As I went through the process of building my final prospect ranking list in June, ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft, I settled on Ivan Demidov as the second-best player available. There were other players in consideration, specifically right-shot defender Artyom Levshunov, but Demidov’s skill won out for me.
The Chicago Blackhawks did select Levshunov second overall, but I wasn’t shocked they made that pick. There had been growing speculation they coveted the 6-foot-2, 209-pound defender from Michigan State.
I was, however, very surprised that Demidov fell all the way to Montreal at fifth overall. It’s fair to say Beckett Sennecke was shocked to hear his name called by the Anaheim Ducks at No. 3 (his reaction was priceless!). Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cayden Lindstrom went to the Columbus Blue Jackets fourth overall. For Montreal, a team in the midst of a healthy rebuild that is trending in a very positive direction, adding Demidov was a stroke of good fortune.
This season, Demidov is playing for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, and we’ll be keeping an eye on him throughout the year.
I attempt to break down how prospects are developing in segments. A 10-game segment, for example, generally provides insight into how the player is being deployed, what his average ice time is, what impact he’s having on offence, and how his defensive detail looks.
With that in mind, here’s our first look at how Demidov is contributing through his first 10-game segment, where he’s scored four goals and added four assists:
ICE TIME AND ROLE ON THE TEAM
The KHL requires each team to dress two “developing” players who are 20 years old or younger, but some teams don’t have prospects who are qualified for a full-time KHL role. In those circumstances they dress the youngsters, but go against the spirit of the rule by simply sitting them on the bench for 60 minutes.
Demidov is highly regarded by his head coach at SKA, Roman Rotenberg. The club recognizes what it has in the player and the impact he has offensively. In saying that, Rotenberg is like any professional coach and doesn’t just hand out ice time for free.
As a result, Demidov’s ice time has ranged from seven to 14 minutes in his first 10-game segment of regular season action, and has depended on the coach’s strategy on any given night. All of Demidov’s ice time has come at even strength and the power play.
Demidov is benefitting from skating alongside former Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, mostly on his off-wing. On the power play, Demidov is generally slotting into the “bumper” role in the middle of the ice.
OFFENSIVE IMPACT
Demidov has been pretty productive in the segment we’re scouting, and is on pace for a 27G-27A season, which would be very impressive for an 18-year-old, turning 19 in December. It’s early in the season, though, and I don’t anticipate him maintaining a 0.8 point per game pace. Still, you can’t take away the fact that he’s having a nice start to his season.
Development coaches can nurture the offensive skill a player has, but it’s impossible to teach a prospect how to score and create in the offensive zone. The player has to have the hockey sense and skill already in place.
Demidov has that natural ability and instinct in him. Here are a couple of examples that show his best offensive shifts so far:
In the first clip, Demidov extends the play below the goal line, bumps the puck back to the defenceman, and heads to the net looking for a tip or rebound. Watch closely at how quickly he gets under his opponent’s stick to create an open ice tip for the tuck.
The second clip is self-explanatory. Demidov loads from the defensive zone and joins the play as a late option in the offensive zone. He snaps a semi-screen shot under the bar for a goal.
SECONDARY BATTLE
Eventually all games become contested along the boards and all players will have to battle for pucks. There will be times where a player gets knocked down, and how a prospect responds in the hard areas is an important part of their DNA to monitor. This is where I appreciate Demidov’s combination of skill and will.
Here’s an example of a board battle that results in an assist for Demidov. He gets knocked down twice in the sequence, but perseveres and comes out on top:
COMMITMENT IN THE DEFENSIVE ZONE
At every level, offensive-minded players often have some defensive zone cheat to their game. NHL players like Anze Kopitar and Aleksander Barkov are exceptions to the norm, but more often than not players who produce offence take risks on defence in the hope they’ll chip pucks to space and create scoring chances for their group.
Demidov is no different and has some growing to do defensively. He has to learn to read the play a little better and recognize that sometimes less is more. There are times when simply chipping a puck deep into the offensive zone is the best option, instead of carrying it, when opponents gap up to take away time and space.
Here’s an example that shows Demidov “hoping” to chip a puck out of his zone and go on the attack. Nothing came of the play — it was deemed a glove pass — but the fact he was on the wrong side of the puck on his blue line could have led to a scoring chance against:
The next clip displays what I’m describing when I say sometimes “less is more.”
Demidov tracks back into the defensive zone, fronts the shooter, and heads back north through the neutral zone with the puck on his stick. He’s contested on an offensive zone entry and tries to get too cute attempting to make a play. That leads to a turnover a couple of feet inside the offensive blue line and his group never regains possession.
Here, Demidov needed to simply chip the puck deep, keep his feet moving and try to track the puck down low in the zone. There was some good, and some not so good, on display in this sequence.
The good news as far as defensive awareness goes, is that Demidov has been a tidy plus-7 in this segment and has generally played with reliable detail in his zone. He’s strong enough (6-foot, 192 pounds) and understands how to play the game responsibly in all three zones. His execution isn’t always perfect, but he has shown that he’s capable of reading how the play is developing in his zone and getting in shooting lanes to block shots on occasion.
Here’s a subtle example that shows Demidov reading a play in his zone and fronting the shooter. What’s subtle about it is that he didn’t bite on the half wall and jump to the boards to check the forward who was moving the play up the wall. Instead, he was patient and present in the shooting lane on time to block the shot:
SUMMARY
Demidov is off to a positive start to his KHL season, but it will be interesting to see how, or if, his ice time fluctuates over the next segment of games. Kuznetsov was injured in a game recently against Severstal Cherepovets, which could have an impact on how Demidov is deployed at even strength.
However, I anticipate Demidov will continue to be used on the primary power play unit. His playmaking has been too strong from the bumper position.
It’s important to keep in mind there will be several ups and downs throughout the season for Demidov, including how much ice time he is given due to the fact he is on an expiring KHL contract. But so far he’s playing to his strengths and producing offence without sacrificing a great deal defensively.
NHL Projection: Top six forward
NHL Arrival: 2025-26