Former Montreal Canadien Andrei Markov has some advice for his countryman Ivan Demidov.
In an interview with Russia’s Match TV, the defenceman said the team’s top pick in the 2024 NHL Draft would face “pressure in Montreal that he will have to cope with.”
Should Demidov manage that pressure, Markov said, “playing for Montreal will be the best memory in his life.”
His advice: Learn French.
“If he knows French, he will definitely feel at home.”
Markov played 16 seasons in Montreal after being drafted 162nd overall at the 1998 NHL Draft. He is tied with Guy Lapointe for second on the team’s all-time scoring list for defencemen, with 572 points.
“I’d like to stay (in Montreal) for the rest of my life,” he said in 2017, when the team opted not to extend him. He was 10 games shy of reaching the 1,000 mark.
In the Match TV interview, Markov said he was “very happy” that a Russian player had been drafted by “one of the greatest NHL clubs.”
A 6-foot, 192-pound winger, Demidov posted 23-37-60 totals in 30 games last season with his junior team in Russia. The 18-year-old has one year left on his KHL contract, so he won’t be able to join the Canadiens before the 2025-26 season.
With files from Stu Cowan