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Ivan Demidov: last year’s injuries led to depression

 Sarah Jones
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Ivan Demidov: last year’s injuries led to depression
Credit: Getty Images

In recent weeks, Ivan Demidov has been the talk of Montreal. The team’s first-round draft pick is the organization’s top prospect, and it’s been a long time since the club has had a prospect of this caliber.

We’re talking about a guy who has the potential to be one of the NHL’s top forwards, after all.

Obviously, the fact that he’s such a promising youngster makes him popular in his native Russia. And earlier today, the HabsOnReddit X account unearthed a very interesting interview with Demidov conducted several weeks ago by the MHL’s official website.

And really, we learn a lot about the youngster.

Among the many topics discussed, Demidov looks back on what was a “really tough” 2023-24 season for him. He wasn’t spared by injuries, to the point where the whole thing affected him mentally.

The youngster admits: for a while, the injuries led to depression, to the point where he didn’t want to talk to anyone.

It was all the more difficult for him to live with all this considering it was his NHL draft year. He knew it was a defining campaign, and seeing the injuries pile up affected him.

That’s the thing about injuries that we sometimes forget: not only is it tough physically, but there’s a mental component to it too. And in Demidov’s case, the timing meant that it had a significant effect on his mental health.

That said, when he was on the ice, he was able to assert himself. He admits that people’s “trash talk” is a great source of motivation for him… and that if anyone ever comes after him, he won’t be afraid to defend himself :

I’m not looking to throw down the gloves, but if your opponent is looking for you, you have to fight. – Ivan Demidov

He did it last year (leading to a free-for-all), but admits he doesn’t exactly have great technique. He mostly improvised… but he figures he wasn’t at the bottom of the pile, so he must have won.

Finally, in the same interview, he chatted a bit about a comparison made by his coach, Roman Rotenberg, who drew a parallel between Demidov and Evgeni Malkin. A comparison with which the young… doesn’t exactly agree:

He’s a center, and he’s bigger than me. I like Malkin, but I have very little in common with him, except perhaps my vision of the game. – Ivan Demidov

I recommend you read the full interview, which really reveals a lot about the youngster.

I like to see that he had the maturity to admit that he had to deal with mental health issues related to his injuries, that said. In a hockey culture where guys have to be indestructible machines, to see an 18-year-old with such maturity is worthy of mention.


Overtime

– I’d be very surprised if he was fired within 12 months.

– Names to watch.

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