F Ivan Demidov - SKA St. Petersburg, KHL (2024, 5th, MTL)

[NikolaTesla]

Kaprizov did. He was adamant about staying in the KHL until he was 100% developed.

Just because a young player could play in the NHL doesn't necessarily mean it's the optimal route to long-term success.

That said, Demidov is off to Montreal next year. That much is certain.

He will be in montreal as soon as the khl season is over.

 

[frederixx]

Kaprizov did. He was adamant about staying in the KHL until he was 100% developed.

Just because a young player could play in the NHL doesn't necessarily mean it's the optimal route to long-term success.

That said, Demidov is off to Montreal next year. That much is certain.

The affirmation was, would he stays in the KHL to play with his brother knowing he's already a top player and probably the best prospect outside the NHL.

And also, in Russo's article from 5 years go, Kaprizov said he wasn't pleased with how little Fletcher and the Wild organization cared about him. That he was a 5th round pick and they never reached out to him. I get your point, but it's a whole different story

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Maybe you're not counting it, but the Winter Classic at Wrigley Dec 31st will have 17k more.

You probably missed the key (bolded) word.

That must be the most attended indoor hockey game in the world this year

PS: Just saw that @red devil beat me to it.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I watched Demidov play all season long in the MHL his draft year, thinking to myself there was no way he was lasting to the Canadiens' pick. But there he was and I was so happy. Moreso considering how livid I was the year prior when the management selected Reinbacher (whom I had 9th in 2023) over Michkov, who was my #2 that year.

Thing is, I watched all those games of Demidov's but I still held some slivers of doubt that he would adapt seamlessly to the KHL.

Demidov's defense in the MHL was good overall but un-energetic, and he would often cheat in favor of offense. I thought this "wouldn't fly" at all in the KHL and might hold him back.

Demidov's edges, agility, and reaction speed were quite clearly elite even then, but I wondered if his explosiveness and straight-line speed would be good enough to afford him the time/space that he needs to create in the KHL. And his 10-2 skating made me doubt whether he could sustain an entire calendar year of play in the KHL, with all the knee-on-knee collisions that that style of skating was prone to cause.

Similarly, I thought that Demidov had some issues fighting through checks in the MHL playoffs against the top teams (those that really challenged SKA, not the weak "Silver Division" MHL teams), and that cast some added amount of doubt in my mind on whether he'd be able to do himself justice in the pros right away, against smarter/stronger/faster players.

But what I feel is a bit understated, and kind of lost in how Demidov has managed to establish himself as a great KHL player right off the bat, is how PRODUCTIVE Demidov's Summer was.

The improvement Demidov showed in several key areas over such a short period of time was kind of crazy to be honest.

He seemed faster on the ice from the get-go at training camp. It might be a result of some targeted training and/or finally being healthy after having played through a high-ankle injury through the year. Either way Demidov was just clearly faster on the ice when he showed up for SKA's training camp this Fall than he was to my eyes in the MHL playoffs last Spring, and in the beginning of his season in Fall 2023.

I also noticed that Demidov seemed to have gotten noticeably stronger on his skates over the Summer, and that helped him a ton when sutaining contact and trying to make a play through it.

Then there were the improvements to his defensive game that I immediately saw at camp; those made me throw all doubts I had about Demidov's game not translating to the NHL straight out of the window.

At camp Demidov was just as strong offensively as he'd ever been in the MHL, but he was coming so much deeper and with much greater alacrity in the defensive zone to help support his D. That was a real eye-opener for me that Demidov could play like that and still retain all of his offensive potency.

But the real clincher for me was when he played against SKA and other KHL teams in the annual mini-tournament that they hold during training camp against top young russian prospects.

Basically, as soon as I saw how Demidov was playing against the pros in those exhibition matches, deking around and through them with ease, out-muscling, out-skating, out-smarting, out-competing them in a lot of different situations, I knew he was gonna have a good year. When I watched further, and saw how Demidov's offensive skills, improved strength and skating, as well as his newfound focus on defensive play all kind of melded into and fed each other, I knew that his season in the KHL wouldn't be a good one but a great one.

That was my personal tipping point, those exhibition games against SKA where Demidov made full-time KHL defensemen miss and look silly.

That's when I knew he was gonna have a great KHL season if Rotenberg played him enough.

This is an excellent analysis and concisely addresses the concerns that some of us had with the Demidov pick: an awkward skating style that appeared to limit this player’s acceleration and top end speed.

I would agree that in the limited videos I’ve seen of Demidov play this year, he does appear faster and stronger on his skates while playing against superior competition and without sacrificing any of his elite lateral skating ability.

Demidov appears to have made the transition to the KHL seamlessly. Now we have to wait and see if he has similar success transitioning to the NHL. If he does, he will be joining a coming wave of young talent that should transform the Canadiens into a perennial contender for the next decade.

Great post.

 

[Essenege]

wonder if he will be more open to re-signing with ska if he and his brother get plenty of ice time in ska for the rest of the season. michkov was eager to cross the pond and is slowly busting now. demidov, of course, is a better player, but he should keep it in mind when deciding his future. a couple of years in the khl playing with his brother may be a better option than playing for the disjointed habs in a much more demanding league.

Get into 2025 my guy, Habs are proving to be a middle of the pack/bubble team already and the biggest weakness right now is the second line production. Demidov will light it up with Laine on the other side both 5v5 and on the PP.

Dach is a question mark but if he’s not the main playmaker on a line it’s going to help him a lot

 

[Zine]

And also, in Russo's article from 5 years go, Kaprizov said he wasn't pleased with how little Fletcher and the Wild organization cared about him. That he was a 5th round pick and they never reached out to him. I get your point, but it's a whole different story

Russo?
That baboon also said Putin made Kaprizov sign an extention with CSKA.
Statements like that are so outlandish and based on fearmongering that Russo shouldve been forced to wear a dunce cap at Wild's following press conference.

 

[Zine]

I watched Demidov play all season long in the MHL his draft year, thinking to myself there was no way he was lasting to the Canadiens' pick. But there he was and I was so happy. Moreso considering how livid I was the year prior when the management selected Reinbacher (whom I had 9th in 2023) over Michkov, who was my #2 that year.

Thing is, I watched all those games of Demidov's but I still held some slivers of doubt that he would adapt seamlessly to the KHL.

Demidov's defense in the MHL was good overall but un-energetic, and he would often cheat in favor of offense. I thought this "wouldn't fly" at all in the KHL and might hold him back.

Demidov's edges, agility, and reaction speed were quite clearly elite even then, but I wondered if his explosiveness and straight-line speed would be good enough to afford him the time/space that he needs to create in the KHL. And his 10-2 skating made me doubt whether he could sustain an entire calendar year of play in the KHL, with all the knee-on-knee collisions that that style of skating was prone to cause.

Similarly, I thought that Demidov had some issues fighting through checks in the MHL playoffs against the top teams (those that really challenged SKA, not the weak "Silver Division" MHL teams), and that cast some added amount of doubt in my mind on whether he'd be able to do himself justice in the pros right away, against smarter/stronger/faster players.

But what I feel is a bit understated, and kind of lost in how Demidov has managed to establish himself as a great KHL player right off the bat, is how PRODUCTIVE Demidov's Summer was.

The improvement Demidov showed in several key areas over such a short period of time was kind of crazy to be honest.

He seemed faster on the ice from the get-go at training camp. It might be a result of some targeted training and/or finally being healthy after having played through a high-ankle injury through the year. Either way Demidov was just clearly faster on the ice when he showed up for SKA's training camp this Fall than he was to my eyes in the MHL playoffs last Spring, and in the beginning of his season in Fall 2023.

I also noticed that Demidov seemed to have gotten noticeably stronger on his skates over the Summer, and that helped him a ton when sutaining contact and trying to make a play through it.

Then there were the improvements to his defensive game that I immediately saw at camp; those made me throw all doubts I had about Demidov's game not translating to the NHL straight out of the window.

At camp Demidov was just as strong offensively as he'd ever been in the MHL, but he was coming so much deeper and with much greater alacrity in the defensive zone to help support his D. That was a real eye-opener for me that Demidov could play like that and still retain all of his offensive potency.

But the real clincher for me was when he played against SKA and other KHL teams in the annual mini-tournament that they hold during training camp against top young russian prospects.

Basically, as soon as I saw how Demidov was playing against the pros in those exhibition matches, deking around and through them with ease, out-muscling, out-skating, out-smarting, out-competing them in a lot of different situations, I knew he was gonna have a good year. When I watched further, and saw how Demidov's offensive skills, improved strength and skating, as well as his newfound focus on defensive play all kind of melded into and fed each other, I knew that his season in the KHL wouldn't be a good one but a great one.

That was my personal tipping point, those exhibition games against SKA where Demidov made full-time KHL defensemen miss and look silly.

That's when I knew he was gonna have a great KHL season if Rotenberg played him enough.

For all the shit SKA get, they've played a big part in developing Demidov. Team trainers, development staff and facilities are top notch, all the way down to youth teams.

But alas, Rotenberg's roster management it just the opposite. Its a circus.

 

[montreal]

I know that the people who need to be right will give yet more excuses, but he wanted Philly.

How the Flyers pursued and landed Matvei Michkov a year ago, after a nail-biting draft week

Drafting Michkov involved a stroke of luck that could alter the face of the organization for years to come.

www.nytimes.com

But then, in June, Michkov’s agent, Maxim Moliver, reached out to the Flyers organization. As it turned out, Michkov was spending some downtime ahead of the draft in New York City, and he wanted to meet with the Flyers before the draft at the end of that month. The Flyers, of course, were receptive. They were the only team that Michkov offered to meet with before arriving in Nashville (although that may have been partly influenced by Philadelphia’s proximity to Manhattan).


Michkov travelled via train to meet with a small group of Flyers executives at their training facility in Voorhees, N.J, including Briere. They showed him the upstairs offices, the training facilities, the various displays in the hallways and, of course, the dressing room.

Why Matvei Michkov was Available for Flyers to Draft

The Philadelphia Flyers’ selection of Matvei Michkov was the NHL Draft’s most suspenseful moment. After the Blackhawks picked Connor Bedard, five other teams passed on Michkov. There was some surprise when Anaheim selected Leo Carlsson at No. 2, instead of Adam Fantilli. Columbus was thrilled to...

phillyhockeynow.com

McCauley said the Flyers did their homework. They met with Michkov in Russia. Michkov visited the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees. By the time draft night rolled around, general manager Daniel Briere was ready to draft Michkov.

“It was a blast,” Briere said after the day after the draft.

“We met in a small group with him. When he left, we were blown away by how much he wanted to be a Flyer.”

Matvei Michkov Wanted to be a Flyer - Flyers Nation

Keith Jones and Daniel Brière have been undoing the misery and turmoil that Chuck Fletcher laid about during his almost-5 year tenure as President and General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers. It was truly a desolate landscape that was filled with overpaid contracts, somewhat empty draft...

www.flyersnation.com

However, let’s all just soak in that after all the smokescreens that were being thrown around for nearly 2 months, Matvei Michkov – who wanted to be a Philadelphia Flyer – had his wish come true as he was selected 7th overall and should be donning the new burnt orange jerseys at some point in the distant future.

This was on the Habs board, the last time I tried to find this I couldn't so I wanted to make sure it doesn't get lost. Sounds like he wanted to be a Flyer over everyone else.