Kent Hughes would like to visit Ivan Demidov in Russia this season

While the Canadiens were answering questions from the media at their annual golf tournament, Ivan Demidov was (and will remain) in Russia, playing for SKA St. Petersburg.

Kent Hughes did, however, take the time to give an update on the fifth pick in the latest NHL draft.

In an interview with Marc Denis of RDS, Hughes explained that he’d like to visit Demidov in Russia this season.

Marc Denis (RDS): “In the case of Ivan Demidov, are you just letting Roman Rotenberg take care of his development, is there constant communication with SKA, do you know what’s going to happen in the next year because sometimes it’s a bit complicated with young Russian players.”… pic.twitter.com/TYN1FBKJgv

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) September 16, 2024

As Marc Denis explained during the interview, it will be easy for the Canadiens to follow Michael Hage’s development this season, as he remains on the North American continent in the NCAA. On the other hand, following Ivan Demidov’s prowess and catching up with him will have to be done from a distance.

Demidov is still under contract for the whole of this season with SKA, and the Habs can’t change that for the time being. The Russian forward is playing with the first team, as expected, and seems to be enjoying himself.

Except that there’s nothing stopping the Canadiens from paying him a visit to analyze his game in person and check up on him. It’s something that seems to be on Hughes’ agenda.

Obviously, Hughes won’t be spending the whole season in Russia playing nanny, but a little trip in a few weeks or months could be good for everyone.

The best news of all is that the Canadiens’ GM has confirmed that Nick Bobrov remains in contact with SKA to monitor the activities of the team’s young prospects.

Watching Demidov play on online broadcasts doesn’t reveal everything about his development. Keeping the lines of communication open is an excellent idea to be able to bring Demidov back to Montreal as quickly as possible, while remaining in the good graces of the SKA.

SKA’s last game of the season is on March 22. The Gagarin Cup series, however, runs from March 26 to May 25.

Considering SKA’s desire to be a competitive team, perhaps we shouldn’t expect Demidov to join the Canadiens by the end of the season.

Overtime

– The Red Wings took care of a big deal.

$8.075M salary flat throughout. No signing bonuses.
10-team no trade when eligible for last four years https://t.co/kDb4Lu0WHZ

– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 16, 2024