Full credit to Roman. He did an excellent job developing him. I know the fans wanted him to play more, but it was part of the development plan.”

And that’s considering Demidov had informed the SKA, upon being drafted in the NHL, that he wanted to make the jump to North America as soon as the Russian club was eliminated. It’s crazy how the narrative has changed over the past 72 hours.

It’s hard to know what or who to believe anymore.