Ivan Demidov gave Canadiens fans more reason to get excited about him on Thursday.
The Canadiens’ first-round pick (fifth overall) at this year’s NHL Draft scored two goals as captain of Russia’s U-23 team in a 4-3 shootout win over St. Petersburg SKA, the KHL team Demidov is expected to play for this season. Demidov scored early in the third period in Russia to tie the score 2-2 with a nice deke to his backhand and then scored the winning goal in the shootout with a quick wrist shot to the top corner.
Last season, the 18-year-old winger had 23-37-60 totals in 30 games with the St. Petersburg SKA junior team and was held pointless in four games with the KHL club.
A behind-the-scenes draft video the Canadiens released recently included Demidov’s pre-draft interview with the club’s management team.
When Jeff Gorton, the executive vice-president of hockey operations, asked Demidov if he sees somebody in the NHL who plays like him, the Russian responded: “I think a combination with (Kirill) Kaprizov (of the Minnesota Wild) and Jack Hughes (of the New Jersey Devils).”
Demidov added that he uses similar shoulder dekes to what Hughes does. Hughes posted 27-47-74 totals in 62 games last season with the Devils.
At that point, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes told Demidov that defenceman Lane Hutson, who made his NHL debut at the end of last season after being selected by Montreal in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, does the same thing with his shoulders.
“I watched him, his highlights, yeah,” Demidov responded. “And, you know, we are very similar with him, but he is a defenceman and I am a forward, you know?”
GM Hughes responded with a smile, saying: “You can play together in the offensive blue line.”
Later in the pre-draft interview, Demidov talked about playing against Juraj Slafkovsky — the first overall pick by the Canadiens at the 2022 NHL Draft — at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup under-18 tournament.
“Yeah … he lose,” Demidov said with a grin and a chuckle.
That comment also had the Canadiens management team chuckling.
Later in the video, Gorton asked Demidov: “We’re fifth overall and you’re still there. Are we crazy if we don’t take you?”
“Yeah,” Demidov responded.
“We’re crazy, right?” Gorton said.
“Yeah,” Demidov repeated again with a smile. “If you didn’t take me.”
The Canadiens were hoping (and maybe even praying) Demidov would still be available at the No. 5 spot in the draft. Ben Chutron, one of the Canadiens scouts, had high praise for Demidov in the behind-the-scenes video of a scouting meeting before the draft in Las Vegas.
“Six-foot-and-a-half, left shot, right wing, plays on his off-wing,” Chutron said. “Dynamic, highly skilled offensive winger. Really quick thinker, quick processor, plays fast, good hands in traffic, fast twitch. High compete level, high motor, stands out every single shift you watch him. Rarely, if ever, takes a shift off.
“Fearless player, not afraid to go into the hard areas,” Chutron added. “He’s not shy to finish his checks. I think he has a hard side to his game. Good leadership capabilities. I think this player is a winner. I just think he’s highly dynamic and someone that can potentially play on our first line, first power play for the Montreal Canadiens. You know, he kind of brings me out of my seat when I watch him. Really exciting player, can create something out of nothing and I think he can really help us in terms of our offensive potential with the Canadiens.”
As the Canadiens’ European scout, Christer Rockstrom has watched many Russian players over the years and he also had high praise for Demidov.
“He changes directions like (Sergei) Makarov did,” Rockstrom said in the video. “He comes in the blue line — (Alex) Kovalev did it also — comes into the blue line, goes straight in. You got to be a hell of a skater as a defenceman to defend against that because he’s coming fast and he’s going this way (drawing a straight line with his hand). It’s not in a curve; it’s a 90-degree angle and in full speed. It’s an elite move that he’s going to use, but he’s got many other things. He can score with his shot, he can make plays and he can beat you one-on-one. So he’s not a double-threat — he’s a triple-threat offensively.
“I agree with Ben on the character,” Rockstrom added. “We take him for his offence, but he’s not going to cheat defensively, either. I’m sold. I love him.”
GM Hughes has said he expects Demidov to be with the Canadiens next year after completing the final season of his KHL contract with St. Petersburg SKA.
“As far as this current season coming up, he’s under contract to St. Petersburg, which is a world-class organization,” Hughes said earlier this summer. “If he’s playing in St. Petersburg in the KHL I think it’s a great environment for him for a year. The coach. Roman Rotenberg, has done a nice job with Carolina’s prospect (Alexander) Nikishin, who’s had a real nice progression developmentally. So we think if Ivan’s there he’s in a great place.
“If he’s not in the KHL, then we have to see what those options are,” Hughes added. “They’re probably not as optimal as being in St. Petersburg. We drafted him understanding he had another year and that was never going to deter us.”
The KHL season begins next Tuesday and St. Petersburg SKA plays its first game next Thursday.