Puck possession: Ivan Demidov is already among the NHL’s elite

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Crédit: YouTube

Ivan Demidov is off to an impressive start to the season in a Habs uniform. The young Russian already has nine points in just 10 games.

And as time goes by, he’s starting to get the hang of things.

That said, even with just 17 games of NHL experience under his belt, the kid is already making a name for himself at certain levels. And Nicolas Cloutier, in a text for TVA Sports, used advanced statistics to dig deeper.

And in fact, when you look at it all, it’s really in terms of puck possession that Demidov stands out. That’s true on the powerplay, but it’s even more true on the powerplay: his numbers are very impressive.

Because not only is he (by far) Montreal’s leader in this regard, he’s already among the best in the entire Bettman circuit.

In fact, if you look at all this per 20 minutes on the ice on the powerplay, Demidov is in possession of the puck in the offensive zone for 2:21 minutes, which puts him seventh in the NHL. What this means, in a nutshell, is that with the man-advantage, there are very few players in the league who have control of the puck in the opposing zone for as long as Demidov.

At even strength, his time of possession in the opposing zone (per 20 minutes) is 0:44, good for 18th in the league. And that’s what I find most interesting: he’s already finding a way to impose his rhythm at 5-on-5.

To see him so dominant on the powerplay so quickly is less surprising… and explains why Martin St-Louis had no choice but to send him out on the first wave so quickly. But even at 5-on-5, the 19-year-old (who arrived in America only six months ago) is already capable of pulling his weight.

What seems clear is that Demidov has been quick to adapt to the NHL style of play. And in less than 20 games on the Bettman circuit, he’s already establishing himself among the league’s elite in the elements that made him such a promising prospect.

That’s very, very encouraging.

Overtime

– Speaking of the wolf.

– Unbelievable.

– What will you be listening to tonight?

– Hello, Vladimir.

– Leo Carlsson is on fire.