Prospect Info: [2024 - 5th] Ivan Motherbleeping Demidov (RW), SKA St. Petersburg (MHL)

[KevSkillz4]

The jump from the MHL to the NHL is huge, so if Demidov can get top 6 minutes playing in the KHL this season, that's a great scenario

Yes, Hughes said if he don't play in KHL, he will check the options for him. That's the plan! If he can put 35-40 pts in 45 KHL games with great highlights, that would be perfect.

 

[Habssince89]

Can't wait to see how good our core players are by the time he joins the Habs. Compare that to Bedard's rookie season playing with hardly any help. Demidov will hopefully have great support from that.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Can't wait to see how good our core players are by the time he joins the Habs. Compare that to Bedard's rookie season playing with hardly any help. Demidov will hopefully have great support from that.

For sure. If Dach stay healthy all next season, that would be huge for the core.

 

[montreal]

Yeah I definitely saw a couple of those bumps, I'm sure he's dedicated to getting stronger
But again, has it been a little 'extra' fun watching nonetheless lol?

He's the most skilled Hab prospect I have ever seen and I started getting into the drafts around '97/'98. I said before the draft that he was the only one I saw this year that I would have considered to take 1st OA over Celebrini (who impressed the hell out of me this year).

When we had Price but starting losing and the talk around here started to turn to rebuilding, I often said I would rather lose games 7-6 then win 2-1 meaning I would much rather the Habs be say more like the leafs and oilers then the Habs we saw under MT/Julien. Just would rather watch more exciting hockey as imo the dream of ever trying to recreate say the '50's or '70's Habs dynasty is long gone as a 32 team league likely means you never see anything like that again. So I would rather fun, exciting hockey and Demidov, Hutson are easily 2 of the funniest prospects i've ever gotten to watch.

 

[HabsQC]

2nd page english

 

[Redux91]

He's the most skilled Hab prospect I have ever seen and I started getting into the drafts around '97/'98. I said before the draft that he was the only one I saw this year that I would have considered to take 1st OA over Celebrini (who impressed the hell out of me this year).

When we had Price but starting losing and the talk around here started to turn to rebuilding, I often said I would rather lose games 7-6 then win 2-1 meaning I would much rather the Habs be say more like the leafs and oilers then the Habs we saw under MT/Julien. Just would rather watch more exciting hockey as imo the dream of ever trying to recreate say the '50's or '70's Habs dynasty is long gone as a 32 team league likely means you never see anything like that again. So I would rather fun, exciting hockey and Demidov, Hutson are easily 2 of the funniest prospects i've ever gotten to watch.

Alllll I needed to hear bud, thank you

 

[red devil]

If you click on the tweet the names will show in English

https://x.com/i/web/status/1808638931694456872

 

[Skip Bayless]

On the development camp roster for SKA. Starting july 14th.

Me trying to read that shit for 3 minutes not realizing it's russian :

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

he has a lot of work to do physically, needs to get a good bit stronger, continue to add mass.

He is already a thick kid and I would say that given that almost every drafted player needs to gain strength/mass he is at the more developed end of that spectrum and it really isn't an issue at all.

His straight ahead speed/acceleration is what needs the most work but he will be fine as despite a very awkward stride where his head is over his knees ala Brendan Gallagher he is generating enough speed to get by. If he can correct his posture it will not only help his skating but it will make his ability to dangle at top speed better as it will be less telegraphed and he will be better balanced which will open even more dynamic options to him.

 

[themilosh]

He is already a thick kid and I would say that given that almost every drafted player needs to gain strength/mass he is at the more developed end of that spectrum and it really isn't an issue at all.

His straight ahead speed/acceleration is what needs the most work but he will be fine as despite a very awkward stride where his head is over his knees ala Brendan Gallagher he is generating enough speed to get by. If he can correct his posture it will not only help his skating but it will make his ability to dangle at top speed better as it will be less telegraphed and he will be better balanced which will open even more dynamic options to him.

Do you have a link of somesort that explains his posture and head over knees? Thats an interesting view... i feel he's similar style cutting as Kovalev, and his body frame looks to probably be about the same as kovy too - the Russian bear. I cant recall Kovys straight speed, always found his speed came from cutting..

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Do you have a link of somesort that explains his posture and head over knees? Thats an interesting view... i feel he's similar style cutting as Kovalev, and his body frame looks to probably be about the same as kovy too - the Russian bear. I cant recall Kovys straight speed, always found his speed came from cutting..

Kovalev was much more upright and was extremely strong. The problem with Demidov's posture is that it makes it more difficult to alternate his speed while carrying the puck and limits his ability to pull up and deter defenders from closing out on him on the rush. I find in watching him he is almost compelled to bring the puck into the teeth of the defence at times and this will be something of an issue when the defenders become much more competent at higher levels.

His posture should be closer to sitting in a chair with his torso in a more balanced space that allows an easier access to options that are in a 360 degrees spectrum. This is true for McDavid, McKinnon, Kucherov, Pastrnak, Eichel, Mathews, Bedard etc.

He basically bends too much from the hips and not enough from the knees which forces his upper body forward and over his knees which limits speed, explosion, and agility while in full stride. He is fine when he is not in full stride but for him to realize his full potential he will need to find a more balanced and athletic posture.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love his game but when asked to find an issue this is by far the most obvious one. Despite his flaw in his stride/posture he is still very dynamic on the rush which is quite amazing as his edges are sublime and he uses them in a very unique way to manoeuvre and regulate his pace which I am sure can be surprising to defenders, especially inexperienced one's in the MHL. I would just like to see him a little more upright before coming to the NHL and attempting to translate his game to the NHL against the best defenders in the world.

I don't have a link but I am sure if you google skating posture you will find more information on this. You may end up with a lot of figure skating based explanations but I am sure that there is a lot of information on this. Having been around the game for close to 50 years these concepts are pretty ingrained in my mind so I don't actively search for such sites very often but I love the fact that you are interested in this which is something that all of the fake scouting sites should be doing as well as they are almost always clueless about skating.

 

[salbutera]

 

[BenchBrawl]

He's the most skilled Hab prospect I have ever seen and I started getting into the drafts around '97/'98. I said before the draft that he was the only one I saw this year that I would have considered to take 1st OA over Celebrini (who impressed the hell out of me this year).

When we had Price but starting losing and the talk around here started to turn to rebuilding, I often said I would rather lose games 7-6 then win 2-1 meaning I would much rather the Habs be say more like the leafs and oilers then the Habs we saw under MT/Julien. Just would rather watch more exciting hockey as imo the dream of ever trying to recreate say the '50's or '70's Habs dynasty is long gone as a 32 team league likely means you never see anything like that again. So I would rather fun, exciting hockey and Demidov, Hutson are easily 2 of the funniest prospects i've ever gotten to watch.

What did you think of Andrei Kostitsyn as a prospect?

 

[QuinNasty]

Is there any NHL potential with Demidov's linemate Romanov? Watching highlights it seems they have pretty good chemistry but at 19 he is on the older side for the MHL.

 

[SOLR]

Yes, Hughes said if he don't play in KHL, he will check the options for him. That's the plan! If he can put 35-40 pts in 45 KHL games with great highlights, that would be perfect.

He would not get 40 pts in St-Pete, but he could if he played for Sochi.

 

[Habs Halifax]

The great thing about that while Suzuki, Roy & Caufield were brought in by Bergevin, the rest are all new management. That's a nice haul by them.

Don't want to make it a Bergevin hate/love or compare but it's interesting to look at and how that changes as time moves forward. After this last draft, the balance might have tipped the scales into Hughes acquired assets.

Demidov tips the scales for me.

Bergevin:
* Suzki
* Guhle
* Caufield
* Lehkonen
* Romanov
* Primeau
* Mailloux
* Roy
* Xhekaj
* Kapanen

Hughes:
* Slafkovsky
* Demidov
* Reinbacher
* Dach/Romanov Flip
* Hutson
* Newhook
* Fowler
* Beck
* Hage
* Engstrom
* Barron
* Koivu
* Mesar

 

[Kennerback]

He's the most skilled Hab prospect I have ever seen and I started getting into the drafts around '97/'98. I said before the draft that he was the only one I saw this year that I would have considered to take 1st OA over Celebrini (who impressed the hell out of me this year).

I think people still don’t grasp just how good he is. I’ve watched pre-draft videos for years, and I’ve never seen anyone in Montreal's wheelhouse like this. I focus on possible targets of Montreal’s first pick and watch the hell out of them. Conversely, I don’t view much of the later round gems.

On the main board trolls now compared Nikita Filatov to Demidov. I viewed the shit out of Filatov his draft year and they’re on two different planets. On radio, a commentator said we need to be careful because we were saying the same thing with Galchenyuk. Once again, I watched the shit out of Galchenyuk. There was skill there but you had to add a dose of hope and prayer.

Whereas Demidov it’s all there already. He clicks all the boxes. His absolute floor for me is First Line Winger. This is a Grand Slam.

 

[Tyson]

Don't want to make it a Bergevin hate/love or compare but it's interesting to look at and how that changes as time moves forward. After this last draft, the balance might have tipped the scales into Hughes acquired assets.

Bergevin:
* Suzki
* Guhle
* Caufield
* Lehkonen
* Romanov
* Primeau
* Mailloux
* Roy
* Xhekaj
* Kapanen

Hughes:
* Slafkovsky
* Demidov
* Reinbacher
* Dach/Romanov Flip
* Hutson
* Newhook
* Fowler
* Beck
* Hage
* Engstrom
* Barron
* Koivu
* Mesar

The only thing I would say regarding the players Bergevin brought in is- Lehkonen 2013, Primeau 2017, Romanov 2018. Suzuki 2017 but he was brought in via trade.
The fact that his first 7 years of drafting and developing was such an abysmal failure is why the Habs are in the position they are today. Yes 2019 and on he and his scouts found some good players that imo became good players driven by the team of people Hughes put in place.
Bergevin's entire tenure always felt like it was the "Sling shit at the wall" strategy and see what sticks, there was never a sound plan and zero forward thinking.

 

[Habs Halifax]

The only thing I would say regarding the players Bergevin brought in is- Lehkonen 2013, Primeau 2017, Romanov 2018. Suzuki 2017 but he was brought in via trade.
The fact that his first 7 years of drafting and developing was such an abysmal failure is why the Habs are in the position they are today. Yes 2019 and on he and his scouts found some good players that imo became good players driven by the team of people Hughes put in place.
Bergevin's entire tenure always felt like it was the "Sling shit at the wall" strategy and see what sticks, there was never a sound plan and zero forward thinking.

Bergevin to me had 3 areas of his tenure.
1) First few years were good
2) Middle years were horrible
3) Last few years were OK. He really did try to rebuild but still ice a roster for the playoffs. Flawed but we do have assets from that. Suzuki, Caufield, Guhle, Romanov, etc. Just a little to late for him.

Hughes did not start from scratch but he certainly took advantage of it because his long game is better.

 

[Tyson]

Bergevin to me had 3 areas of his tenure.
1) First few years were good
2) Middle years were horrible
3) Last few years were OK. He really did try to rebuild but still ice a roster for the playoffs. Flawed but we do have assets from that. Suzuki, Caufield, Guhle, Romanov, etc. Just a little to late for him.

Hughes did not start from scratch but he certainly took advantage of it because his long game is better.

Hughes did not start from scratch, totally agree. What Hughes inherited he immediately put a plan in place to better those assets. Example to me is Cole Caufield who the new management decided needed to round out his game. I think Bergevin was to eager to hire his pals than to truly improve the team.

I know this is a Demidov thread so let me say this- I am ecstatic the Habs found a way to draft this kid.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Hughes did not start from scratch, totally agree. What Hughes inherited he immediately put a plan in place to better those assets. Example to me is Cole Caufield who the new management decided needed to round out his game. I think Bergevin was to eager to hire his pals than to truly improve the team.

I know this is a Demidov thread so let me say this- I am ecstatic the Habs found a way to draft this kid.

Demidov combined with Slaf and Reinbacher is a very good start for Hughes and his top 5 picks. He's added many other things but these 3 are important pieces. Hutson as well.

Yeah, Demidov! I'm trying not to be too happy and just watch him develop... without setting a high bar so early on.

 

[junyab]

I wouldn't give too much credit for Bargainbin drafting Caufield. He slid down the 1st round because of his size and fell into his lap.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I wouldn't give too much credit for Bargainbin drafting Caufield. He slid down the 1st round because of his size and fell into his lap.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he actively fought against picking him, TBH . He doesn't feel like a Bergy type of prospect at all.

 

[Tyson]

Demidov combined with Slaf and Reinbacher is a very good start for Hughes and his top 5 picks. He's added many other things but these 3 are important pieces. Hutson as well.

Yeah, Demidov! I'm trying not to be too happy and just watch him develop... without setting a high bar so early on.

Here is a question for you- maybe you can answer this- if his team in Russia won't promote him to the KHL then why not the VHL? I assume the VHL is similar to what the AHL would be in NA. Habs last Russian pick in this years draft played in the VHL....

 

[Habs Halifax]

Here is a question for you- maybe you can answer this- if his team in Russia won't promote him to the KHL then why not the VHL? I assume the VHL is similar to what the AHL would be in NA. Habs last Russian pick in this years draft played in the VHL....

Not sure what they will do and how much influence Hughes has. If he doesn't make the KHL, I suspect they put him on load to another KHL team (like Michkov).

However, Demidov has one more year left so why mess with him if he is not good enough to help their team this year? If they feel is not good enough for KHL, release him like Michkov.

I do think he makes the KHL roster though. At what role? No idea. Doubt the VHL or MHL are good options for his talent/development at this stage. He needs to get in this next level of challenge against men.

Read this article. I think it's debatable if the VHL is as good or competitive as the AHL.

Russian hockey has been declining for years, it’s time to adjust how we view the prospects

Once a contender for second best league in the world, KHL has fallen in prospect development. Chace McCallum looks at the decline of hockey in Russia as evidenced by the KHL, VHL, and MHL.

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