Ivan Demidov pops off for hat trick, snapping two game pointless drought

Ivan Demidov entered SKA St. Petersburg's matchup against Vityaz Chekhov five points shy of tying the KHL U-20 points record held by Kirill Kaprizov.

After being held off the scoresheet through SKA's past two games, Demidov scored his first of three goals at the 06:37 mark of the first period. Demidov cut to the front of the opposing net and got lost behind a defender, before receiving a perfect pass. Before the defender or goaltender could react, Demidov fired a slick wrist shot top shelf blocker-side for his 17th goal of the campaign.

His second tally of the game, put SKA up by a score of 3-1 at the 15:05 mark of the third period. Demidov was flying, and his off-puck routes were excellent, disappearing then emerging in a high-danger scoring area. Demidov once again outwitted a defender, before firing home a low-blocker wrister off a quick feed in the slot.

The 19-year-old put a ribbon on his hat trick, and SKA's winning performance, putting his team up 4-1 with 2:33 remaining in the game. Demidov iced the game and finished off his first career KHL hat trick with an empty net tally. Montreal's 2023 fifth overall selection miraculously fell into Kent Hughes's lap, and I have to think that the three general managers who drafted between picks two and four are kicking themselves.

Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson selected defenseman Artyom Levshunov second overall, and Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek rounded out the top three with forward Beckett Sennecke. Hughes needed the Columbus Blue Jackets to pick anybody but Demidov, but he held a good poker face. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen selected centreman Cayden Lindstrom, which must've nearly knocked Hughes out of his chair.

Seven short months later, Demidov is one point shy of tying the second-best statistical season by a U-20 player (41 points). Demidov's next point, his 41st of the season will put him in a three-way tie with Matvei Michkov and Evgeni Kuznetsov. But with 19 games remaining on the schedule, Demidov needs just three points to surpass Kirill Kaprizov's record 42 points.

Demidov had a golden chance on a breakaway earlier in the game, he made a nice move but didn't get the goal to bite on his move. The Russian phenom was rolling, and if this game was indicative of anything to come in his next, the record will soon be broken. Sure, Demidov has 19 games to rewrite the record books, but I think he may score three points in game 42, to best Kaprizov in the same amount of games.

Josh Morrissey praises Lane Hutson

Every once in a while, I expect that Lane Hutson must have to pinch himself, and when seeing what Winnipeg Jets number one defenseman Josh Morrissey said about him, that would be an a-ha moment. Morrissey, a veteran of 633 NHL games, has been around for a while, and seen some talented defensemen. So, for him to say that he believes there are things he can learn from Hutson, that is pretty high praise to the 20-year-old from the 29-year-old.

Morrissey is a dynamic offensive defender in his own right. The Calgary, Alberta., native, has scored 76 and 69 points in his last two seasons. He is on pace to reach the 65-70-point range this season also, producing 42 points in 51 games. Safe to say, what Hutson is doing as a rookie defenseman has caught the attention of all the NHL markets.

Hutson has tremendous potential for growth and has plenty of time to get even better, which is a scary thought for the rest of the league. When guys like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes entered the league, they were doing ridiculous things right away just like Hutson. Now, the pair are 26 and 25 years old respectively, and are arguably the two premiere defenders in the league.

Imagining what Hutson will be doing in five or six more seasons is an intriguing thought. Hughes scored 53 points in his rookie season, while Makar had 50. Hutson currently has 39 in 49 games, and I have every reason to believe that he will score, at minimum 11 more points over the final 33 games of the season.