Ivan Demidov

Photo credit: KHL

It’s a never-ending saga, the way SKA in the KHL is handling Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov.

After announcing that Demidov would not play in the playoffs, Roman Rotenberg finally decided to place Demidov on his top line in his team’s most recent game.

Surprise.. It led to strong results, and Demidov was productive!

Absolutely everyone expected it, except, apparently, Rotenberg.

Anyway, SKA is back in action today, and we were eager to see what would happen with the Montreal Canadiens’ top prospect.

It’s become completely unpredictable.

SKA once again decides to put Ivan Demidov on its top line today

Good news for the young player, then!

“Ivan Demidov remains on the 1st line today with Evgeny Kuznetsov.

SKA is facing Dynamo Moscow.

They are down 2-0 in the series.”

– HabsOnReddit

SKA is truly at risk of an early elimination, and if that happens, Demidov’s last game in the KHL could be very soon.

Let’s remember that Demidov’s contract with SKA technically expires on May 31, 2025.

Demidov, only 19 years old, tallied 49 points in 65 games with SKA this season, including 19 goals, and finished as the top scorer on his team-despite very questionable usage throughout the season and many games where he only saw 2-3 minutes of ice time.

It’ll be interesting to see the kind of impact he can have during the KHL playoffs.

Update: In any case, it’s off to a good start for him.

Check out the footage:

We’re so lucky he belongs to the Montreal Canadiens organization!