Author: Dose

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Ivan Demidov is doing very well; he loved the welcome from the fans in Toronto

“Maxime Truman, your site is garbage, you’re garbage, I hope you go bankrupt with your garbage”

“MAXIME TRUMAN IS THE NUMBER ONE FAGGOT CHANGE MY MIND”

“Maxime Truman’s mother should have had an abortion”

Sorry for the mistakes, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t misquoted.

I received these messages last night, after I had worked an 18-hour day. Why? What did I do wrong? What did I say to deserve this?

I had sent someone to capture images of Ivan Demidov’s arrival in Canada. Someone whose mandate was to take photos and videos of his arrival, without asking him questions and while keeping a respectful distance.

“You’re a damn garbage, Max. And your mother, she’s a whore.”

This is not nice for my mother, who is 70 years old and tries to be the best version of herself every day.

You know what’s even crazier about all the messages I received last night? One of the guys behind these hate messages was watching the live stream of Sick Media and retweeted our viral video of Demidov’s arrival.

It’s like feeling sick after eating a T-bone steak… and before going to yell at the butcher for selling you the T-bone steak.

No! In fact, it’s even worse, because the guy who wrote those hate messages was still retweeting our video this morning; he didn’t even delete the tweets. So, I correct myself: he would eat his snack and he wouldn’t even vomit his T-bone steak before insulting the butcher.

Sincerely, seeing such behavior online is sad… it confronts us with a reality that we can no longer ignore: people are not doing well.

Note that I decided to expose and denounce this because the person involved is hiding behind a fake identity. I wouldn’t have done it if they were acting under their real name, given the reach I have with my tweets and texts.

What happened yesterday deserves to be studied at the university level. And not just in marketing; in communication and journalism as well!

Business 101
What does the customer want? Images of Demidov arriving in Canada.

What should we give them if our goal is to meet their needs?

Good job, you got the right answer: images of Demidov arriving in Canada.

But many people preferred to turn up their noses at the customer’s needs or demands, even going so far as to judge and despise them for wanting to see their star player arrive in the country.

No one who knows about success in business would suggest doing that.

Judging your customer (whether they’re a reader, a guy at a restaurant, a listener, or a buyer) is always a no. But, well, media people aren’t business experts.

Personally, I think traditional media should make more of an effort to understand their audience and what they want, rather than trying to lecture them or make them feel guilty, before trying to trick them into consuming their content.

If I have a restaurant and my customer asks for a smash burger, I won’t try to convince them to have a tofu salad because I think it’s better for them. I’ll bring them their burger.

Hoping they won’t eat three burgers a day, haha!

Whatever. I’m drifting off-topic…

Ivan Demidov loved his evening
Many of you commented on our posts – after watching the images, of course, haha – that we should have left the young man alone…

That it’s my fault if stars don’t want to play in Montreal…

That he must want to return to Russia or be traded after being greeted by 40 fans and four media outlets. #LOL

I’m repeating myself, but… is everything okay? Have you all gone crazy?

After spending two days traveling from Moscow to Istanbul to Toronto, Ivan Demidov was eager to settle into a Toronto hotel. Fair enough!

But everyone at the airport told me that the young man was smiling, enjoying the moment, greeting the fans, and laughing…

But, of course, Ginette from Sorel knows that Ivan Demidov wants to return to Russia because of the cameraman at Max Truman. #LOL

I ask you: how do you think Marco D’Amico found out about Ivan Demidov’s flight?

The Canadiens? Nah, wrong answer…

Ivan Demidov’s agent? Marco didn’t want to confirm it, but if I had to put my money on it, I’d say that’s the correct answer. And I’d put a lot of money on it…

Another question: why did Demidov’s agent leak the information about his flight?

Because he knew the Canadiens wouldn’t send anyone from marketing or social media to capture his first moments in North America. The Habs couldn’t do it for many reasons.

Except that his client thrives on fan passion. He was eager to arrive in Canada to experience the hysteria surrounding the Habs. And the agent knew that such images, which go around the world, are good for his client.

Believe me, Ivan Demidov is far from finding it too intense. On the contrary! I’m told that in the van, he was even shown the popularity of Tony Marinaro’s live stream on X… and he was POSITIVE about it. The real ones, they thrive on that kind of emotion. Stop comparing Suzuki, Caufield, and Demidov to guys who crumbled under pressure in Montreal. They not like us. They not like us.

If the agent had been afraid for his client’s safety or well-being for even a second, do you think the flight coordinates would have been leaked? Come on, as Darren Dreger would say. The guy is there to protect his client, not expose him to danger.

Everyone was smiling last night. Everyone was happy. Everyone was happy at Pearson. So, Ginette, Romain, Richard, and Nancy, you can stop worrying. The kid is fine. Very fine, even!

And he’s already looking forward to the next dose of love he’ll receive from his new team’s fans.

Extension

– I hope the journalists who will have the opportunity to speak with Ivan Demidov during his first press conference (and later) won’t try to squeeze him with questions about Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, war, and Russian politics. Though, if they don’t, but they’ve written to denounce the Canadiens’ visit to Russia or recall that Ovechkin spent time with Putin six years ago, they’ll look a bit hypocritical.

– Big love to TSN and Sportsnet, who took our images from last night and gave us credit for them.

– You know what? Last night, alternative media gave traditional media a lesson in journalism. And that’s with a tiny budget!

For all the times traditional media lectures alternative media that don’t fit their mold…

– Whether we like it or not, the Montreal Canadiens are perhaps our only unifying social project in Quebec. Can we rejoice and applaud the arrival of a player who will help the team, without thinking we’re too partisan or that his birthplace matters?

– We’re chatting… but the well-placed SKA logo on the hockey equipment and backpack, I don’t think it was a coincidence. Sometimes, you negotiate without involving money…

– Just for laughs: I’m told that Mark Carney is jealous of the welcome Demidov received in a hostile city. Carney doesn’t even have that in his strongholds…

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The rumor going around in Russia: Ivan Demidov is better than Matvei Michkov (at the same age)

Ivan Demidov is the subject of the week in Montreal.

The Russian is currently in Toronto and is expected to play next Monday at the Bell Center against Chicago. We’ll see in time and place what the habs’ coach will confirm on this matter.

And until then, he will continue to talk about himself.

There are former NHL and KHL players who still have connections in Russia. And by asking questions about Demidov, one conclusion emerges: Demidov is better than Matvei Michkov – at the same age, so taking his last year in the KHL, in 2023-2024.

Maxime Talbot (NHL.com) notably slipped a word in a paper.

Michkov, who was loaned by SKA and released two years in advance (not two months, like Ivan Demidov) has talent, but what Demidov did by being the best player of his team in the series, it did not go unnoticed.

Talbot also added this:

In the KHL, almost everyone sees him ahead of Matvei Michkov at the same age. – Maxime Talbot

It should be noted that he is not the only one to hold such views, since Jason Demers, who also has connections in Russia, shared an excerpt in which he talks about the fact that Michkov was not as good as Demidov at the same age.

Better skater, more talented, bigger: everything was there.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jason Demers (@jason_demers)

Of course, this will be played out on the ice and it’s possible that Demidov won’t be the savior in the spring of 2025. But to see him get his feet wet in the NHL is a good thing.

And even if he’s not the savior, he will have a certain impact in the lineup.

Overtime

– The goal of the week: Lane Hutson.

– Habs: no practice this morning.

– Interesting.

– Will the Rocket be at the top of their division tonight?

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Ivan Demidov file: “I have never seen such enthusiasm”

They already told me that following the puck in hockey means you’re not following the game. And on that topic, last night’s evening is probably the ultimate proof that this phrase is true.

After all, yesterday, the game was at Toronto’s airport.

Several media outlets, including DansLesCoulisses, were on site to film Ivan Demidov’s first steps on Canadian soil since he signed his entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

 

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A post shared by DansLesCoulisses (@dlcoulisses)

I look at the pictures collected by DLC and I tell myself that yesterday, we followed the game.

Ivan Demidov clearly enjoyed the crowd, smiling as he saw the fans present on site. Everything went smoothly, as can be seen in the images circulating.

In fact, even if the events took place in Toronto, the way it unfolded was very “Montreal”: no overflow, everything went well… and we can see that the passion is unmatched.

Whether it’s our images, those of the Sick Podcast, or those of other people present on site, Demidov’s actions have been all over social media en masse.

It surprised a lot of people… including those in Toronto.

The people at Sportsnet using DLC’s images when they just had to go to the airport next to the station? Darren Dreger being condescending towards Montreal, probably used to the fact that only suits can afford to buy tickets to see the Maple Leafs?

Yesterday, the city of Toronto was not as ready for Demidov as Montreal… even if the people who follow hockey there know that Demidov is the best player in the world who has not yet played in the NHL. And this showed how special the market is here.

And I say “special” in the good sense, because the people who follow the Canadiens were hungry. They were hungry for the guy who, rightly or wrongly, is expected to bring the club to the next level.

Am I going to use the term “savior” here? No, but…

After years of rebuilding, it finally feels like playoff hockey in Montreal. And Demidov’s arrival (which is creating a buzz that Gilbert Delorme, as he said this morning on BPM Sports during Renaud Lavoie’s column, has never seen around the Habs) adds to it even more.

It doesn’t mean the Habs will win in the first round, in a series that will likely see Montreal face Washington. But it means that the guys in the locker room can believe it, which is the basis in sports.

I imagine it won’t stop the NHL from putting Toronto’s games in prime time compared to the Habs’ games in the playoffs… because it’s important that everyone sees the Maple Leafs choke in the first round again.

Overtime

– Ah yes?

– Habs prospect: Sam Harris eliminated in the NCAA. [TVAS]

– Alexander Nikishin against Ivan Demidov on Wednesday at the Bell Centre?

– As long as we’re dreaming.

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Top-5 : the Canadiens can qualify as early as tonight

Last night, 10 games were on the schedule in the NHL.

If everything was going in the direction of the Habs, the club could have placed itself in a position to officially confirm its place in the playoffs as early as last night.

Here are the results and highlights :

1. The Canadiens can qualify as early as tonight

Even if Montreal didn’t play last night, we had to keep an eye on a few games :

  • Rangers vs Islanders
  • Panthers vs Red Wings
  • Blue Jackets vs Sabres

Rangers won (9-2), Blue Jackets won (3-2) and the Wings lost (4-1).

What does that mean for Montreal? It means that if the club wins in regulation time tonight in Ottawa, it will officially qualify for the playoffs.

If they win in overtime or a shootout, they would eliminate the Rangers, the Islanders, and the Wings, but not the Blue Jackets due to the tiebreaker. The Habs have over 99% chance of participating in the spring tournament. The game is almost set.

(Credit: NHL.com )

2. The Rangers score nine goals against the Islanders

In the Islanders-Rangers game, both teams played with the energy of despair, but it was the Rangers who looked better.

They scored nine goals and crushed Patrick Roy’s team. By the way, the coach admitted to making a mistake by sending rookie goalkeeper Tristan Lennox into the game.

He allowed a goal and sent Marcus Hogberg back into the game.

In the Blue Shirts’ win, 10 (!) players had two or more points.

I don’t know how many chances you give the Rangers to qualify, but to participate in the playoffs, they must win their last three games, the Canadiens must lose their last three games, and the Jackets must lose one of their last four games.

And the New York schedule to finish the season is not easy…

(Credit: Google )

3. The Capitals are the best team in the East

If the Habs win in 60 minutes tonight, they will not only qualify but also be one point away from the Senators.

The best team among the Wild Cards will face the first-ranked team in the Atlantic. This is now official as Washington confirmed its first place in the East last night.

The second Wild Card will be in Washington at the start of the playoffs. Last night, Alex Ovechkin’s team faced the Hurricanes and won in a shootout.

Before the game, there was a nice visit at the Capital One Arena.

Alexander Semin and Ilya Kovalchuk attended the tribute to Ovi for his goal-scoring record.

Even opposing players came to congratulate him.

4. Connor Hellebuyck’s 45th win

In the Jets’ game, Connor Hellebuyck won again.

Thanks to a shutout of 25 saves against the Dallas Stars, the goalkeeper became the 7th goalkeeper in NHL history to win 45 games in a single season. That’s more wins than 20 teams.

It was also his eighth shutout of the season.

Not bad!

With this win, Winnipeg is comfortably seated in first place in the Central Division.

Dallas must win its last three games without any points from the Jets to hope to finish first and not face the Avalanche in the first round.

(Credit: NHL.com)

5. Brad Marchand’s first goal with the Panthers

In Florida, the Panthers could help the Canadiens with a win.

And that’s exactly what they did, beating the Wings with a score of 4-1. To participate in the playoffs, Detroit must win and the Canadiens must lose; it’s simple.

In the game, Brad Marchand finally scored his first goal as a member of the Panthers.

The rest of the game belonged to Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 22 of the 23 shots directed at him.

Gustav Forsling and Uvis Balinskis each had two assists.

With this win, Paul Maurice became the third most victorious coach of all time.

Overtime

– The beginning of an era.

– Revenge.

– The Blackhawks didn’t deny it.

– The top scorers of the day.

(Credit: NHL.com )

– To watch tonight: Canadiens-Senators, Red Wings-Lightning, and Flames-Wild.

(Credit: Google )
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Ivan Demidov’s agent tempers expectations and calls for patience

“I hope to celebrate the Stanley Cup with my client soon,” Ivan Demidov’s agent, Dan Milstein, said moments before tempering expectations and calling for patience from the Canadiens’ fans. Ironical, isn’t it?

It’s worth noting that he’s already sparked some discussion and keyboard tapping over the past three days, and he added more fuel to the fire tonight. Milstein gave an interview to Patrick Friolet today, and some interesting points were presented on the 5 à 7 show this evening.

Let’s talk about pressure first.

A message to the fans: be patient. Good things are coming, but they won’t happen overnight. – Dan Milstein

In short, the agent knows his job and doesn’t want too much pressure on the kid. However, it’s essential to put things into perspective: there’s a difference between expectations and

Personally, I’m extremely excited to see Ivan Demidov wear the Habs’ jersey, but I won’t throw tomatoes or other fruits/vegetables at his apartment window if he’s not a point-per-game player in the playoffs.

Later, I found it interesting to hear from Milstein that Rotenberg’s constant “.tightening of the screws” in the KHL was part of the development plan to prepare him for his jump to North America.

That’s not how it was perceived here.

“Full credit to Roman. He did an excellent job developing him. I know the fans wanted him to play more, but it was part of the development plan.”

And that’s considering Demidov had informed the SKA, upon being drafted in the NHL, that he wanted to make the jump to North America as soon as the Russian club was eliminated. It’s crazy how the narrative has changed over the past 72 hours.

It’s hard to know what or who to believe anymore.

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Ivan Demidov is doing well: the people at the airport did not unsettle him

Ivan Demidov has finally arrived in Canada tonight. The young player and his girlfriend arrived at Toronto’s airport… and they were greeted by a welcoming committee of habs fans and media on site (including DLC) to cover the event.

Here are the pictures we took, in case you haven’t seen them yet:

However, the welcoming committee is not unanimously approved. Some find it quite cool to see the young player being welcomed this way, but others, like Darren Dreger, find it intense.

It’s intense and unusual according to North American standards, but no, it won’t break the kid.

For those who doubt it, look at Demidov’s reaction when he saw the people welcoming him: he smiled and waved at them. He looked like a guy who knew what to expect, and above all, a guy in perfect control, especially for someone who had just gotten off a 10-hour flight.

If all this had happened in Montreal and thousands of fans had been on site, maybe the young player would have been uncomfortable. But today, he was greeted by… a few dozen people at most.

It’s not different from what he will experience when fans ask him for autographs during a practice… but since people don’t usually see this, it strikes the imagination, and that’s normal.

The Canadiens knew this was a strong possibility (it’s not for nothing that we had planned for it with a large security contingent), even by sending him to Toronto. Moreover, it’s the habs who asked him not to speak tonight: we want to wait until it’s done during a press conference.

This allows us to better control the message and relieve some pressure on the young player’s shoulders.

And clearly, seeing how much it’s been reacting since the beginning of the evening on social media, we understand that it’s something that interests people. Listening to a live broadcast but being offended by a group of people being on site is… particular.

The whole thing lasted, roughly, two minutes in total. No, two minutes of fans waiting for him and following him at the airport won’t break a kid who is already used to being a star everywhere he goes and having the spotlight on him.

And precisely, for a young player like Demidov who is already quite used to all this, we can think that it may have motivated him more than anything else.

It’s not for nothing that the habs selected him: they believe he’s capable of handling a market like Montreal’s.

Let’s all take a moment to breathe: Demidov is fine, he wasn’t destabilized by what happened, and he’ll get over it.

Instead, let’s be happy that he has his feet in Canada rather than in Russia and that he’s just a few days away from making his debut in the Canadiens’ uniform. That’s what matters most.

Overtime

– I couldn’t have said it better.

– Speaking of Demidov.

– That would be cool!

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” Come on. ” : Darren Dreger can’t believe Ivan Demidov was welcomed like that

It’s now done: Ivan Demidov is officially on Canadian soil. The young man, who was greeted by fans and media (including DansLesCoulisses, as we were among the first to get images of his arrival) at Toronto airport, was quickly escorted by a security contingent to a vehicle with his girlfriend and John Sedgwick.

He didn’t talk to people on the spot, but he still greeted them with a smile on his face. For a young man who was supposed to be surprised and tired (and who may have been told by the habs to keep quiet in front of the fans who might be waiting), it’s already good.

All this shows how much the habs fans are looking forward to seeing the kid in action. It’s been a long time since such a prospect has been part of the organization, after all… and he’s already (very) popular in town.

That being said, there are still some people who found it a bit crazy. Among them is Darren Dreger, who responded to the live broadcast of the moment of the kid’s arrival:

Is this real? Come on. – Darren Dreger

It’s true that on the surface, it’s a welcome committee that is really particular for a young hockey player. This is something that is usually seen in soccer (Didier Drogba’s arrival in Montreal is a good example), but it’s much less common in North American sports culture.

Well, there was also the case of Shohei Ohtani and his “plane to Toronto”, where the welcome committee at the Toronto airport was much more massive… but that’s the exception rather than the rule.

But what it shows, above all, is that Montreal fans are really looking forward to seeing Demidov in action. It’s a bit crazy, of course… but precisely, Montreal fans are crazy about hockey.

I imagine that the habs had warned the kid that this was a real possibility: even if he arrived in Toronto rather than Montreal, we suspected that such a situation might happen… especially since 2300 people were following the young man’s flight on FlightTracker. It was the most followed flight in the world on the site.

The good news, however, is that it’s all over now. We can focus on what will happen on the ice, now that the rest of the team will pick him up during his passage in Toronto on Saturday.

In the meantime, the young man is likely to take a rest and get used to the time difference. Then, he will have to get into the rhythm on the ice fairly quickly… because he will only have two games before the start of the playoffs.

Overtime

– The habs may have the opportunity to confirm their place in the playoffs tomorrow night.

– Indeed.

– Ah yes?

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Here are the first images of Ivan Demidov in Toronto

It’s tonight that Ivan Demidov officially arrived on Canadian soil. The Habs’ prospect, who took a plane to Toronto, officially set foot in the country in the last hour.

And even if the kid arrived in Montreal rather than Toronto, he had a beautiful welcome committee.

DansLesCoulisses was on site for the occasion, and we had the chance to be among the first to get images of Demidov on his arrival in Toronto.

So here are the first images we were able to capture:

Note that in addition to DLC, other media covered the event. The live broadcast of the Sick Podcast allowed many people to see Demidov from home… for a few seconds.

More details to come…

Overtime

–

– Wow.

– It’s good.

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“Ivan Demidov Watch” : It’s chaos at Toronto airport

It doesn’t make sense.

I don’t know how to start otherwise, or if I should do it. If the Canadiens wanted to prevent the birth of a Demidov jungle at Montreal’s Pierre-Elliot Trudeau Airport, they couldn’t prevent Montreal media from creating a Demidov frenzy at Toronto’s Pearson Airport.

I mean, The Sick Podcast is currently live with Ivan Demidov Watch Live from Pearson Airport, and it’s literally just a dude (by all accounts) filming the gate doors.

A dozen or so fans are currently waiting at the airport for Demidov’s imminent arrival, which is scheduled for around 7:20, according to our latest information.

Nicolas Cloutier from TVA Sports is also on site…

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Patrik Laine does not seem impressed by the arrival of Ivan Demidov

My colleague Maxime Truman reported yesterday that the Canadiens are not particularly excited about the idea of welcoming Ivan Demidov at the Montreal Airport in front of thousands of people, in the style of Didier Drogba. One of the reasons mentioned was that the organization did not want players in the locker room to have bad feelings towards the huge hype that has been building since Tuesday afternoon.

There are guys who are injured, during this playoff run. It’s certain that a 19-year-old Russian who has never played a game in North America and who enters the locker room with a reputation as a savior with 1 or 2 games to play in the season… It can be disturbing.

We have just had some initial feedback from the Canadiens’ locker room, and Patrik Laine does not seem very impressed by Demidov’s arrival.

Anthony Martineau presented his comments on the JiC show, earlier in the evening:

“I know he’s Russian and he’s a left-handed player… That’s not much. I don’t really watch the KHL. Yeah, I mean, he looks super talented. […] I think European hockey is a bit boring. Big rinks, fewer chances. Slower pace. Less skating. I like it here with the smaller rinks. It’s an adaptation for all young players, they have to experience it. It’s the league with the best players, and right now, entering the playoffs, it’s not an ideal time to do it.”

— Patrik Laine


Let’s make a few observations.

First, it’s essential to mention that the argument about the larger ice rink comes with a caveat. According to Grok (the information is difficult to verify), only 1 or 2 teams still play on an international-sized ice rink (60×30), while about ten teams play on a Finnish-sized ice rink (60×28) and another ten on an NHL-sized ice rink (60×26).

Then, we may have a good example that perfectly explains the Canadiens’ desire to temper the hype: the savior syndrome will not be unanimous. At the same time, should we rely on a unique guy like Patrik Laine? What is the real general sentiment in the locker room, and who really has negative feelings?

If we read between the lines, Laine is calling for calm in the most Laine way possible.

Demidov must prove himself, and the difference between the KHL and the NHL is (according to him) enormous.

Is it a strange intervention? Yes and no. Laine is probably right, in the end, to lower expectations. It remains an unconventional response from the future teammate of a young player who is unanimously recognized by experts, I’ll give you that.

But Jean-Charles makes a point by saying that when he leaves the arena, Laine, hockey no longer exists: he probably never saw the young player play hockey, sincerely.

That being said, let’s not invent a world of unicorns: the mistrust of veterans towards young players exists in professional sports. Remember that LeBron James’ teammates in Cleveland in 2003 were not impressed by him. “We have better players in his position than him,” Carlos Boozer said before his rookie season. Darius Miles doubted that you could expect a significant impact from a player from high school. *Sarcastic saxophone music on a montage of the highlights*

Overtime

Lane Hutson showed himself to be much more positive, he who had already been so during a live broadcast with Samuel Montembeault. The imminent Calder winner is excited.

“I see his highlights all the time. He’s very special, that’s for sure. It looks like he can play anywhere in the lineup and help. I’m excited to see what he can do and what we can do together. He’s going to fit in.”

— Lane Hutson

Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing where Martin St-Louis will place the young man in the lineup. That’s not unanimous either.

In any case, he’s arriving!