Ivan Demidov, SKA battle Traktor Chelyabinsk

Montreal Canadiens 2024 fifth overall selection Ivan Demidov, and SKA St. Petersburg battle Traktor Chelyabinsk with a 10 am puck drop. 

The 18-year-old sits one goal short of 20; his next point will be his 50th of the season. Unfortunately for Demidov, while he played well on Friday against HC Sochi, he was benched in the third period. Montreal’s offensive stud of the future has been held off the scoresheet since registering an assist against CSKA on March 4th.

First period

Demidov starts on the fourth line, alongside Pavel Dedunov and Sergei Andronov. 

In the first five minutes, Demidov was engaged physically, inserting himself between defenders to wedge pucks loose and prevent rushes against. 

This is promising, because, in my mind, it is a big reason why Kent Hughes liked the player so much.

Not only is he creative, deceptive and lethal from the top of the blueline into the offensive zone, but he is also responsible defensively and engages opponents, either with a strong stick or leveraging smart defensive reads to disrupt the opposing offence. 

It should be noted that while he is certainly a can’t-miss talent because of his all-world vision, puck skills and swift vision, he isn’t going to cheat at one end to gain an edge in the other. 

I get the sense early that Demidov is gunning to get back on the scoresheet. Off the faceoff, Demidov sat between his centre and right defenseman. When his linemate won the draw, Demidov quickly retrieved the loose puck and fired a quick snapshot on the net. 

He didn’t score, but he showed zero hesitation on the catch-and-release. This is a translatable play in the NHL and will create positive scoring chances for the youngster. 

With SKA on the powerplay, Demidov is on the left half-wall prodding, and pressing to create some offence. Unfortunately for him, nearly 1:30 bled off the power play clock, and the top power play couldn’t penetrate the middle of Traktor’s penalty kill. 

Demidov made a nice dash into Traktor’s zone and fired from the high slot. He pounced on the rebound, getting under his opponent's stick, before pivoting to place himself between the attacker and the puck. Demidov gained an additional scoring chance thanks to his activation on the forecheck, which he used to register his second shot of the period. 

In the first period, No. 91 has been physically engaged and a hound on loose pucks. Smothering would be the best way to describe his forechecking today. He has converged on the puck carrier rapidly, and challenged with his stick and body checks. 

Second Period

SKA is on the power play in the first minute of the middle frame. As you guessed, Demidov is back on the ice, and off his first touch he got tripped, but it went uncalled.

Much to Roman Rotenberg’s dismay, Traktor came chugging down the ice shorthanded and scored to draw the game even. Rotenberg could be seen shaking his head angrily.

Let’s hope the goal doesn’t get pinned on the rookie. It wouldn’t be a new trend. 

With the penalty drawing near its end, Demidov is back on the ice. An encouraging sign for the 18-year-old. 

After the first five minutes, SKA holds a significant shot advantage - 19-5. 

Now Traktor gets their chance on the man advantage, with SKA defenseman Artyom Zemchyonok in the box for tripping. But they failed to capitalize.

About a minute after Zemchyonok left the sin bin, SKA’s captain is in the box for holding. So, SKA’s top penalty killer will sit for two minutes. Again the penalty kill comes up big.

Five-on-five has been a glaring issue for Rotenberg’s team, who now find themselves in a hole, down 2-1. 

I expect that with SKA down, instead of moving Demidov up the lineup to spark some offence, the opposite will happen. The veteran players will see regular shifts, in a bid to tie the game. 

Nikishin is back in the box for slashing, and Traktor is also for interference. We get some four-on-four hockey with the offsetting minors. 

19-year-old Arseni Gritsyuk is on the ice, and made a great give-and-go play with Dmitri Yudin, who sniped an absolute bullet shortside on Zachary Fucale. Familiar name that is - drafted by the Habs 36th overall in the 2013 draft. 

The score is even at 2-2, with five minutes and change remaining on the clock.

SKA has nearly double the shots as their opponents (27-16), but the game on the ice tells a different tale than the shots ever could. It’s been a very even affair, though Traktor has looked a step ahead. 

After forty minutes the game is deadlocked at 2-2.

Third Period

SKA has now surrendered another goal, and finds themselves in a two-goal deficit early into the opening frame. Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Yegor Zavragin has looked shaky today.

And they came out looking for more on the ensuing shift. Traktor has SKA in their heels, and they have closed the shot gap to within seven. SKA doesn’t look like a team ready for the playoffs, I expect an early offseason for Demidov. 

If this play continues, he might grab a sunhat and a drink with an umbrella straw and get comfortable in his spot on the bench. SKA’s awful play has resulted in very limited minutes for Demidov. 

Around the 10-minute mark SKA is back on the kill. And in typical SKA fashion they took another penalty. The tide has shifted, and Traktor has completely taken over in the driver’s seat. 

Down five-on-three, this team is the exact reason that I want Demidov in Montreal most. SKA wounds themselves on a regular basis. And he gets stapled to the pine. 

Demidov did find his way back into the ice, with SKA drawing a penalty. But Nikishin mishandled the puck at the blueline, and Demidov is back on the bench. Talk about a frustrating game for No. 91 through 55 minutes. 

Just three minutes remain in the game, and Demidov is back on the ice. That elusive 50th point has been a rascal, as much as his 20th goal that has yet to be scored. Hard to do much with so little ice time.

Zavragin has been pulled, but Demidov has been pulled off the ice. Until a stoppage prompted a line change, but SKA gave up an empty netter. So, it’s a 4-2 game, likely signalling the end of Demidov’s afternoon.

As such, it was the end of his afternoon, and a stinker of a game for SKA.