Canadiens Analysis
The Silver Lining To Ivan Demidov And His Ridiculous KHL Usage
Much has been made about top Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov this season, with many pointing to the confusing and inconsistent usage in the KHL being a potential drag on his development.
The good news is that despite head coach Roman Rotenberg’s lack of finesse when dealing with his team’s highest-scoring player, Demidov has shown fantastic resilience in the face of adversity.
Ivan Demidov And Confusing Coaching
Let’s make one thing clear, there is no valid reason to treat the most talented player in the lineup as a spare part, but such is life when the head coach had absolutely no hockey experience prior to being given the reins to SKA St. Petersburg.
For the record, SKA is funded by state-controlled energy megacorporation Gazprom, which is run by Boris Rotenberg, Roman’s father, and a childhood friend of Vladimir Putin.
You may point to Martin St-Louis’ lack of professional coaching experience as a counterargument, but that would be comparing apples to a dried raisin box that got stuck under the couch after a rowdy Halloween candy exchange in the mid 80s.
St-Louis earned almost every accolade during his playing time, including the Hart Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy (x2), as well as a Stanley Cup, whereas Rotenberg never even played professional hockey.
But even with St-Louis’ impressive track record as a player, he’s had to make a concerted effort to evolve and improve as a head coach. He’s also done an admirable job trusting his best players, regardless of their age.
For example, St-Louis didn’t just give phenom Lane Hutson more leeway than most rookies, he quickly understood that despite his age, Hutson is his best bet when it comes to winning games, the ultimate goal for any head coach. The confidence instilled by St-Louis has done wonders, seeing as Hutson is in the midst of one of the most impressive rookie defenceman campaigns in league history.
Lane Hutson now has 54 points in 70 games.
– Most points by a rookie defenseman among all active NHL D-men.
– Most points by a rookie defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom in 1991-1992. pic.twitter.com/yMfEVXNMkY
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) March 26, 2025
Ivan Demidov In The KHL
Demidov is dealing with a polar opposite situation, which includes an archaic strategy that started to provide diminishing returns sometime around Boxing Day, 1991.
Berating players until they perform better simply isn’t a viable coaching method in the modern hockey landscape. If you need further evidence that the pseudo Drill Sergeant act no longer leads to positive results, it’s worth noting that hard-ass John Tortorella was fired by the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
It’s not a matter of babying players, either, but destroying their confidence in a confusing bid to gain some sort of authority over talented players just don’t fly anymore.
Leaders command respect, they don’t demand it.
By benching his best player on several occasions without cause, or giving him a laughably low amount of ice time, Rotenberg is simply projecting his insecurity as a leader.
It also doesn’t look good for the KHL, which was once considered the second-best league in the world, but has since dropped significantly due to an exodus of talent.
Truth be told, the KHL would be better off developing talented players properly, rather than punishing them for their NHL aspirations. The former would instill confidence around the hockey landscape, and convince young players that playing in the KHL is the right way forward. The latter makes life miserable for all, while also providing yet another negative argument when it comes to the league’s credibility.
Demidov was given less than eight minutes of ice time for SKA on Thursday during their 3-1 playoff loss to Moscow Dynamo, which would be the equivalent of St-Louis giving Hutson roughly seven shifts in a key playoff matchup.
Fortunately, Demidov has responded with an elite level of maturity whenever his head coach decides it’s a good time to sandbag his best player, and there is definitely some value there.
Montreal is a difficult market, and though Demidov is among the most talented players to ever be drafted by the Canadiens, there will be a learning curve once he arrives in the NHL.
ON TOPIC: Ivan Demidov Breaks Yet Another KHL Record
By dealing with unreasonable adversity in the KHL now, he will be better suited to deal with legitimate adversity if things go wrong in the NHL.
Rest assured, Habs fans, despite the perplexing handling of Demidov in Russia, all signs point to the 19-year-old player having game-breaking talent, and that’s exactly what the doctor ordered for the Montreal Canadiens.
It says a lot about Rotenberg when Demidov is the adult in the room. Perhaps it was good that Demidov wound up playing for a talentless, incompetent nepo-baby of a coach. This way we got to see not only his elite playing skills, but his high level of maturity. I’m so impressed by this young man, and I can’t wait to see him in a Habs sweater.
Hopefully he can leave Russia before something bad happens.
None of the mind games Demidov has had to endure during this season in the KHL can be considered as good or something you would expect a young adult to experience. However, I believe these experiences will make him mentally tougher and better suited for the pressure and high expectations that come with playing in Montreal. This type of disrespect from the Coach and Team will only make him hungrier to stick it to them when he comes to the NHL next Season. This type of player treatment sets Russian Hockey back 50 years.
Ivan kept it simple. One year, then freedom. He loves the game and he’s pretty good at it. Through contract extension offers, leveraged threats, promotions, demotions and other mind games, Demidov focused on playing well and knowing he was one day closer to the goal and dream.
Hughes said recently he hopes he is the forward version of Hutson. I think he will be but maybe not in his rookie season. I do expect he wins the Calder and solidifies the top 6- likely comparable to Celebrini and Michkov statistically I’m wondering who does he play with? Not answerable today as the roster isn’t established and chemistry and playing style will help make the determination
If I’m Hughes and Marty, developing him into a budding superstar is a top goal for 25-26 season. Give him the best opportunity to succeed- best players that fit on his line and first power play etc. I recognize this will change dynamics with incumbent players but it’s necessary, like it was for Hutson. I’m projecting Suzuki as his center- team leader that excels at every facet and has experience with integrating Slafkovsky. Plus we will likely have a couple other new faces next season, I like where we are headed.
Rotenberg, the oligarch nepo baby coach has been told by his Oligarchy dad friend of Putin, win or I’m sending you on the front line in Ukraine. In game 2 he finally played Demidov and scored writhing 10 minutes. Doesn’t Roman knows how stupid he looks and everyone is laughing at him.