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

[Estimated_Prophet]

Yes...followed Richer's entire career. I also saw Lafleur's prime years. Lafleur was at one time the best player in the world. Richer had one season with over 78 points. He was a good player with high end skill but he couldn't hold Guy's jockstrap.

Agreed....Richer does not deserve to be in any conversation with Guy Lafleur.

 

[Habssince89]

I'd love to see him in Laval. It would be a huge boost to the team and would probably be beneficial for our lesser prospects to gain such a talented team mate

 

[tazsub3]

Mesar was a terrible pick.

Mesar was a home run pick and it missed .
I have no problem at all with that . But I can’t blame them for badly handling him .
I think the issue is mesar himself .
He is still young and the talent is there , so I won’t be quick to put him as a fail, but it’s not hit out of the park

 

[NotProkofievian]

Ivan needs to play pro this year.

 

[salbutera]

Mesar was a home run pick and it missed .
I have no problem at all with that . But I can’t blame them for badly handling him .
I think the issue is mesar himself .
He is still young and the talent is there , so I won’t be quick to put him as a fail, but it’s not hit out of the park

Can’t teach elite hunger & work ethic

 

[morhilane]

I don't think NHL teams are allowed to pay transfer fees…although I'm sure there are ways around it if they really want.

The SHL transfer deal with the NHL has a transfer fee and even a draft compensation fee.
There is transfer fee between NHL teams when they pick a player from waivers.

The issue with the KHL is the lack of deal for contract transfer and their federation, but now that they split from their federation it should be easier to create a transfer deal. So the remaining problem is going to be the sanctions against Russia...

 

[Nova_Scotia_Vees]

Mesar was a home run pick and it missed .
I have no problem at all with that . But I can’t blame them for badly handling him .
I think the issue is mesar himself .
He is still young and the talent is there , so I won’t be quick to put him as a fail, but it’s not hit out of the park

I think its too early to say its a miss..I have visions of him being Tomas Plekanec like.

 

[Shutdown]

Disagree 100%. I've made my reasoning pretty clear over two years.

care to enlighten those of us who don't feel like playing detective with your post history?

 

[rahad]

I'd love to see him in Laval. It would be a huge boost to the team and would probably be beneficial for our lesser prospects to gain such a talented team mate

He won't play in Laval. Is KHL for him. Pretty sure Kent is okay with him playing one more year in Russia (KHL) before making the jump to the NHL.

We saw how hard it is to play in the NHL at the age of 18-19.

 

[jaffy27]

But maybe it's not. We also haven't seen them develop one at this point either outside a #1 overall pick.

They butchered Mesar's development so far.

I love the management team - hard not too after Bergevin. But they're still very unproven in many aspects.

Slaf is well on his way to stardom, Hutson is an NCAA stud and showed the same in his first to NHL games and Beck just won a MC, F.Xhekaj has flourished in his last OHL season, Fowler is like the best goalie prospect (arguably), Reinbacher after suffering injuries on a horrible Euro team showed some great hockey in his short AHL stint, Roy progressed very well in the A and looks like a lock at the NHL level, Mailloux just broke D records for Laval as a rookie……

Besides that though, ya, they shit the bed because allegedly Mesar is twisted up like a McFry lol

I say we give Mesar a year or 2 in the A before passing judgement on his absolute future….but that’s just me

 

[WeThreeKings]

Disagree 100%. I've made my reasoning pretty clear over two years.

Lol - there's really no other option for him. He wasn't physically ready for Laval, nor would Houle have even given him the opportunities and ice time that would have been beneficial at that time. Going back to the Slovak league would have been even worse.

Saying they butchered his development is essentially saying two things:
That his two years in the OHL were not successful, which is not true at all, as he had dominant stretches, great WJCs and great playoffs. The only issue was year 1 after the WJC and the heavier schedule. and in year 2 with the mental block of failing after the WJC last season and getting hit with the concussion early into that slump.

and two that it absolves Mesar of his role in his development.

Mesar was a terrible pick.

No, he wasn't. He was a smart pick and still has plenty of upside and skill. Writing him off because of two excusable downticks in production in his two junior seasons and ignoring all of the great stretches of play he has, is just hockeydb scouting.

 

[tazsub3]

Can’t teach elite hunger & work ethic

Hahah I said it more gently … but you hit it spot on.
Well at least we got the hunger and work ethic in the more important one at least

I think its too early to say its a miss..I have visions of him being Tomas Plekanec like.

If he becomes a pleks light then it’s a good pick . Let’s hope , maybe his friends contract will light a fire u see him

 

[Adam Michaels]

I don't think NHL teams are allowed to pay transfer fees…although I'm sure there are ways around it if they really want.

Exactly. It's the player who buys his own contract out if he wants out. But as you say, the NHL team can surely find ways to have the player get his money back.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Lol - there's really no other option for him. He wasn't physically ready for Laval, nor would Houle have even given him the opportunities and ice time that would have been beneficial at that time. Going back to the Slovak league would have been even worse.

Saying they butchered his development is essentially saying two things:
That his two years in the OHL were not successful, which is not true at all, as he had dominant stretches, great WJCs and great playoffs. The only issue was year 1 after the WJC and the heavier schedule. and in year 2 with the mental block of failing after the WJC last season and getting hit with the concussion early into that slump.

and two that it absolves Mesar of his role in his development.

No, he wasn't. He was a smart pick and still has plenty of upside and skill. Writing him off because of two excusable downticks in production in his two junior seasons and ignoring all of the great stretches of play he has, is just hockeydb scouting.

People who are not enamored with Mesar are mostly those who didn't watch him play. Fans were not impressed with his production (even though he was over a PPG player last year in the regular season and the playoffs).

But when they actually watched him at the WJC and saw what kind of player he is, they were praising him.

So basically, if you watch him, you see what he can offer. When you rely solely on his daily production in the OHL, you don't see how he plays. We all know that you might not get any points in a game or two, but you still play a solid game. No points doesn't equal bad game.

 

[junyab]

Mesar is a very skilled, high hockey IQ player, but it appears he doesn't have as high of a probability of hitting the ceiling we thought he might when we drafted him, just like almost half of the players drafted before him. No team bats 1000 in 1st rounders.

I now see his ceiling being a 45-50pt center in the NHL or PPG in the AHL.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Demidov might be good, but not good enough to be the topic of discussion in his own thread.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Demidov might be good, but not good enough to be the topic of discussion in his own thread.

Teach the kid humility early

 

[The Real Timo]

I think its too early to say its a miss..I have visions of him being Tomas Plekanec like.

Ooh... then he will need this.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Mesar was a terrible pick.

Of course people wanted Kulich and he is a complete dud.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Mesar was a home run pick and it missed .
I have no problem at all with that . But I can’t blame them for badly handling him .
I think the issue is mesar himself .
He is still young and the talent is there , so I won’t be quick to put him as a fail, but it’s not hit out of the park

Hold the horses! He's only 20 years old and a late-1st round pick. He has skill, speed and smarts and has shown some great flashes...especially at the WJC the last two years. Let his development process run its course before writing him off.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

The khl reg season starts beginning of September. If by the end of September, Demidov isn't getting decent minutes, then the habs management will probably try to terminate his contract and bring him over.

 

[Tyson]

Hold the horses! He's only 20 years old and a late-1st round pick. He has skill, speed and smarts and has shown some great flashes...especially at the WJC the last two years. Let his development process run its course before writing him off.

A common sense post! Those are rare these days.

 

[Zilo44]

Hold the horses! He's only 20 years old and a late-1st round pick. He has skill, speed and smarts and has shown some great flashes...especially at the WJC the last two years. Let his development process run its course before writing him off.

This. It’s weird he did not produce more in the OHL, but he was great at the WJC.

IMO, he has better tools than a Kidney and maybe Farrell who both had better junior careers.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Of course people wanted Kulich and he is a complete dud.

No, he's not a complete dud. If we are going to make inflammatory way too early comments then Jiri Kulich is a bust because in his second AHL season he regressed.

Hold the horses! He's only 20 years old and a late-1st round pick. He has skill, speed and smarts and has shown some great flashes...especially at the WJC the last two years. Let his development process run its course before writing him off.

No, we have to immediately write off his career. He didn't put up 100 plus points in junior and regardless of him showing out to be one of the best in his age group in international tournaments that meant something, and the playoffs, his hockeydb page doesn't show big enough numbers so he sucks and is a terrible pick.

Mesar has to be top 6 or he isn't going to have a long NHL career. That is not a given, but neither is any pick in the late 20s of a draft (which people can't seem to grasp, either) but the traits, tools and ability is there. The odds of it happening are low because they always are low when you are talking about late firsts and beyond.

 

[Schooner Guy]

This. It’s weird he did not produce more in the OHL, but he was great at the WJC.

IMO, he has better tools than a Kidney and maybe Farrell who both had better junior careers.

He might be one of those players who does much better when he plays with better talent.

He had a strong playoff this year with 16 points in 10 games. The previous year he played well in a massive upset where the last seed Kitchener Rangers knocked off the powerhouse Windsor Spitfires who loaded up for a Memorial Cup run including the trade for Shane Wright. I believe Kitchener swept them in 4 straight too.