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

[Tyson]

Level? More like stratosphere as far as prospects go. Last time I was this excited about a prospect it was Saku, and that pales in comparison to Demidov.

You are not wrong about Koivu, I feel the same way. He handed me a game used stick that is still on display along with many others! Habs drafted Lafleur in 71, nothing special until 93 and nothing exciting until Slaf and Demidov with Demidov on another level.

 

[HabbyGuy]

You are not wrong about Koivu, I feel the same way. He handed me a game used stick that is still on display along with many others! Habs drafted Lafleur in 71, nothing special until 93 and nothing exciting until Slaf and Demidov with Demidov on another level.

Yeah, Slaf was exciting because we had the 1st overall pick and the draft was in Montreal, but from a draft pick perspective as great as he is, (Slaf) the initial excitement level as a prospect is not the same as with the Demidov pick. "He lose"

With all due respect to our King Kovsky <3

 

[dinodebino]

That's not really a weird skating style, it's a hard/unique skating style.

I use to have to do that going around the faceoff circles doing that, pushing off to the next one, doing it again and pushing off until you got to the other end.

You need some MSL thighs to do it/you get those from doing it.

Many moons ago, my son went to a summer skating school, owned by a woman named Anna Sherbatov (Eliezer’s mother). Aside from power skating, a lot of her exercices were about edge work. I remember being fascinated by that.

 

[le_sean]

Ducks don't draft Russians under Verbeek and they were looking specifically for a right shot. It was a happy circumstance for us.

I get teams are hard for RD, but for the Hawks to pass up on having Bedard with Demidov is crazy. That fills every arena every single game.

 

[crosbyshow]

I get teams are hard for RD, but for the Hawks to pass up on having Bedard with Demidov is crazy. That fills every arena every single game.

Yep.

Before the draft I wrote many times that there was zero chance that the Hawks would pass on Demidov...zero.

Bedard is alone up front and he is a sniper..center a bit like Matthews.

Demidov was the man on his wing with his vision , Iq etc.

You are suppose to draft the best player available and Demidov was clearly the best and it was a need as well for them

 

[VirginiaMtlExpat]

They have drafted some solid players over the past 50 years but I think Demidov is on another level.

It really needed the stars to align, in a comparable North American talent going 1, Chicago opting for a talented D at 2 in the wake of drafting Bedard, and two consecutive teams drafting for size at forward. On a redraft teams at 2-4 will come to regret it. Hell maybe even 1!

 

[JIMVINNY]

Yep.

Before the draft I wrote many times that there was zero chance that the Hawks would pass on Demidov...zero.

Bedard is alone up front and he is a sniper..center a bit like Matthews.

Demidov was the man on his wing with his vision , Iq etc.

You are suppose to draft the best player available and Demidov was clearly the best and it was a need as well for them

I think he tanked the interview.

 

[Kennerback]

You are not wrong about Koivu, I feel the same way. He handed me a game used stick that is still on display along with many others! Habs drafted Lafleur in 71, nothing special until 93 and nothing exciting until Slaf and Demidov with Demidov on another level.

I wasn’t born for the Lafleur pick. Since 1980, these are « all » the skaters we drafted top-10. Nothing comes even close to Demidov.

1-Slafkovsky, which I love but is not a flamboyant sexy pick from day 1.
3-Kotkaniemi
3-Galchenyuk
5-Petr Svobodà
5-Reinbacher
5-Demidov
7-Mark Hunter
7-Komisarek
8-Corson
8-Terry Ryan
9-Sergachev
10-Kostitsyn

 

[JC Superstar]

I wasn’t born for the Lafleur pick. Since 1980, these are « all » the skaters we drafted top-10. Nothing comes even close to Demidov.

1-Slafkovsky, which I love but is not a flamboyant sexy pick from day 1.
3-Kotkaniemi
3-Galchenyuk
5-Petr Svobodà
5-Reinbacher
5-Demidov
7-Mark Hunter
7-Komisarek
8-Corson
8-Terry Ryan
9-Sergachev
10-Kostitsyn

I was going to the Colisee to watch Guy Lafleur's Remparts and then he was drafted by Les Canadiens and the crafty (feel free to insert your superlative) Sam Pollock. When they drafted Demidov, I felt the same excitment that in '71: does that make Kent Hughes crafty or just plain lucky?

 

[crosbyshow]

I wasn’t born for the Lafleur pick. Since 1980, these are « all » the skaters we drafted top-10. Nothing comes even close to Demidov.

1-Slafkovsky, which I love but is not a flamboyant sexy pick from day 1.
3-Kotkaniemi
3-Galchenyuk
5-Petr Svobodà
5-Reinbacher
5-Demidov
7-Mark Hunter
7-Komisarek
8-Corson
8-Terry Ryan
9-Sergachev
10-Kostitsyn

In 1980 at 1st..: Doug Wickeneiser..

He was a hell of a player in the OHL..his stats were amazing and nobody in the hockey would have drafted Denis Savard 1st that year.....the rest is history unfortunately

In fact at the time of the draft since 1970 with pure talent it is maybe

1 Lafleur
2 Wickeneiser
3 Demidov

 

[Kojo]

In 1980 at 1st..: Doug Wickeneiser..

He was a hell of a player in the OHL..his stats were amazing and nobody in the hockey would have drafted Denis Savard 1st that year.....the rest is history unfortunately

In fact at the time of the draft since 1970 with pure talent it is maybe

1 Lafleur
2 Wickeneiser
3 Demidov

Slaf would have destroyed the OHL in his draft year. He should be number two instead of Wickeneiser.

Also I think he played in the WHL? but whatever, Slaf would have destroyed the WHL.

 

[FrankMTL]

Ask and you shall receive!

Damn, and you got a profile pic of him sporting "Le Tigre".....or is it "Blue Steel"?



Well done.

 

[salbutera]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1827463946661486750

Not sure what’s weird, he’s doing a (Crosby) Mohawk which is what power skating coaches encourage as it's the most efficient form of edgework - cross cuts should be kept to a minimum due to their inefficiency is what’s taught by power skating coaches

 

[HomaridII]

Not sure what’s weird, he’s doing a (Crosby) Mohawk which is what power skating coaches encourage as it's the most efficient form of edgework - cross cuts should be kept to a minimum due to their inefficiency is what’s taught by power skating coaches

I'll just tell you what I read because I can't even skate lol

The Mohawk hardly ever works at NHL level with only a handful of players utilizing it extensively. The issue is that it leaves you open to hits that could well be very bad because of the way you are positioned. Also supposedly from the mohawk it is very hard to accelerate.

However, the same guys that said that in the articles I read, also said that nobody has ever done it quite like Demidov and that he is unique. This is the same comment the Habs scout was making when he was talking about Demidov's ability to change directions and accelerate, saying only Makarov has ever done it like him.

 

[OldCraig71]

I get teams are hard for RD, but for the Hawks to pass up on having Bedard with Demidov is crazy. That fills every arena every single game.

Having Celine Dion there to announce the pick is not something they would have done if we were drafting a stay-at-home defenseman. There are no flukes. The Hawks got Bedard and that was their prize. Uncle Gary said Demidov to the Habs and so it was written.

 

[rickthegoon]

That magical moment Demidov was picked at #5 by the Habs, is only possible by the fact that the Ducks blew everybody’s brain by picking Sennecke at #3.
Planet earth was expecting them to pounce on Demidov like famished lions…..
Columbus’ pick does make sense with Lidstrom, but I was still a bit surprised because of his injury.
I’m pretty sure no scouts had Sennecke in their top 10.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

Assuming demidov plays in the KHL for the full season, do you think he surpasses michkovs PPG? And even if he does, do you think other fanbases will downplay it?

 

[skidcells]

That magical moment Demidov was picked at #5 by the Habs, is only possible by the fact that the Ducks blew everybody’s brain by picking Sennecke at #3.
Planet earth was expecting them to pounce on Demidov like famished lions…..
Columbus’ pick does make sense with Lidstrom, but I was still a bit surprised because of his injury.
I’m pretty sure no scouts had Sennecke in their top 10.

Well if Anaheim picked him at 3, I gather at least 1 nhl front office had him top 10. In fact they had him top 3.

There are at least 2 amateur scouts that him top 5: McCagg and Simon the snake Boisvert. McCagg hate him or love him does speak to nhl scouts and he has said some teams had him ranked top 5 and top 10. Even Bob mentions that he garnered top 10 votes: “No. 11 is Beckett Sennecke, the Oshawa General big (almost 6-foot-3) winger who has dynamic skill and, along with Iginla, has rocketed up the draft charts with great buzz and fanfare. Sennecke was ranked by our scouting panel as high as No. 5, no lower than No. 14 and had a total of four Top 10 votes.”

In any case, I’m glad we got Demidov. In fact I am over the moon. For some Sennecke at 3 was a surprise but if you followed the lead up to the draft closely there were signs he was going to go high.

 

[WeThreeKings]

That magical moment Demidov was picked at #5 by the Habs, is only possible by the fact that the Ducks blew everybody’s brain by picking Sennecke at #3.
Planet earth was expecting them to pounce on Demidov like famished lions…..
Columbus’ pick does make sense with Lidstrom, but I was still a bit surprised because of his injury.
I’m pretty sure no scouts had Sennecke in their top 10.

Not many people thought the Ducks would go with Demidov - they thought they would take a defenseman, likely Silayev or Buium. But there was an explicit need for the Ducks to add a right shot forward to their group.

Multiple scouts had Sennecke in their top 10, you can read Bob McKenzie's breakdown of the final iteration of his rankings where it's explicitly stated they did, a couple in the top 3, IIRC.

Assuming demidov plays in the KHL for the full season, do you think he surpasses michkovs PPG? And even if he does, do you think other fanbases will downplay it?

No, he won't and here's the reasons why -

• SKA is a deeper team than Sochi meaning that other people other than the top line will score goals.
• Unlikely he will be on the first PP unit like Michkov was.
• Unlikely he will be on the top line like Michkov was and he may not even see top 6 minutes.
• He won't get as many minutes as Michkov did overall.

If he did, then yes, they will downplay it the opposite way in which they would say that Demidov was on the better team so his point totals are inflated.

 

[Kennerback]

Assuming demidov plays in the KHL for the full season, do you think he surpasses michkovs PPG? And even if he does, do you think other fanbases will downplay it?

Whatever he does other fanbases will downplay it. Either they’ll dig up some esoteric stat that he’ll be a bit low in. Either they’ll buy time by saying it won’t translate to the NHL because (some reason).

 

[WeThreeKings]

I'd still love to push to get him out of Russia ASAP; I know there's growing push by Ukraine to launch some missiles at Russia, specifically Moscow and St. Petersburg. That shit is just so unpredictable.

 

[viceroy]

At the Florida combine he was 6 ft .5 and weighed 190 pounds. Only 18.

What's cool is that in the "Inside the Canadiens Draft Meetings" video on Youtube we get to see Demidov with Hutson. Lane looks about 2 inches shorter than Ivan. Which means that our young D-man is a legit 5'10". Cool.

That magical moment Demidov was picked at #5 by the Habs, is only possible by the fact that the Ducks blew everybody’s brain by picking Sennecke at #3.

Actually pretty much everyone in the know knew that the Ducks were picking Sennecke. I watched the live SPDN draft podcast and they admitted that picks #1-5 went as expected and that there were no surprises. It's #6 and onwards that stuff got wild-ish.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Ok ladies and gentleman, imagine 2 seconds a playmaker like Demidov with a goalscorer like Laine.

But yeah, Demidov have already better shot than last year, he can essily be a really great goalscorer, but his first qualitie to me, it's is vision, hockey IQ and passing ability. This guy will score 30-35g (maybe more if he continue to progress), with 55a ++

Laine will play with that guy in his 2nd year on PP... that's going to be something.

Reallly really fun time to be a Habs fan. Can't remember having a tons of talent like that in this team.

 

[Naslundforever]

Whatever he does other fanbases will downplay it. Either they’ll dig up some esoteric stat that he’ll be a bit low in. Either they’ll buy time by saying it won’t translate to the NHL because (some reason).

I feel you care a lot about what people of other fanbases think, but that only the little fire of love for the habs burning deep in your heart actually matters.

 

[Kennerback]

I feel you care a lot about what people of other fanbases think, but that only the little fire of love for the habs burning deep in your heart actually matters.

It depends. I find it amusing when they thrash our prospects. It’s a good sign.