It looked like a foregone conclusion that Ivan Demidov would win the KHL's Rookie of the Year award. He set records for his scoring prowess while struggling to get ice-time for most of the season, but eventually won the favor of his head coach and became the most reliable forward on SKA St. Petersburg's roster.
Semyon Zyazovoi and Yegor Surin were the other nominees. Zyazovoi had a .938 save percentage and a 1.80 goals-against average in 21 games, while Surin had 14 points in 41 games. It seemed like if anyone had a case to beat Demidov, it was the goaltender Zyazovoi.
Nevertheless, reports started to circulate on Thursday that Surin was the winner of the award. It didn't make much sense for many people, but some felt it might be a combination of Demidov asking out of his contract early to come to North America and his decision to stay in Montreal for the summer to work with the Canadiens' staff.
The rumors that the KHL was planning to snub Demidov proved to be untrue, as the Canadiens' newest star released a video on Thursday afternoon accepting his award. The KHL might not have been too happy to give their Rookie of the Year award to someone who decided to leave the country, but in the end they did what was right.
Demidov had an unbelievable year. In his first KHL season, the 19-year-old was SKA's points leader, recording 49 points in 65 games, averaging the 11th-most time on ice among forwards (13:45). He was KHL Rookie of the Week seven times, Rookie of the Month three times, and was the top rookie in the first round of the playoffs.
There might be some things you don't agree with how the KHL do things, and it wouldn't have been too surprising if they punished Demidov for his North America decision. However, in a season where Demidov didn't get treated too fairly with SKA, it ended with the ultimate acknowledgement.