Prospect Info: [2024 - 5th] Ivan Motherbleeping Demidov (RW), SKA St. Petersburg (MHL)
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red devil
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habdynasty
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They might end up in the gulag or falling off a balcony. You keep your mouth shut there.
Lafleurs Guy
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Thoughts on this guy playing center for us? It would solve a lot of problems and give us two strong lines.
BLONG7
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If this kid can play at Centre..........................it would be heaven on earth to habs fans.
Did he play at Centre last season when playing Jr in Russia ?
WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
Don't see it happening. But he will play center from the wing like Marner does.
Frondell or Desnoyers would be a perfect complement for that.
Zine
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- Feb 28, 2002
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Lol. Nobody above Rotenberg gives two craps about Demidov.
‘Discussion’ is a better translation. Basically, Rotenberg is gonna meet with Lecavalier and whoever else is there from Montreal.
BLONG7
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Vinny................hmm that's interesting. Do you think Vinny brought a cheque book to pay them, and bring the kid back with him??
Wishful thinking I know.
lol
Zine
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- Feb 28, 2002
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Rotenberg is more than a hoot, he’s a dipshit.
At the Channel One Cup he was talking about getting police involved for refs who missed calls where players were injured (after SKA’s Kuzmin was injured)
Of course it will never happen, but that’s his mindset.
The whole situation is an embarrassment to Russian hockey.
Intangir
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Demidov has never played center for long stretches in the MHL or KHL, so I agree with you in the sense that I really don't see how he will/should be put in that position in the NHL. When the dust has settled, hopefully Demidov'll be a creative playmaking winger that produces offense for us, and makes everyone around him better at the NHL level.
As far as our needs go, there is no denying the fact that we currently have a surplus of wingers and 2 major needs; a MASSIVE hole at #2C in the NHL given how poorly Dach has played this year, and major needs on the right side of the defense considering that Hutson looks like a stud, that Guhle is a serviceable #4 LD right now, and that Xhekaj has settled-down some and looks to be a capable 3rd-pairing LD.
With those factors in mind, we turn to our prospect pool, and then things get more complicated.
When it comes to depth players and wingers, we're doing very well. Heineman is establishing himself in the NHL, Tuch, Davidson, and Xhekaj look like they could be fixtures in our bottom-6, and we also have potential top-6 wing options in Mesar and Roy if they end up developing favorably. And we shouldn't forget Demidov, he's the crown jewel of our prospect pool and as close to a sure-fire top-line winger as you can get without proving it in the NHL.
We're also very well-positioned on the goaltending front with Fowler in the NCAA and looking like he could be a potential #1 goaltender with favorable development. Dobes has also done very well in the AHL and possesses underrated NHL potential.
If we look at the center position, we have to start with Michael Hage and how incredible he's been for Michigan this year. Hage's tools all project very well in the NHL, and he plain looks to be a potential top-6 center if everything goes well. Beck is playing very well in the AHL right now while also showing clear middle-6 center upside. And Oliver Kapanen, by playing well at the NHL, Liiga, and SHL levels, has similarly shown that he could be a long-term middle-6 center for us with good further development (and bulking-up).
So yeah, if you look at our prospect pool, it looks like we could have in-house solutions to our massive 2C hole but those will still need years to develop before they start plugging-in our lineup. But the same is true of whomever we pick in this year's draft if we don't luck-out and get a top-4 pick so this is kind of a moot point when it comes to whom we should draft.
Moving on to our D prospects, things get murkier.
We're looking great at LD now with Hutson, Guhle, and Xhekaj, and in the future considering that Engstrom has been the single-best Laval defenseman in my opinion this year, and has all the tools to be another top-4 defenseman for us.
But on the RD side of things, we not only "don't look so good" in the NHL right now, but it is also the single-greatest weakness of our prospect pool.
Justin Barron has failed to show progression and/or consistency this year.
And in the same vein, Logan Mailloux so far seems to have hit a plateau in his development this season. Last year Mailloux progresssed a tremendous amount in the AHL from a crap-tacular beginning to a very solid end of his season, but this year he has been much more inconsistent, and also more "lost" defensively than last (which I frankly don't understand how/why). Mailloux's potential and skillset still track to make him a possible top-4 defenseman one day, but the lack of progression defensively this season isn't really ideal as I've said.
Then we look at Reinbacher and the terrible injury he sustained in the preseason, and what was once a bright spot of our prospect pool suddenly looks a little questionable.
If Reinbacher comes back next year, looking like he hasn't missed a beat, then prognostics immediately turn a lot more "rosy" for us on the right side of the defense even if Barron/Mailloux continue to stall.
But if Reinbacher comes back with the same kind of issues that Dach has experienced this year, this could spell trouble for our right side of the defense. Moreso if the aforementioned "stalling" of Barron/Mailloux continues.
And so I personally come to the conclusion that the Canadiens should try and draft BPA still with their first pick, but perhaps try and use Calgary's pick on a big, mobile RHD to help shore-up what is a definite weakness.
In the end, a perfect 2025 Draft scenario for us would be to announce a Demidov signing at the Draft just before our management goes up the stage to select First Overall. And Calgary's pick would be the 11th, which we'd use to select a nonsensical faller and insane-value pick like Sam Dickinson last year.
Cameron Schmidt would fall to the 2nd round and we'd get him with one of our second-round picks.
Flight of fancy that would be, except for the Demidov signing.
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Kosseca
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- Feb 23, 2020
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why are people under the impression he can play C? Did I miss something ??
WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
He's played it a bit in the past but really just from the draft video where one scout mentioned it.
He's not playing it in the KHL and I'd rather he not have to worry about defensive duties. Just let this kid create.
Kosseca
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- Feb 23, 2020
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Ok tks. useful clarification.
Playing C is a defensive assignment, not an offensive one. Once in the O zone, you create and play your game. If you never play C, taken faceoff, you don't learn in the NHL.
The search for a 2C for MTL should be about faceoff and offensive drive, not play making.
With a talent like Demidov's, I don't want him thinking about being the first guy back and having to play deep in the D-zone. He should be a floating winger, with freedom to fly the zone whenever he wants. Ideally, I want him and Laine together, with a skilled but defensively responsible center. Suzuki fits that bill. Then put Slaf and Caufield with Dach (if he figures things out) or Hage (if Dach doesn't).
The Gr8 Dane
L'harceleur
The C idea stems from his overall movement play driving and tenacity at stealing pucks , also the fact that he can skate , deke , pass , shoot and basically do everything you want a hockey player to do. Also his attention to detail , he's quite a *student* of the game.
And he knows everything about NA hockey and it's players , He knew who Vincent Lecavalier was despite his age , not all Euro's/Russians follow NA hockey that closely , especially not north american players who played before they were born. He is quite the sponge
I wouldn't force him there but it wouldn't hurt to try it out.
He could have also been lying and just googled Vinny and all the ex habs players he talked about before the interviews though , which would also make him smart
And he knows everything about NA hockey and it's players , He knew who Vincent Lecavalier was despite his age , not all Euro's/Russians follow NA hockey that closely , especially not north american players who played before they were born. He is quite the sponge
I wouldn't force him there but it wouldn't hurt to try it out.
He could have also been lying and just googled Vinny and all the ex habs players he talked about before the interviews though , which would also make him smart
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KevSkillz4
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- Apr 11, 2016
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I'm really high on Hage, maybe it's going to be like that:
Demidov - Hage - Laine.
Slaf - Suzuki - Caufield.
If they reach all their potential, that's a fantastic top 6 to me!
But yeah, if Dach replay like he did in his first year with Habs, Demidov - Dach - Laine will be very fun to watch aswell!
Kennerback
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- Jun 2, 2021
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From what I’ve gleaned he’s player Center a lot in lower leagues. A chunk of the games in the MHL playoffs he played extremely well at Center. He prefers Center to wing. I have read other hints that he sees himself more as a Center than a winger.The C idea stems from his overall movement play driving and tenacity at stealing pucks , also the fact that he can skate , deke , pass , shoot and basically do everything you want a hockey player to do. Also his attention to detail , he's quite a *student* of the game.
And he knows everything about NA hockey and it's players , He knew who Vincent Lecavalier was despite his age , not all Euro's/Russians follow NA hockey that closely , especially not north american players who played before they were born. He is quite the sponge
I wouldn't force him there but it wouldn't hurt to try it out.
He could have also been lying and just googled Vinny and all the ex habs players he talked about before the interviews though , which would also make him smart
And then there’s his style. Michkov is a top of his blue line out type of a forward that always plays deep. Whereas, Demidov plays two ways and comes down deep in his zone. He likes picking up the puck very low to start an attack. And he always loops back, while Michkov stays far out.
And we’ve been salivating for players like Wright who’s 6 feet, not physical and not strong as our organizational “big” center. This guy is 6’1, strong like a bull, built like an ox, goes head to head in physical battles vs men. He’ll be a superstar for sure. But if he’s a superstar Center he’s even more valuable to the team to win a Cup.
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Redux91
I do Three bullets.
Can't believe we're adding this kid to the core next year
Laine is already paying dividends in the 'finisher' department
But now adding this kid will absolutely take us to the next Tier in overall group talent
The only real question is a fun one too :
Plays with Suzuki-Caufield? Or plays with Laine?
(Think it's pretty obvious they are going to set up Laine-Demidov duo first)
Laine is already paying dividends in the 'finisher' department
But now adding this kid will absolutely take us to the next Tier in overall group talent
The only real question is a fun one too :
Plays with Suzuki-Caufield? Or plays with Laine?
(Think it's pretty obvious they are going to set up Laine-Demidov duo first)
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KevSkillz4
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- Apr 11, 2016
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100%
Demidov and Laine change everything on forward group. Laine is a superstar talent and add Demidov with him, that will be amazing man!!
The another spot for making a perfect top 6 it's going the 2C, if Dach replay like he did in first year or Hage become literally a 1st line talent, we are in business!!
dackelljuneaubulis02
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- Oct 13, 2012
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If Dach can get back to his 2 seasons ago form and Slaf takes another leap, it’ll look even better. The potential is massive.Can't believe we're adding this kid to the core next year
Laine is already paying dividends in the 'finisher' department
But now adding this kid will absolutely take us to the next Tier in overall group talent
The only real question is a fun one too :
Plays with Suzuki-Caufield? Or plays with Laine?
(Think it's pretty obvious they are going to set up Laine-Demidov duo first)
There is a very Small chance that they could “negotiate” or “discuss” his immediate departure back to MTL with them.
How awesome would that be???
