Montreal Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov has decided to spend his Summer in Montreal training and working on his French and English, so it only made sense for him to get a car. When he first joined the Canadiens in April, rookie defenseman Lane Hutson played chauffeur as the two carpooled to Brossard and the rink; his services won’t be needed anymore.
On Monday, pictures of Demidov taking possession of his brand-new Audi at Paramount Leasing popped up on social media. The player can be seen posing with his new car and signing autographs for the staff (presumably).
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When training camp starts in Brossard, autograph hunters will now know which car to look out for. However, I wouldn’t put it past Demidov to keep riding with Hutson even though he now has his car; the two seem to get along well and are equally passionate about the game.
Expect Demidov to make the headlines again later this week when the KHL's Rookie of the Year award winner is announced on May 29. Logic dictates he should be crowned winner after scoring 49 points in 65 games and setting a new record for the most points by a player under 20 years old. The previous mark stood at 42 points (in 49 games) and was set by Minnesota Wild forward Kiril Kaprizov in 2016-17. Unlike Demidov, Kaprizov didn’t put the mark in his rookie season.
It will be interesting to see if Demidov can have as much impact when he starts his rookie season in Montreal in October. From what we’ve seen so far, he certainly belongs in the league, and once he gets used to the NHL speed, he should be even more impactful. It’s too early to call him a Calder Trophy contender, but it’s easy to see he will be the fans’ main point of focus this season after Hutson was in the 2024-25 campaign.
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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