SKA coach wants to bring Ivan Demidov back to Russia in 2025-2026

You know as well as I do what a strange season Ivan Demidov has had in the KHL.

Even though he was his team’s leading scorer at such a young age (he’s currently 19), his playing time was… limited. Roman Rotenberg always made sure to “break” him by limiting his playing time.

This enraged Habs fans, of course.

Nevertheless, at the end of the season, SKA agreed to let Demidov finish his NHL year. Once the SKA was eliminated, the Russian came to play seven games, including five in the playoffs, in the NHL.

That got a lot of people talking.

Now that Demidov is officially under contract with the Canadiens (his entry-level contract was signed two months ago), the club no longer has to worry about what might happen in Russia. Especially as the kid is spending the summer here…

But the fact remains that, according to Daria Tuboltseva, who works for RG media, the SKA coach would love to see the Canadiens loan Demidov back to his Russian club in 2025-2026. “You lose nothing by trying” is the coach ‘s mentality, and he’s preaching to the choir.

Three-time Stanley Cup champion and the SKA head coach Igor Larionov said that Ivan Demidov could return to the team.

“I’d like to have a conversation with the Canadiens. I’d be very interested in bringing this player back on loan for a year. Spending another season with SKA..

– Daria Tuboltseva (@DariaTuboltseva) June 6, 2025

It’s worth mentioning that Rotenberg is no longer at the SKA helm. Now it’s Igor Larionov, no stranger to KHL coaching and a three-time Stanley Cup winner as a Red Wings player, who is in place.

You’d think the situation would be different if Demidov went. But that’s not going to happen… even if Larionov would find it “phenomenal” to be able to count on the young man.

Demidov’s contract expired on June 1 and he is under contract here. So, technically speaking, this would be a loan deal if it were to happen in the next few months.

But don’t hold your breath: there’s no chance of that happening. The clubs that have Matvei Michkov and Ivan Demidov are doing everything to get them out of there, not the other way round.

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