Ivan Demidov Officially A Calder Trophy Nominee

From the moment Demidov hit the ice with the Canadiens, he made a great impression, which included a goal and an assist in his first NHL period against the Chicago Blackhawks at the end of the 2024-25 season. He proceeded to build on that and became one of the Habs’ top playmakers.

Demidov also helped elevate the game of fellow rookie Oliver Kapanen, who scored 22 goals on the season, by simply just getting in the right areas to receive the Russian’s pass. The fact that he’s already showing that he can make players around him better just shows how special Demidov can be someday.

While the Habs forward was rightfully nominated for the Calder Trophy after his great rookie season, there was a rookie on the roster who was maybe even more important to the team’s successful 106-point regular season in Jakub Dobes. The Habs rookie netminder stole the starting job from Samuel Montembeault mid-season; although, with how bad the Canadiens’ veteran goalie was playing, it wasn’t hard for Dobes to grab hold of that job. However, it was how well he played late in the season during a playoff race that really made it impressive.

During his 7 starts between March 22nd and April 9th, when the Habs needed wins the most to secure their playoff spot, Dobes came up huge, winning 7 straight games while posting an amazing . 948 save percentage and a 1.68 GAA in that span. It was that time frame and the 7-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning (even if playoffs aren’t included) that Dobes seemed like not only the best rookie on the Habs but also the team’s MVP as a whole.

Dobes finished the season with a 29-10-4 record in 43 games while posting an above league average .901 save percentage and 2.78 GAA. His numbers could have been better if not for a few tough outings early in the season, but when he was officially the Habs’ starter, he was a much better netminder.

Overall, it was a great season for rookies, as the three nominees are well deserving, but the impact that Dobes had for the Habs could have allowed him to potentially push Sennecke out of the top three nominees. I guess we will see how close Dobes was to winning when the votes get released towards the end of the NHL playoffs.

Do you think Dobes should have at least been a Calder Trophy nominee?