Ivan Demidov Has Found Superstardom with the Montreal Canadiens

However, minutes later, the Bell Centre was about to explode as Ivan Demidov recorded his first NHL goal.

As you felt like the roar and pop of Stone Cold Steve Austin during the Attitude Era, that Road Warrior pop of the 1980s wrestling, or dare we even mention Hulk Hogan during the height of Hulkamania? But that is what it sounded like Monday night at the Bell Centre.

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The Canadiens have a special player who was taken fifth overall at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas at the Sphere, and his abilities were on display Monday. But as Russ Cohen of Sportsology.com, NHLDraftBuzz.com, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, and The Hockey News, told Full Press Hockey, Demidov is a terrific player, but don’t be surprised if the pace of play catches up to him; there is a lot to like in the player.

“He’s a tremendous skater. The way he kind of circles around the net is terrific. He has a great shot,” Cohen said. “Up on sportsology.com, I have an old shot map of his. The way he scores is terrific. Whether it’s on the power play, he could score five on five, but the big thing is, he wasn’t playing big minutes, right? So he might get winded in games. And it’s not because he’s out of shape. It’s just because he’s not used to it. Michkov was getting winded after, like, during his first five games because the pace is going to be different. The pace is going to be a lot, a lot harder. The defensemen are going to play a lot harder. He’s going to have a little bit of a target on him. He’ll be fine.” 

Later in the game, especially on the goal by Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel that allowed Chicago to take a 3-2 lead in the third period, we saw that Demidov was gliding and not using his legs to get back. Neither were a couple of Canadiens players, but when playing limited minutes in the KHL, you can see the speed of the NHL will take some time to manage, especially late in periods.

As Demidov noted, the pace of play was different, and so were the board battles. Again, Russ Cohen told Full Press Hockey he would need time to catch up since his preseason in the NHL included the final two games of the regular season and potentially the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“Probably more battles in the corners and I think speed is faster and the passes are harder,” Demidov told the media after the game. 

However, as Cohen points out, there is a lot to like. “He (Demidov) is a smart player who could definitely win some puck battles. He’ll lose some, but he will get a lot of shots on net, and his shooting percentage is good.”

But it was a successful night in Montreal as Ivan Demidov told the media after the game.

“Probably well, I think so. I got some good stuff today (Monday night) from the game, and it’s a pretty nice experience. Yeah, I love this city and these fans,” Demidov said. “It’s crazy. But I feel that the fans love me, and it’s cool. Yeah, it’s amazing.” 

This is just the beginning for Ivan Demidov, who is on an upward trajectory in Montreal with the Canadiens.

Montreal Canadiens Note: Lane Hutson passed Chris Chelios for most points as a rookie defenseman in Canadiens history. Hutson and Chelios were both tied with 64 points each. However, Hutson picked up his 59th assist of the season. Hutson is one assist away from tying Larry Murphy (60 assists) for most assists by a rookie defenseman in NHL history.