I’ve written about Ivan Demidov for years now. I love the player. I’m also a prospect guy and know what players will sometimes go through. He’s never played hockey in North America. That’s not his fault. Blame world events. But there is going to be a learning curve here that Martin St. Louis is going to have to manage as the Montreal Canadiens are trying to clinch a playoff spot. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/747d79ca-1e84-4fe5-ae5b-589d331d64c4.jpeg] I’ve had a lot of players come to North America to note the difference in play and San Jose’s William Eklund told me this before he was drafted. Eklund stated. “It’s a smaller rink. You get closer to the net. You have to be more aware of everybody around you. When you get the puck, you can have someone on you in a second.” Demidov is loaded with talent and confidence and the Canadiens will put him on a line with veterans and they will shelter his minutes. He will probably get a lot of power play time, that’s almost universal and being on the ice today with Lane Hutson will go a long way in helping him feel comfortable under that circumstance. I can see the young Russian getting around ten minutes of ice time to start. If he’s rolling, maybe 12 or so. He’s averaged just 13:47. That’s not a ton of minutes and the pace is greater in the NHL and much more physical. That’s a lot to get used to. I covered Matvei Michkov this season from start to almost finish. There was a learning experience for him too. He had the luxury of coming over in the summer and he had a full training camp. Demidov’s task is harder.
