
Montreal Canadiens’ forward Ivan Demidov took a flight to Florida last week to join his better half at Magic Kingdom in Florida. Still, he didn’t stay for very long since he’ll be back in town this coming week to inaugurate the GoPlex e-karting center on February 11, 8505 Boulevard Taschereau, in Brossard.
The event is being promoted on Instagram and advertised as an opportunity to meet an NHL rookie-of-the-year contender. Still, it also states that fans will only be able to take photos with him, not get an autograph. The meet-and-greet is scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 PM and is on a first-come, first-served basis, so not everyone will be able to meet him.
Ever since he joined the Canadiens last April, he has become a fan favourite thanks to his spectacular play and charismatic personality. From his very first game in Montreal against the Chicago Blackhawks, numerous Demidov jerseys could be spotted all around the Bell Centre.
With the Canadiens only set to resume practice on February 17, it will be interesting to see if the youngster repeats his Christmas holiday experience when he went skating on a Bleu, Blanc, Bouge rink with Lane Hutson. If he does, there’s no doubt that he’ll be making the day of those in attendance.
With 25 games left in his rookie season, Demidov is leading the rookie scoring race with 46 points, a two-point lead over Anaheim Ducks’ Beckett Sennecke and a seven-point lead on New York Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer. While he’s definitely in the Calder Trophy conversation, Demidov is not the favourite right now; that title belongs to Schaefer, the 18-year-old who was picked first overall at the last draft. The two rookies will play one another for the first time on February 26, the Canadiens’ first post-Olympic break game.
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