Canadiens Prospects: Highly Entertaining Ivan Demidov Highlights

The Montreal Canadiens had one of the best prospect pools in the NHL prior to the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, but they were missing a game-breaking talent among the players, an issue they rectified when they chose Russian forward Ivan Demidov with the fifth overall pick.

It’s easy to suggest Demidov is arguably the most talented prospect in the history of the organization. In 2022-23, he scored 19 goals and 45 assists as a 17-year-old, the most productive season in league history for someone of his age group. On top of scoring 23 goals and 37 assists in just 30 games last season, the 18-year-old produced a ridiculously impressive 11 goals and 17 assists in 17 games of playoff hockey, yet another league record.

Unfortunately, his historic run came to an early end when he suffered a knee injury while trying to split defenders, but thanks to the Hab Prospect Videos YouTube channel, we have ample Demidov highlights available to analyze and admire. The videos are timestamped to specific plays for your viewing convenience.

Before we delve into the highlights, we have to clear a few things up to preemptively disarm those who tend to only focus on the negative aspects of prospect analysis. The MHL is the Russian equivalent to the CHL in terms of league tiers, but the overall quality of the players is lower than what we see in the QMJHL, OHL, and WHL. We will get a much better idea of Demidov’s potential in the upcoming season, as he’s expected to be playing in the KHL, the Russian equivalent to the NHL. On that note, just because Demidov was playing with players of his own age group doesn’t mean his production in the MHL is to be ignored. The fact of the matter is that he was significantly better than every player in the league, as evidenced by his record-setting points totals.

It’s also important to note that in hockey analysis, the quality of teammates (QoT) is more important than the quality of competition (QoC), which suggests that Demidov will be in a situation next season that is much more conducive to scoring, as he will be playing with better linemates, though that advantage may be nullified depending on how much ice time he’s given.

Ivan Demidov Goes End-To-End

Demidov closed out his season with a fantastic end-to-end goal, one among many of similar plays he created out of thin air for SKA-1946 St. Petersburg. A few things are worth noting in this play, including his how quickly he separated himself from the F1 and F2 forechecks. He also opts to maintain control of the puck, though it’s not a matter of greed. His teammates aren’t in an ideal position to accept a pass, making his decision to go end-to-end the best possible option. His pre-shot movement while using opposing defencemen as a screen is a textbook example of how to make an impact when you’re outnumbered whilst in a high-danger scoring area.

Ivan Demidov Sets Up Teammate For A Game-Winning Goal

We tend to focus on Demidov’s goal-scoring, but there’s something to be said about the number of assists he produced while playing in the MHL. In two seasons, Demidov almost produced one per game, earning 93 assists in just 99 games. It helps that he can create time and space for his teammates thanks to his high-end skill set, but this particular pass was a result of smart positioning down low, as Demidov supported the puck carrier by shadowing the play.

Ivan Demidov Physical Play

At 6’0″, 192 lb, Demidov has the type of solid base that allows him to engage in physical play when the opportunity arises. After watching a few hours of his footage, it’s also clear he does not shy away from delivering huge hits, as you’ll see from thunderous hip check in the video below.

I’ll be perfectly honest, I’m a sucker for hip checks, which means I’ll highlight them as often as possible. Other than an 80s-style pad stack or a windmill save, few plays entertain me more than seeing someone go head over heels in the neutral zone, so there may be some bias at play here.

Ivan Demidov Spin-o-Rama

Many believe the ‘Savardian Spin-o-Rama’ was named after Montreal Canadiens defenceman Denis Savard. And while he certainly could pull off the move, it was actually named after one of the best defencemen in team history, Serge Savard. To be even more accurate, as far as we can establish, innovative defenceman Doug Harvey was the first to do it in the NHL, but enough with the history lesson.

The goal of the play is not to show off, but rather to create separation between the puck carrier and the defending players. We’ve used to seeing phenom Lane Hutson use the deke to perfection in the NCAA, and now there’s another prospect in the organization that has the skill set to follow in Hutson’s footsteps when open ice starts to run out in the offensive zone.

Ivan Demidov Anticipation And Quick Thinking

We could have isolated dozens of goals to show just how talented Demidov is once the puck is on his stick blade, but the play embedded below is perhaps the best example of how he combines his great vision with elite hand-eye coordination to score beautiful goals.

Demidov has control of the puck for less than one second, but still manages to keep both defencemen at bay while goading the opposing goaltender into thinking he’s about to bring the puck back to his forehand before he smartly lofts it into the net.

Ivan Demidov Clutch Scoring And Speed

Demidov’s smart shot selection allows him to simplify plays when need be, just as he did to score a series-winning goal in the clip below. You’ll note that he uses his speed to generate his third goal of the game. The main criticism about his overall game prior to the 2024 NHL Entry Draft was that he lacked the type of speed to create separation between himself and defenders.

There are dozens of plays that would suggest otherwise from his time in the MHL. Of course, speed bursts will be harder to capitalize on once he’s in the KHL, but I don’t think anyone can legitimately watch him play against players of the same age and suggest his speed is an issue, even if his first few strides aren’t as explosive as some other top prospects.

Ivan Demidov Produces and Produces And Produces and Produces And…

We mostly focused on specific plays, but I invite every Habs fan to click on the embedded videos and fall into the entertaining rabbit hole filled with high-end Demidov highlights, starting with the clip below that features 11 points in just two games.