The Cheat Sheet discusses two hot young goalies, the Montreal Canadiens' Jakub Dobes and the Ottawa Senators' Leevi Merilainen. Since the Montreal Canadiens drafted Ivan Demidov with the fifth pick at the last NHL draft, we've seen plenty of highlights and heard a lot of comments on the youngster. Habs fans have been watching him closely and monitoring his ice time regularly, even the Habs brass went to Russia to make it clear its watching him closely. The Canadiens are not the only ones watching him closely though. In an exclusive interview with RG.org [https://rg.org/news/hockey/nikita-zadorov-talks-ivan-demidov-the-calder-race], Boston Bruins blueliner Nikita Zadorov [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins/latest-news/bruins-nikita-zadorov-reveals-new-number] appears to be another one of Demidov's fan. The veteran defenseman even goes as far as saying the right wing shouldn't even have been available when the Canadiens and Celine Dion took to the podium to make the fifth overall pick. He believes his elite skills set, his skating, shooting and hockey IQ should have made him an easy pick at two for the Chicago Blackhawks. That being said, like many, he confesses to only having seen highlights of the youngster and not complete games. Demidov now has 37 points in 47 games in the KHL and he's on his way to having one of the best season in league history for a player under 20 years of age. His 37 points currently put him in fourth place historically. Kirill Kaprizov [https://thehockeynews.com/news/wild-star-kirill-kaprizov-is-an-nhl-hart-trophy-front-runner-you-better-believe-it]leads the way with 42 points in 49 games as a 19-year-old in 2016-17, followed by Philadelphia Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov who had 41 points in 48 games and Yevgeny Kuznetsov with 41 points in 49 games back in 2011-12. It's worth mentioning none of them were rookies when they put up those numbers. When he was named rookie of the week in the KHL last Monday, Demidov tied the record for most rookie of the week titles in a season with six (Eeli Tolvanen in 2017-18 received the mention six times putting up 36 points in 49 games in the process). With 20 games to go in SKA St. Petersburgh regular season schedule, Demidov should have ample time and opportunities to catch up to Kaprisov, and, in the process, he should give Zadorov plenty more highlights to watch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyMTY3NDUxMDM3NjczMDg4/mjeymdk0mti4ndi5nzm3otyw.webp] Stay updated with the most interesting Montreal Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwo-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
