While the Montreal Canadiens had a day off yesterday, rookie Ivan Demidov surprised the hockey world by launching his own clothing line. The announcement was made by the player’s agent, Dan Milstein, on his X account, but also by Demidov himself and his significant other, Katya Yakovleva, on their respective Instagram accounts.

The collection can be browsed here and includes something for the whole family: tops, hats, and sizes for adults and kids. The design is relatively simple, and all items include the brand identity “ID93”. For fans who had already bought Demidov jerseys, this is good news because it indicates that the youngster doesn’t intend to change his jersey number anytime soon.

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The move is reminiscent of when former Canadiens’ defenseman P.K. Subban launched his own line, an initiative that wasn’t well received around the team. There were plenty of critics about the blueliner promoting his own brand and putting himself ahead of the team. Hopefully, the Montreal market has evolved since then, and the young Russian doesn’t face the same criticism.

Subban wasn’t the only one to launch a clothing line in Montreal, though. Angela Price and Julie Petry, the wives of Carey Price and Jeff Petry, launched their popular Line Change label when their husbands played in town, but it was centered around the team rather than the individual players. Today, the label is still going strong and no longer focuses solely on the Habs. They’ve also launched collaborations with the PWHL and, recently, with Seattle Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell.

It's about time the hockey world caught up to the rest of the sports world. Basketball icon LeBron James has his own brand; Michael Jordan had his Air Jordan sneakers; Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo, and David Beckham they all promoted their own brands.

Given how popular the youngster already is and the number of 93 jerseys that can be seen at the Bell Centre on any given night, it’s purely logical for him to capitalise on his popularity; it’s a smart move.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

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