Ivan Demidov: his coach says he would be less well looked after in Montreal

Dose
Crédit:

With the Canadiens’ current miserable season, excitement and prospects are already turning to the arrival of Ivan Demidov next season.

There’s nothing exciting about the Habs after 15 games, apart from Lane Hutson, so fans are already talking about next season with Ivan Demidov in mind.

The young Russian is the light at the end of the tunnel right now, and fans are eagerly awaiting his arrival in Montreal.

Of course, Demidov is unlikely to join the Habs this season.

However, that hasn’t stopped some fans from dreaming of seeing the Russian prospect arrive this year and play alongside Nick Suzuki and/or Cole Caufield, and even more importantly, Lane Hutson.

In fact, Ivan Demidov himself recently stated in an interview with Rumble Gambling(which you can find in full here) that he likes Lane Hutson a lot, and that he follows his performances closely in Canadiens games.

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In short, Demidov would be well looked after in Montreal, where he’d clearly get more playing time and play with better players than at SKA St. Petersburg.

At least, that’s what they think in Montreal.

But on the St. Petersburg side, well, they don’t think so at all.

Indeed, SKA coach Roman Rotenberg stated in an interview included in the Responsible Gaming article that, in his humble opinion, Demidov wouldn’t have partners on the level of those he currently has in the KHL.

“I’m going to tell you honestly that there are no partners in Montreal comparable to those Ivan (Demidov) currently has with the SKA. There are no center players or wingers like here in Montreal.” – Roman Rotenberg

Really?

If Rotenberg had spoken of a more beneficial atmosphere and mood with the SKA given that the team is winning compared to Montreal, I would have understood his point of view more, even if Demidov seems unhappy in spite of everything.

But to say that SKA has better players to surround Demidov, that one I understand less.

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In terms of experience, maybe it helps Demidov to play with veterans like Evgeny Kuznetsov, but the fact remains that in terms of talent, Suzuki, Caufield and company would surround Demidov much better.

Kuznetsov is a veteran who has played in the NHL, which certainly helps, but let’s just say that the former Washington Capitals player isn’t necessarily the best off-ice influence when you remember all his stories…

In short, we don’t know if Rotenberg was comparing the SKA and Montreal players in terms of talent or experience, but in any case, the St. Petersburg head coach says that Demidov is developing much more and much better as a player AND as a person with them.

That’s a big statement on Rotenberg’s part, and let’s just say it adds fuel to the fire that already exists between Montreal and the SKA head coach.

Overtime

– Yes, it does. This is serious.

– Whew. That says a lot about how important it was.

– It’s clear, but he clearly has a share of the blame to take.

– Wow.

– Incredible.

This content was created with the help of AI.