After watching videos of Demidov over these first half dozen or so games this season I came away quite impressed as to how much stronger and quicker he looks against stronger, older and superior competition. I think there is way too much consternation about Demidov's coaching and its potential deleterious effect on this kid's development. Whether Demidov plays 10 or 18 minutes a game or is used on the first power play unit or not, it should be obvious to anyone watching that this kid is a star in the making. Or it is at least to this observer. What a pick at 5 OA. While we are all questioning (lamenting) the hockey gods after the unfortunate injuries to Laine and Reinbacher, it should be remembered that those same hockey gods allowed Demidov to fall to us at the last draft.
Also, a thank you to Montreal for making these great videos available to all of us. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. And in this case, should serve as a potent salve for the pain and disappointment we are suffering after watching the probable lengthy loss of Laine.