Canadiens Prospect Ivan Demidov

Top prospect Ivan Demidov has suited up for both SKA and Team Russia in preseason games, and while there was very little doubt as to his offensive potential, there was some concern that the injury that put an end to his historic run in the playoffs last season could impact his ability to hit the ground running.

As far as we can tell, that’s not the case, as Demidov has essentially scored in every game leading up to the start of the KHL regular season next week. Before we take a look at his great shootout goal, we should discuss his position within the SKA Saint Petersburg, a situation that has led to some anxiety among Habs fans.

There’s some history to suggest SKA would prefer to move a younger player to another roster rather than forcing them into the lineup, as evidenced by their decision to loan Matvei Michkov to Sochi in back-to-back years. For the record, Michkov played quite well despite being on an underpowered team with very little support. As for Demidov, SKA cannot loan him to another KHL club, as he only has one year left on his current contract.

For all intents and purposes, it seems like Demidov will be given more opportunities than his fellow countryman to prove his worth, which could lead to an interesting dose of ice time for one of the best teams in the KHL.

I’d also like to address the ongoing feud on social media between Flyers and Canadiens fans as to which prospect will become the best NHL player. Both sides have accused each other of obsessing over the other team’s player while rejecting the idea that they’re doing something similar in their own circles.

An honest comment on the situation would be to say both fan bases are rather passionate about their players, and any suggestion that one side is louder than the other only confirms they have more fans on social media. I’ve seen Flyers fans write unprompted, confusing, and lengthy essays describing why Demidov will never be a good NHL player, while Habs fans have certainly used the Demidov pick to re-write history and suggest the team doesn’t need a player like Michkov anymore. Pretending one side is morally righteous while the other is constantly poking the bear is the epitome of intellectual dishonesty. Admittedly, from my end, it seemed like Flyers fans were the ones who constantly brought up Demidov without any help, especially since I was mostly looking at the replies to my own comments, but a quick search on social media to ensure I was not influenced by bias confirmed Canadiens fans clearly took part in the festivities.

Simply put, both players are incredibly talented, and both teams are lucky to be able to state they have a forward prospect in their organization with game-breaking potential. Anything beyond that is tribalism, par for the course on social media. The Habs would be better off with Michkov in their system, while the Flyers would have a much healthier prospect pool if Demidov was in the mix. It’s also important to note they weren’t even drafted in the same season, so other than their birthplace (and their supremely talented style of play), there’s very little relevance to this contrived rivalry.

Now back to the highlights.

The reason Canadiens fans can’t (and won’t) shut up about Demidov is that they’ve never had a play of his ilk to look forward to, a reality that’s confirmed by examining their long history of being incapable of finding elite talent in the NHL Entry Draft following Sam Pollock’s retirement. His unorthodox approach to scoring may confuse some analysts, but it’s impossible to ignore his potential when he puts together great plays, such as his beautiful shootout goal while he was serving as the captain of Russia’s Under-23 team.

His strong preseason play should help convince SKA management that he’s ready to play important minutes in the KHL, which is exactly what Montreal Canadiens management is hoping will happen during what is expected to be his last year playing for Saint-Petersburg.

Canadiens Prospect Bogdan Konyushkov

We’ve reached one of my favourite prospects, Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo defenceman Bogdan Konyushkov. Not only was he given a ridiculous amount of ice time by head coach Igor Larionov last season, but he was also named the team’s captain midway through the year, adding an important element of leadership to his growing bag of skills. As a reminder, 20-year-old defencemen are rarely given a chance to play in the KHL, let alone be among the league leaders in ice time.

Now that he already has over 120 games worth of professional hockey experience under his belt, the 2023 fourth-round pick is expected to take on even more responsibilities while patrolling the blue line, though his growth will be limited to a certain extent, as he’s already checked many of the boxes you’d expect from an older defensive prospect.

One area that could yield interesting dividends is his offensive zone play. With six goals and 22 assists in 65 games last year, Konyushkov is already far and away the team’s best producing defenceman, but there is still some untapped potential in play, especially if his teammates do a slightly better job of finding him when he’s exploiting open ice in high-danger scoring areas.