Ivan Demidov admits he is “very proud” to have Martin St-Louis as his coach

Marc-Olivier Cook
Ivan Demidov admits he is “very proud” to have Martin St-Louis as his coach
Credit: Everything is going Ivan Demidov's way these days.

Ivan Demidov is in his first season in the National Hockey League.

And what's great for him is that he's surrounded by really good people both on and off the ice.

He has good teammates, which allows him to produce even more offensively. But he also has a good coach… and for a 20-year-old who has just arrived in North America, that's important.

The young man admitted it last night during an autograph session with fans: Martin St. Louis helps him a lot. Demidov says he is “very proud” to have a coach like him, which shows how much St. Louis is respected by his players.

Oh, and Demidov also praised his qualities as a player… hehe: 

I'm very proud that he's my first coach in the NHL. I watch his highlights from when he was a player, and he was incredible. Now he's my coach. He's also a very honest coach. I like his coaching style. – Ivan Demidov

Honestly, it's great to see.

There's a great atmosphere within the group, and that's partly thanks to Martin St-Louis. He knows how to talk to his guys, he knows how to use his players in the right way to get the best out of them on the ice… and that makes everything enjoyable afterwards.

But you can also see how much Martin St-Louis is appreciated in the locker room when you hear his players talk about him that way.

This isn't the first time, in fact, that a player has praised his coaching skills. Cole Caufield has done it several times, as has Nick Suzuki… and when a team's best players sing their coach's praises like that, it says a lot about what's going on inside the locker room.

The good news for Demidov?

Martin St-Louis could be his coach for a very long time to come. The habs' skipper has what it takes to lead the club for several years, and we've seen how well he's done since arriving in town.

In other words, it will be difficult to replace him if the Canadiens continue to progress as quickly as they have been. And with the respect he commands in the city… we could definitely see him coaching the Canadiens for many years to come.


Overtime

– What a day!

– It makes sense.

– Yeah.

– Nice story.

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