Demidov Picks Up Another Point in Limited Ice Time

Ivan Demidov picked up another point in Sunday's KHL action but saw limited ice time in a 5-4 loss.

The last time we checked in with Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov, he was tipping home a shot from former NHLer Tony DeAngelo for his fourth goal of the KHL season.

His team, SKA St. Petersburg, just picked up their fifth consecutive win in a high-scoring affair against Severstal Cherepovets, 8-5. 

The 18-year-old skated 13:34, the fifth-highest total through the nine games of the year.

As usual, Demidov began Sunday's contest against Kunlun Red Star on the third line, a place he's been all too familiar with this year, but now he’s playing without his regular center Evgeny Kuznetsov who will be out long-term with an injury.

During the 5-4 defeat, the rookie shared the ice with Zakhar Bardakov and Borna Rendulic and registered an assist for his eighth point of the season.

However, the oddest thing about Demidov's stat line was that he skated just 7:32. According to his game logs, which are available on Elite Prospects, Sunday's game was only the second time in the calendar year that he failed to reach double digits in ice time.

The previous time came on a call-up to the KHL from the MHL on April 23 when he skated 3:05 in a 5-0 SKA win.

Anyone tracking Demidov in the KHL may be confused about how his coaching staff is deploying him. 

After a four-point performance on September 19, when he skated 16:26, his time dropped by five minutes in the next game and was further clipped by another minute in the following game.

On Friday, he scored a goal and skated 13 minutes, but he saw six fewer minutes on Sunday in a one-goal defeat. Apparently, his coach Roman Rottenberg did not appreciated the tripping penalty he took in the second period.

It must be discouraging for a young kid looking to build off his success in the MHL last year, hoping to come to North America to skate with the Canadiens eventually. 

It won't happen overnight, but Demidov appears to be on a long journey to the NHL, filled with peaks and valleys.

SKA St. Petersburg (5-3) returns to action on October 3 against Dinamo Minsk (5-3). 

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