Canadiens: Demidov’s Snipe in SKA Intrasquad

Canadiens: Demidov’s Snipe in SKA Intrasquad

Montreal Canadiens fifth-overall draft pick Ivan Demidov participated in an intrasquad scrimmage with his KHL team SKA St Petersburg yesterday. He is anticipated to spend the majority of the 2024-25 season in Russia.

In the game, the young Russian sniper opened the scoring when he received a breakout pass around center ice and laced a shot blocker-side on the opposing goaltender. His slick wrister was promptly uploaded to the SKA Instagram page.

There was concern about his injury status coming into Summer training, after Demidov endured a serious knee injury during the MHL playoffs last year, ending his season. Since then, he cleared medicals and hopped on the stationary bike in fighting form.

Currently, where Demidov ranks in the depth chart appears to be quite low. He recently told a reporter that he has been labelled the 13th forward on the team. The hope again is that he gets sufficient ice time at the KHL level but if there is a logjam, there’s a likelihood that he is demoted to the VHL. SKA brought in forwards Mikhail Grigorenko, Sergei Plotnikov and Evgeny Kuznetsov, who all have NHL experience, this offseason.

If Demidov is demoted, the Canadiens could hypothetically work out a loan with the KHL super team and acquire the phenom a year earlier. There has been no word, however, from the front office indicating such a plan if this were the case.

He is slated to captain the Russian U23 team at the upcoming Puchkov Tournament, a preseason tournament in the KHL. The event is slated to start on Aug 22.

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