For the second straight season, the Montreal Canadiens had a chance to have one of their players win the Calder Memorial Trophy after Ivan Demidov was named a finalist for the award, which goes to the top rookie that season. He had a chance to join Lane Hutson, who won the trophy after an exceptional rookie season
Unfortunately for Demidov, he was competing with New York Islanders' Matthew Schaefer, who had a historic season, and it was reflected in the voting. He is the first player since Teemu Selanne in the 1992-93 season to receive every first-place vote and deserved that accomplishment.
Schaefer is the youngest player to win the award and played every game this past season with an average of 24:41 ice time per game. He was very productive when on the ice and finished second on the Islanders in points with 59.
Ivan Deimidov's season was deserving of the Calder Trophy any other season
Unfortunately for Ivan Demidov, his rookie season aligned with Matthew Schaefer, because if it were another season, he easily could have won the trophy for the top rookie. The fifth-overall pick from the 2024 NHL Draft played all 82 games and averaged 15:30 of ice time, which was the fourth-highest among forwards.
He would finish the season with 62 points and was in the Top 5 on the Canadiens in both goals and assists. In the playoffs, he continues to be a key part of the offense, and while he is still waiting for his first career playoff goal, Demidov does have four assists through 11 games.
While the history books will remember Matthew Schaefer as the second player to win the Calder Trophy unanimously, Canadiens' fans will remember Demidov's rookie season as an exciting sign for the future. He should certainly be viewed now as a key part of the core for what they are building with players like Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Lane Hutson.
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