Ivan Demidov has not cut ties with his troubled coach in Russia

Félix Forget
Ivan Demidov has not cut ties with his troubled coach in Russia
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

In 2024–25, Ivan Demidov's ice time in Russia was the talk of the town. The young player, who was then with SKA St. Petersburg, was dominant on the ice… but wasn't getting a lot of ice time.

It (really) caused a stir, to the point where Jeff Gorton publicly admitted that the Russian's ice time was frustrating the Habs' front office.

And at that point, SKA coach Roman Rotenberg came under heavy fire in Montreal. He was (truly) not a favorite in the city… and he earned his share of criticism.

But it's interesting to note that in a recent interview with Match.TV (a Russian media outlet), Demidov spoke a bit about his former coach. And the Habs forward, contrary to what one might have expected, had nothing but very good things to say about Rotenberg.

He emphasized that Rotenberg helped him develop a great deal… even though, in reality, he didn't always give him much ice time.

During that interview, Demidov even revealed that he spoke (frequently) with his former coach during his first full season in the NHL. The two texted and called each other repeatedly, and Demidov feels that communication between them is good.

We don't know what those discussions were about, of course. But it's interesting to hear that.

One might wonder whether Demidov made these comments to avoid publicly criticizing his former coach, especially since the interview was conducted by a Russian media outlet. He might have a different take in an interview with, say, Quebec media.

But at the same time, perhaps the relationship between the two men is better than we think, and what we saw on the ice isn't representative of what Rotenberg has actually done for Demidov over the past few years. Because if the Habs player is to be believed, he hasn't cut ties with his former coach at all—even today.


Quick Q&A

– Hehe.

– Too bad.

– More trades in MLB.

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