Demidov may not play in Montreal this season if SKA goes all the way

He is still under contract with the SKA in St. Petersburg, and the club’s coach has told Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton that he has a plan in place to help the Canadian prospect progress.

However, it remains to be seen whether we’ll see him make the jump to North America at the end of the 24-25 season.

The SKA’s regular season ends on March 22.

With the elements in place, however, the club could go a long way in the playoffs… Because there’s talent to spare in the SKA lineup.

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The year before that, CSKA won the championship on April 29… And in 2022, the same CSKA team won the championship on April 31.

What I’m trying to say here is that if Ivan Demidov’s club goes all the way in 24-25, we could expect their season to end in the last week of April.

And if that happens (it’s possible), the chances of Demidov playing a game in Montreal are pretty slim, because the Habs’ regular schedule comes to an end on April 16, when the Carolina Hurricanes visit the Bell Centre.

Obviously, the discussion will be different if the Habs are able to make the playoffs… But we agree that’s far from a guarantee either.

We’ll have to wait and see how the SKA’s season pans out in the KHL, but the picture becomes clearer when we take a step back and examine the situation.

Overtime

– Speak of the devil:

NHL prospects writer Sam McGilligan on Ivan Demidov.

pic.twitter.com/ytADczNO13

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) August 1, 2024

– We’re lucky to have him in Montreal.

Every center with more goals, points, and a higher faceoff percentage than Nick Suzuki last season:

– Auston Matthews
– Leon Draisaitl
– J.T. Miller
– Sidney Crosby
– Steven Stamkos
– Sebastian Aho

Suzuki is a pretty rare type of player. pic.twitter.com/rCRHSi2o8y

– Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) August 1, 2024