SKA: Demidov started today’s game on the 4th line (and he earned a point)

It is known that things have been going well for Ivan Demidov recently.

It is also known that SKA tends to have more success when used properly by its coach.

However, this did not stop Roman Rotenberg from starting Demidov on the 4th line of his team today.

Ready in Moscow!

Moisevich (Zavragin)

Nikishin, Zaitsev – Zykov, Kuznetsov, Bardakov

Karpukhin, Zemchyonok – Alistrov, Grigorenko, Khairullin

Yudin, Galenyuk – N. Polyakov, Vorobyov, Akolzin

Sapego – I. Demidov, Andronov, Dedunov, Korotky (13th forward)#hcSKA pic.twitter.com/kT1U8EXb8U

— SKA Ice Hockey Club (@hcSKA_News) February 11, 2025

Rotenberg is hard to follow.

The worst part is that his strategy did not work against Dinamo Minsk…

The Saint Petersburg team lost by a score of 3-1. And in the comments of the publication above, we can see that some are not happy with Demidov’s usage:

Roman Rotenberg decided to start using Demidov properly when SKA was down 3-0, but the damage was already done.

The Canadiens prospect even finished the game with a total ice time of 21:07 after spending 5 minutes and 42 seconds on the ice in the first period…

At least, Roman Rotenberg understands that he needs to trust his young player when he needs a goal.

The Canadiens prospect managed to get his name on the scoresheet by earning an assist on his team’s only goal:

#KHL #HCSKA
Ivan Demidov 1st assist of the game vs Dynamo#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/QlYivn45f5

— HabsNextGen (@Simonsays_48) February 11, 2025

At 19 years old, Demidov is at the top of the scoring leaders on his team.

He has now recorded 45 points (19 goals) in 53 games this season.

That said, there is no player of that caliber who should start a game on the 4th line… And that is why Roman Rotenberg’s decision is drawing attention right now.

Overtime

Finally, it’s worth noting that Demidov has managed to record a point in a 4th consecutive game.

He is currently on a nice streak, to put it another way.