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Nov 6, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Montréal Canadiens right wing Ivan Demidov (93) skates with the puck against the New Jersey Devils during the first period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Canadiens Rookie Skyrocketing Up Calder Trophy Rankings

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jacob Punturi | Last updated Nov 23, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Montreal Canadiens are a team forcing the entire NHL to pay attention. Armed with a young and dangerous core of players, the Habs have the makings of a Stanley Cup contender on the rise.

What puts the Canadiens over the edge as an intriguing and fearsome team is their superstar rookie, Ivan Demidov. The 19-year-old Russian phenom is in his first full season with Montreal, and over the past few games, he's caught fire. In doing so, he's skyrocketed up the Calder Trophy rankings and opened up the race for the NHL's top rookie this season.

Extraordinary Playmaker

Demidov is already such a complete player, showing an ability to create offense that very few players this young exhibit. Through 21 games, he has four goals and 13 assists for 17 points, putting him on pace for a 66-point campaign. His 17 points rank first among NHL rookies, and it's thanks to a red-hot run over the past three games.

In that time, Demidov is riding his second three-game scoring streak of the season. He's recorded no goals, but he's posted four assists.

Maple Leafs Destroyer

His game against the Toronto Maple Leafs was especially impressive. He recorded two assists on a pair of goals by defenseman Noah Dobson, and both were extremely intelligent plays from the youngster.

The first goal was spurred by a heads-up play from Demidov in the offensive zone. As he was moving across the center of the zone, Dobson fed Demidov the puck. Wisely, he one-touched the pass to a crossing Mike Matheson. The simple play gave the Canadiens' group on the ice plenty of space and time to get into position as Matheson possessed the puck. Matheson then sent a beautiful feed to Dobson, who buried the shot for his first of the game.

The second goal was a thing of beauty on Demidov's part. The Canadiens sent an outlet pass through the neutral zone to power forward Juraj Slafkovsky, who entered the offensive zone with control. Demidov came streaking down through the slot towards the net front before finding a soft spot near the crease to the goaltender's left. Slafkovsky found him with the puck, but just as quickly as the puck landed on Demidov's stick, it was off of it. Demidov placed another one-touch pass to Dobson, who was in prime position to launch another shot past Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll.

Top Offensive Team

The Canadiens have flaws. They are allowing one of the highest total goals in the NHL this season and their goaltending is a huge question.

When it comes to offense, however, they are right up there as well. They've scored the seventh-most goals this season (72), and their 3.43 goals per game are the fourth-highest in the NHL.

That's thanks to, in large part, Demidov's play. The Habs' top-nine forward group is loaded and scoring with ease, with their rookie forward playing 14:30 minutes per game. In that time, he's taken over the scoring lead for rookies and skyrocketed up the rankings for the Calder Trophy.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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