Ivan Demidov Shows Frustration In Pre-Game Interview

There’s no doubt about it, top Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov is dealing with a frustrating situation in the KHL.

Even if he’s SKA Saint Petersburg’s leading scorer, the talented 19-year-old forward has been treated as a tweener by his head coach, Roman Rotenberg. It’s not entirely surprising, as Rotenberg has shown clear signs of inexperience and insecurity since he was given the coaching position despite his lack of professional hockey experience.

It’s not an ideal situation for any player, but at the very least, the fact that Demidov is dealing with unreasonable adversity now will help him if legitimate adversity comes into play once he makes his way to Montreal.

ON TOPIC: The Silver Lining To Ivan Demidov And His Ridiculous KHL Usage

Ivan Demidov Says A Lot By Not Saying Much

The maturity displayed by Demidov has been noteworthy, and is part of the reason why the Canadiens drafted him in the first place. But even if his maturity goes beyond his years, it’s quite clear the frustrating situation is starting to weigh heavily on his mind.

A pre-game interview with Demidov on Thursday was quite telling. The young man was not willing to throw his coach under the bus, however, he’s also not going to sugar-coat the unreasonable decisions made by Rotenberg by pretending he’s happy with his usage.

This interview of Ivan Demidov before his first game in the KHL playoffs is simply masterpieces pic.twitter.com/XSqnK0XzPS

— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) March 28, 2025

Before we discuss the interview, I’d like to thank Twitter user @Uggg_uggg for clipping the video. We should also note that the translation does seem to be accurate according to some of my colleagues who speak Russian. Their knowledge goes well beyond my own, which is limited to “Da, Da Kanada, Nyet, Nyet Soviet”, the famous chant heard during Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series between the Soviet Union and Canada. With that in mind, you can clearly heart Demidov say “Nyet” in the first answer, lining up perfectly with the provided translation.

This is probably the first time Demidov has shown some semblance of frustration this season, despite being given many opportunities to do so by his unqualified head coach. It’s far from an outburst, but it does confirm that even Demidov’s patience has a limit.

His time in the KHL is coming to an end, and though he was never expected to join the Canadiens at any point this season, we can safely assume he’s excited for what the future may hold.

Demidov is expected to play a franchise-defining role for the Canadiens, which should lead to a much more consistent approach from a usage standpoint.

Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis has not hesitated to trust his rookie defenceman Lane Hutson, and though Demidov is a little younger, St-Louis is quite aware of his offensive potential, which connotes he may take the same confidence-boosting approach once Demidov arrives in Montreal.