Canadiens: Demidov on Display ...

At the time of publication, it will be approximately 24 hours since our website talked about Montreal Canadiens’ Russian prospect Ivan Demidov. That’s a feeble amount of discussion compared to the frequent promotion of the young sniper that the KHL has dished out. After a lingering ankle injury—the same one he suffered that ended his MHL playoffs participation at the end of last season—kept him out of the start of the camp, Demidov has been back practicing for over a week. Initially seen photographed on a bike, the aspiring phenom took to the ice a few days ago. The most recent post, found on Habs Reddit, has Demidov sitting out of an intrasquad scrimmage. Hopefully, it’s not for any serious reason. Looks like Ivan Demidov didn’t participate today in the SKA intrasquad scrimmage gam by u/Go_Habs_Go31 in Habs One of the main concerns expressed by Canadiens’ fans and hockey analysts alike is playing time come the start of the KHL regular season. With SKA St Petersburg making a recent acquisition of eleven-year NHL veteran forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, the fear is that Demidov’s ice time will be reduced and impact his year developing in Russia’s professional league. Additionally, SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg has acquired a reputation for not playing young talent who will be with the team for a brief period of time, favoring veterans who can put the team in a position to win. It’s by no means a statement saying that Demidov can’t impact the game offensively—that he definitely can do—but with him projected to travel to North America for the 2025-26 campaign, he falls into the category of a short KHL stint. In the meantime, Habs fans needn’t worry. The KHL is publishing photo after photo of Demidov and he is sure to find action next season to excite the fanbase with highlight reel goals.