NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens and First-Round Pick Ivan Demidov

Speculation is mounting around Montreal Canadiens first round pick, Ivan Demidov

Marco D’Amico of RG.org: Montreal Canadiens 2024 first-round pick Ivan Demidov saw his ice time with SKA dwindle after Evgeny Kuznetsov went down with an injury, but has started to pick up again. Demidov has one year left on his SKA contract. Demidov’s head coach is Roman Rotenberg

“We look at the ideas of our partners, but we focus on our needs, our tactics, and how our players feel,” Rotenberg said in English. “There are many factors. We have the same interest as Montreal in making sure that Ivan – like our other young players – develops well. Players like Demidov are the future of Russian hockey.”

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SKA have a plan for Demidov’s development but it’s clear there will be bumps in the road for the 18-year-old.

Demidov’s contract with SKA expires on May 31, 2025, and from now on, he is determined to play it.

Nicolas Cloutier of TVA Sports: (via Google translate) A source close to Ivan Demidov’s team said Demidov was benched after rejecting three contract extension offers from SKA St. Petersburg.

“Ivan refused three times,” our source said on the phone. “He doesn’t want to know anything about another year with SKA.”

Another offer is believed to be for two years at $560,000 Canadian with potential bonuses in excess of $560,000 CDN.

Agent Dan Milstein is not commenting on when Demidov is playing in the KHL. Since being drafted, Demidov’s plan has been to come to North America in 2025-26.

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The KHL has a history of ‘wooing’ young Russian players by cutting their ice in an attempt to keep them around longer. CSKA did it with Alexander Romanov and SKA did it with Vasili Podkolzin, Kirill Marchenko, and Yaroslav Askarov.