It's taken longer than expected for Ivan Demidov to return from injury, but signs are pointing in the right direction.
Demidov, who has been out since Oct. 3 with a lower-body injury, has been skating with the Montreal Canadiens and is progressing in his recovery, but does not have an exact timeline for his return, general manager Kent Hughes told Sportsnet's Eric Engels on Thursday.
Though Demidov was originally given a recovery timeline of two to four weeks, more than a month has passed since he took the ice for the Canadiens in game action.
However, Hughes said that Demidov hasn't suffered any setbacks, adding that timelines are approximate — particularly as it concerns Demidov's injury.
It's unclear how exactly Demidov suffered the injury, but the 20-year-old had played in the Canadiens' first two games of the season against the Maple Leafs and Penguins.
He missed practice following the game against Pittsburgh and was placed on injured reserve soon after.
Demidov finished second in Calder Trophy voting last season, recording 62 points (19 goals, 43 assists) in 82 games while skating 15:30 of ice time per night. He had one goal and one assist in his two games this year before injury.
The Canadiens return to action Saturday (Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PCT) in a road game against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs.
