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

[Pat Riot]

Unpopular opinion. I think SKA is doing a good job developing Demidov. Hes a very young guy playing in a men's league. Its OK if he has to work hard and prove it before being put on the first line. Professional league are tough for kids so playing less minutes some games, is a way to not burn him by giving him too many responsabilities from the get go. I believe they want Demidov to succeed and have a good career in the NHL. I dont buy the whole propaganda that russians are all bad with nefarious mind.

 

[Rapala]

So if I get it our boy scored in 4 straight? Does not sound like his development is being flubbed lol.

To be honest a trained monkey could develop Demidov.
Open the door let him on the ice against stiff competition.

 

[Matthew McConaughay]

Btw, elite prospects gave him 3 pts. 27 in 38.

Looks, like it's going to stay 1 goal and 2 assists, there's a few times Demidov should have gotten an assist and didn't get one, that will compensate.

 

[Kennerback]

To be honest a trained monkey could develop Demidov.
Open the door let him on the ice against stiff competition.

I think most posters agree that his development can’t be fd-up. He has that mix of extreme talent and drive… We mostly want more TOI for our own entertainment.

 

[Goalfield13]

Unpopular opinion. I think SKA is doing a good job developing Demidov. Hes a very young guy playing in a men's league. Its OK if he has to work hard and prove it before being put on the first line. Professional league are tough for kids so playing less minutes some games, is a way to not burn him by giving him too many responsabilities from the get go. I believe they want Demidov to succeed and have a good career in the NHL. I dont buy the whole propaganda that russians are all bad with nefarious mind.

Nah, brah. He's been good on both ends of the ice and has been punished for good play. I would agree with you if they were giving him bottom 6 minutes with some cookies here and there, but the dude has been stapled to the bench, played sub 5 mins a game or actual games of 0 mins. He is obviously being punished for not signing a contract.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

Is Demidov a natural for a Burger King commercial?

I was able to get a picture of him on his Flight home after the game

 

[Rapala]

I think most posters agree that his development can’t be f-up. He has that mix of extreme talent and drive… We mostly want more TOI for our own entertainment.

Yup I stopped watching for that very reason. I'm just counting down time at this point.
If I was a SKA fan in Russia I'd be pissed I'm not seeing more of this expiring asset.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I don’t disagree, but it would take a special kind of idiot to screw Hutson up. Even a buffoon like Therrien couldn’t stop PK. Some players just have “it” and Hutson is one. I believe Demidov will be much of the same.

That’s true. But he did impede Subban. The whole team’s numbers dropped in 13-14. And he also had PK traded. I think Therrien would’ve hated Hutson’s style of play.

But you are absolutely right, he was an exceptionally bad coach.

I just think sometimes you’ll see overcoacjing. They want to change a player and you lose what makes them special. Torts started benching Michkov and now he’s pointless in five. Maybe one has nothing to do with the other - maybe it’s just a rookie slowing down. But I can’t help but wonder what’s going on behind the scenes. Why did he bench a player who was red hot? And we’ve seen a lot of that here over the years.

I get that a lot of people feel MSL isn’t the guy to get us to the next level. Maybe they’re right. But he stays out of the way and lets players play to their strengths. I think he’s the right guy for Demidov. At least his early years here.

 

[Goalfield13]

Demidov's time in the KHL at the very least shows us how mentally tough this dude is. He can take all this BS without whining and produce with inconsistent usage. He's focused on his main goal. You love to see it.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Unpopular opinion. I think SKA is doing a good job developing Demidov. Hes a very young guy playing in a men's league. Its OK if he has to work hard and prove it before being put on the first line. Professional league are tough for kids so playing less minutes some games, is a way to not burn him by giving him too many responsabilities from the get go. I believe they want Demidov to succeed and have a good career in the NHL. I dont buy the whole propaganda that russians are all bad with nefarious mind.

No it's not all Russians.. he'd be in a dream scenario with Larionov as his coach. Rotenberg is a political plant and is basically using SKA as his toy; he's a moron.

 

[Kennerback]

Nah, brah. He's been good on both ends of the ice and has been punished for good play. I would agree with you if they were giving him bottom 6 minutes with some cookies here and there, but the dude has been stapled to the bench, played sub 5 mins a game or actual games of 0 mins. He is obviously being punished for not signing a contract.

His TOI fuels this thread. We like to make sense of the daily occurrences in the world around us, and this makes no sense.

Many posters (including the Russian speakers) claim Rotenberg is just a dim-witted buffon. Other posters (self included), derisively called the “conspiracy theorists”, think Rotenberg can’t be that stupid and/or has smart people as advisers.

 

[dcyhabs]

This but somewhat unironically. MSL is fine but I'd love a modern hardass coach to test some of our players. Not Rotenberg but a toned down version. Montgomery would have been nice but the team wasn't ready to move on from MSL.

It’s pretty tough to find a hardass who isn’t a dinosaur. The hardass headgames guys tend to burn through players so unless you have enough depth to jettison the guys who don’t thrive with that style it can be tough.

The Blue Jackets tried hardassing it, they lost assets, and they didn’t do well enough to make it worthwhile. Lower draft picks, no playoffs, good players leaving.

Modern coaches have to get along with the players because players can leave. The players aren’t stuck to their teams like 40 years ago.

 

[Pat Riot]

Nah, brah. He's been good on both ends of the ice and has been punished for good play. I would agree with you if they were giving him bottom 6 minutes with some cookies here and there, but the dude has been stapled to the bench, played sub 5 mins a game or actual games of 0 mins. He is obviously being punished for not signing a contract.

Like I said hes young and I think its OK to give him break and let him watch some games from the side line. We played Slaf in the NHL at 18 and he got a severe injury missing half the games. Thats not a better scenario. Not many 18 years old player can jump in a men's league and play big minutes for the whole season. IMO they are doing a good job with Demidov.

 

[dcyhabs]

His TOI fuels this thread. We like to make sense of the daily occurrences in the world around us, and this makes no sense.

Many posters (including the Russian speakers) claim Rotenberg is just a dim-witted buffon. Other posters (self included), derisively called the “conspiracy theorists”, think Rotenberg can’t be that stupid and/or has smart people as advisers.

Have you ever worked for a company that’s into the second generation ownership? The guys who founded the company are gone and their spoiled kids are running the show, claiming to be geniuses. It’s impressive how dumb they can be, and how many VPs it takes to protect a company from them.

That’s what oligarchy is. A bunch of rich idiots with money and no sense ignoring smarter people. I believe he’s dumb.

 

[Rapala]

No it's not all Russians.. he'd be in a dream scenario with Larionov as his coach. Rotenberg is a political plant and is basically using SKA as his toy; he's a moron.

Yeah one guy knows what the NHL is and what the NHL dream is all about.
The other guy I don't even know what he's good at?

Not to mention one dude is a superstar in his own right and appreciates pure talent when he sees it.

 

[DAChampion]

Like I said hes young and I think its OK to give him break and let him watch some games from the side line. We played Slaf in the NHL at 18 and he got a severe injury missing half the games. Thats not a better scenario. Not many 18 years old player can jump in a men's league and play big minutes for the whole season. IMO they are doing a good job with Demidov.

That's true.

Because the only way to impede Demidov 's development is to have him injured.

So an injury-free season is already the greatest possible win.

Have you ever worked for a company that’s into the second generation ownership?

Most of the NHL?

 

[salbutera]

 

[Thomas Sowell]

Looks, like it's going to stay 1 goal and 2 assists, there's a few times Demidov should have gotten an assist and didn't get one, that will compensate.

Yes. Remember that goal he had that was called back for absolutely bullshit

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

ah this makes sense. I thought I noticed a lot less ‘flash’ in his game.

He seems to be handling the puck less and passing the puck when it gets on his stick.

That might be what Turd is referring to. Don’t know if I love that.

These are weird comments. He’s ‘surprised’. Why would you be surprised? Because your suggestions were nonsense and just a stupid excuse to bench him? Now Demidov is doing what you say and still dominating you have no earthly choice but to play him. Demidov is smart calling your bluff it seems

 

[Sorinth]

Demidov's time in the KHL at the very least shows us how mentally tough this dude is. He can take all this BS without whining and produce with inconsistent usage. He's focused on his main goal. You love to see it.

It probably helps when you know you only have 6-9 months of this crap to put up with and then you're off to bigger and better things.

I think in the draft video they talked about how he's a guy with a huge drive to become not just a good player but a superstar in the NHL, and so far he's showing us that drive. So yeah it's nice to see that mentality rather then just hear some scouts saying he has it.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

That’s true. But he did impede Subban. The whole team’s numbers dropped in 13-14. And he also had PK traded. I think Therrien would’ve hated Hutson’s style of play.

But you are absolutely right, he was an exceptionally bad coach.

I just think sometimes you’ll see overcoacjing. They want to change a player and you lose what makes them special. Torts started benching Michkov and now he’s pointless in five. Maybe one has nothing to do with the other - maybe it’s just a rookie slowing down. But I can’t help but wonder what’s going on behind the scenes. Why did he bench a player who was red hot? And we’ve seen a lot of that here over the years.

I get that a lot of people feel MSL isn’t the guy to get us to the next level. Maybe they’re right. But he stays out of the way and lets players play to their strengths. I think he’s the right guy for Demidov. At least his early years here.

IMO coaching is overrated at the NHL level. Most of them are preaching different variations of the same things. I think there are two times when it can make a difference. 1: you’ve got an exceptional coach who gets the most of the roster 2: when you have someone terrible who can get in the way like a Michel Therrien. I think there are more of these types than the exceptional ones, but I think the majority are just insignificant to teams success.
I don’t mind Marty, although he does over rely on vets like almost every other coach. The dzone coverage has shown signs of improving over the last few weeks, that is my biggest gripe with Marty, the players seem lost fairly often.

 

[DAChampion]

I saw that Demidov is rated a 9.0C. Isn't that an exceptionally high rating?

 

[Goalfield13]

It probably helps when you know you only have 6-9 months of this crap to put up with and then you're off to bigger and better things.

I think in the draft video they talked about how he's a guy with a huge drive to become not just a good player but a superstar in the NHL, and so far he's showing us that drive. So yeah it's nice to see that mentality rather then just hear some scouts saying he has it.

Sure, it helps to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it can't be easy to go through it for an entire season.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

I saw that Demidov is rated a 9.0C. Isn't that an exceptionally high rating?

It’s really good, yeah.

Basically superstar level upside with floor to be a 2nd liner.

 

[CharleyHorse]

Since Demidov is so good on both ends of the ice, why do people dismiss his potential as a C so quickly? People have stated he played there a lot before the KHL.

I didn’t follow Demidov’s career closely before the Habs drafted him, so there are definitely people who know more about his game than I do. That said, my perspective is pretty straightforward: let him play where he’s most comfortable. Why try to force a square peg into a round hole, especially with young players - Guhle as an example? I don't think it's Demidov's job to bridge the gaps in teh lineup - that responsibility falls on HuGo - let them worry about it. Just my 2 cents.