Montreal Canadiens fans, get excited – as it’s officially Ivan Demidov time.
SKA St. Petersburg’s elimination from the first round of the Gagarin Cup Playoffs on Sunday at the hands of Dynamo Moscow signalled the end of Ivan Demidov’s time in the KHL, with many expecting that the 2024 fifth overall pick would be assigned to the MHL or VHL for the remainder of the season.
While everyone knew his time in the KHL was over as soon as buzzer sounded at the end of the third period on Sunday, not many could have predicted what would come just 48 hours later.
On Tuesday, Ivan Demidov and SKA St. Petersburg agreed to a mutual contract termination, officially ending his time in the KHL 53 days before his deal was set to conclude. Demidov confirmed the news himself in an interview with RG Media’s Marco D’Amico, adding that he would be heading to Montreal very soon.
With the news of Demidov’s contract termination, it meant that the Montreal Canadiens could sign him immediately rather than waiting until June 1st and that’s exactly what happened, with the top prospect putting pen-to-paper on his entry-level contract.
“Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced on Tuesday that the team has agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract (2024-25 to 2026-27) with forward Ivan Demidov.” the team shared in a press release just after 3 pm ET.
As of Tuesday afternoon, it’s unclear when Ivan Demidov will hit the ice with the Canadiens or when his National Hockey League debut will be (still working through his work visa), but Marco D’Amico shared on The Shaun Starr Show that the prospect said he’ll be leaving Russia with his girlfriend tomorrow.
The 19-year-old had a fantastic rookie season in the KHL, registering 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists) in 65 regular season games and followed that up with five points in six games during the Gagarin Cup Playoffs. Throughout the season, Demidov was scratched on multiple occasions and made the 13th forward by his now former head coach, Roman Rotenberg, but when given the opportunity to play top-six minutes, he always delivered.
Ivan Demidov’s potential/Scouting report
As for what Demidov will bring to the Canadiens, he has an elite shot/release, elite hockey IQ and elite hands. His offensive ability is something the Montreal Canadiens haven’t seen in over 40 years, with some experts, including Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff, saying that Ivan Demidov has the potential to be the organization’s best player since Guy Lafleur. Yes, Guy Lafleur. The Hockey Hall of Famer who is Montreal’s all-time points leader, second all-time in goals and has his number 10 raised to the rafters at the Bell Centre.
Demidov will likely immediately jump into the Canadiens’ top-six and see time on the power play, but his potential is a top-line, franchise player in the National Hockey League for many, many years to come.
Many believe that the Sergiyev Posad, Russia native also has the potential to be Montreal’s first 100-point player since Mats Naslund had 110 during the 1985-86 season.
When could Ivan Demidov make his NHL debut?
If Ivan Demidov does arrive in Montreal tomorrow as is being reported, the Canadiens will likely give him a few days to settle in and get some practices under his belt, but it wouldn’t shock anyone if he travels with the team to Toronto and possibly make his NHL debut on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night.
However, if he doesn’t travel with them, the most likely date for his debut would be Monday, April 14th as the Canadiens host the Chicago Blackhawks, who are one of the teams that passed over him at the NHL Entry Draft last June. Monday’s game is also a national broadcast on Amazon Prime.
The Montreal Canadiens have a bright future with a core of Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson, Michael Hage, David Reinbacher, Kaiden Guhle and Jacob Fowler and things are finally starting to turn around for an organization that’s searching for their 25th Stanley Cup and first since 1993.
Fans should be very excited for what’s to come amid this new era of Montreal Canadiens hockey.