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Canadiens Prospect Report: Ivan Demidov And Skating Analysis

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1 year ago

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montreal canadiens forward ivan demidov prospect

Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov now has eight games worth of professional hockey experience under his belt, including Monday afternoon’s matchup between SKA Saint-Petersburg and Avangard Omsk, the team that led the Chernrelayshev Division last season with 92 points.

It was a tight-checking game with relatively few scoring chances in the first two periods, which isn’t ideal for Demidov-related highlights, but it did give us an opportunity to evaluate some of the other important parts of his skill set. His skating, in particular, is an area of interest, as some suggested Demidov possesses below-average skating form, making him a poor skater.

Before we get to the highlights, I do agree with those who say Demidov’s skating is somewhat odd. His first stride is a little high, and then tends to stay quite low to the ice by opening up his hips. He also uses a lot of edge work to carve out ice in high-danger scoring areas once he’s in the offensive zone. But odd doesn’t necessarily mean bad. It just means we’re not used to seeing a player use that form and get results.

ON TOPIC: Highlights – Habs Prospect Ivan Demidov Enjoys Four-Point Night

We must remember this is not a math quiz. This is an entirely different type of test, in which on-ice results trump the process by a significant margin. After all, when it comes to positioning in professional sports, it’s all about the destination, not the journey. After watching most of his games this season, I feel relatively comfortable saying his skating does not hold him back. He has no issues creating a separation between himself and his coverage, and his penchant for taking advantage of open ice is quite evident.

Demidov’s first presence on the ice gave us ample evidence that his skating is far from below average. He turned on the afterburners, generating a high-danger scoring chance that forced the defender to take a penalty.

Not only did Demidov make it to the open ice first, he did so with ease. It would be an overcorrection to suggest he’s an elite skater, but suffice it to say the rumours of his poor skating have been greatly exaggerated, as we can see in the extended clip of Demidov drawing a hooking penalty in the first period.

Unfortunately, SKA dominated Avangard, winning 4-1, which meant Demidov spent very little time defending, and thus I’m still not ready to comment on his defensive prowess. With a few more games in the bank, we should have enough footage for a proper level of analysis regarding his defensive game.

Seeing as he spent most of the time in the offensive zone on Monday, we will have to stick with puck-handling highlights, but let’s be honest, that’s more fun anyhow.

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