{"id":138554,"date":"2025-09-12T12:15:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T12:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/138554\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T12:15:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T12:15:08","slug":"2025-canadiens-top-25-under-25-1-ivan-demidov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/138554\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #1 Ivan Demidov"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/p>\n

There is something about Ivan Demidov that feels unprecedented, even with the Montreal Canadiens\u2019 century-long history. Thanks to him, Habs fans have probably learned more about the machinations of the KHL and Russian hockey than they ever imagined that they would. Roman Rotenberg became as familiar a name amongst the fandom as Michel Therrien, with some even dreaming up fanciful Mogilnyan<\/a> scenarios to extract Demidov from the grasp of the Army Men. Canadiens fans placed every game, every benching, every visit by the Canadiens\u2019 braintrust to the banks of the Neva under the microscope, the rumour mill constantly spinning in overdrive.<\/p>\n

The passion grew with each passing day, fuelled by every point, every goal, every highlight. It crescendoed as Demidov surpassed first Matvei Michkov\u2019s tally of 41 points, then Kirill Kaprizov\u2019s single-season U20 record of 42. When SKA Saint Petersburg were eliminated by Dynamo Moscow in the first round of the playoffs, Canadiens fans dared to fantasize. When Demidov was surprisingly cleared to join the team, those fantasies turned into reality, and then into anticipation. The spine-tingling prospect of Demidov in the Sainte Flanelle, combined with an unexpected push by the team for the post-season, amalgamated into a swirling cauldron of emotion threatening to bubble over at any moment.<\/p>\n

This was different from Jesperi Kotkaniemi or Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd, who joined the team with blank slates at the start of fresh campaigns. This was different from Lane Hutson, where the mood leaned more toward cautious optimism. This was different from Nick Suzuki or Cole Caufield, who were complementary pieces brought in to augment an existing veteran core. This was even different than Carey Price, who still had to share the crease with Cristobal Huet through much of his rookie campaign. The build-up was tangible, palpable. People tracked Demidov\u2019s plane<\/a>. They monitored the airport \u2014 in Toronto. They packed the Bell Centre for his debut against the Chicago Blackhawks despite four-figure ticket prices<\/a>. They chanted his name during warmups.<\/p>\n

They only had to wait six minutes for release.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

That the Canadiens lost that game was immaterial. The bizarre officiating blunder in the shootout was quickly forgotten. The team had Demidov, and that was all that mattered.<\/p>\n

Voting<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While the overall fan vote broke for Lane Hutson, the individual panellists leaned toward Ivan Alexeyevich by a seven-to-four count. All panel votes were either first or second, and 69% of fan votes placed Demidov in the top two positions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

First place was Demidov\u2019s most popular placing, but a considerable number of people also ranked him second, third, and even fourth. <\/p>\n

Top 25 Under 25 History<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Demidov debuted at second last year, breaking a three-year streak for Cole Caufield at that position. He now moves up to first.<\/p>\n

History of #1<\/p>\n

Year
\n #1<\/p>\n

2025
\n Ivan Demidov<\/p>\n

2024
\n Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd<\/p>\n

2023
\n Nick Suzuki<\/p>\n

2022
\n Nick Suzuki<\/p>\n

2021
\n Nick Suzuki<\/p>\n

2020
\n Nick Suzuki<\/p>\n

2019
\n Max Domi<\/p>\n

2018
\n Jonathan Drouin<\/p>\n

2017
\n Alex Galchenyuk<\/p>\n

2016
\n Alex Galchenyuk<\/p>\n

2015
\n Alex Galchenyuk<\/p>\n

2014
\n Alex Galchenyuk<\/p>\n

2013
\n P.K. Subban<\/p>\n

2012
\n P.K. Subban<\/p>\n

2011
\n Carey Price<\/p>\n

2010
\n Carey Price<\/p>\n

Strengths<\/p>\n

By now, Canadiens fans are well acquainted with Demidov\u2019s skill set. The forward can stickhandle in a phone booth, pick a corner with a snipe, dangle around defenders, and find the open gaps in coverage. But what makes Demidov an elite-level talent is how he deploys and utilizes these talents in concert to create offence in varied and unpredictable ways. In turn, three things make this possible: a superb hockey sense, a profound understanding of how to control space, and a fearlessness that powers the initiative to create.<\/p>\n

Back on draft day in 2024, Demidov said that he thought that he could \u201cread the game two or three steps ahead.<\/a>\u201d In this goal against HC Vityaz, he played an unconventional give-and-go with Sergei Plotnikov, using the presence of teammate Zahkar Bardakov to set a pick-and-roll at the top of the crease and shed his pursuers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

On his first NHL goal<\/a>, Demidov didn\u2019t attack overtly, but quickly accelerated to speed as he exited the defensive zone. He then glided at full speed through the neutral zone, but since he wasn\u2019t actively striding, Chicago forward Landon Slaggert was slow to notice and react. Demidov further led Slaggert into the path of Sam Rinzel, who was focused on an overlapping Joel Armia, causing the two Blackhawks to collide with each other. When Matheson sent the puck forward, Demidov was level with Chicago\u2019s last man back, Alex Vlasic. But Vlasic was facing Matheson and Demidov was facing Hawks netminder Arvid S\u00f6derblom. The footrace was over before it even began.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Much of Demidov\u2019s success is predicated on his ability to put his opposition on the back foot. He does this through feints and dekes, but he also does this by temptation. In this highlight reel end-to-end rush<\/a> against CSKA, Demidov used the puck to gradually pull Nikita Nesterov\u2019s stick wider and further away from his body until the Red Army defenceman was in no position to act against a cut to the inside. Demidov then again used teammate Bardakov\u2019s positioning to evade the second CSKA defender, then made a sharp cut to not only move onto his forehand, but to use his back leg to shield against the poke check from low forward Pavel Karnaukhov. Through this sequence, after leaving Nesterov behind, no CSKA player was able to bring their stick within a foot of the puck or Demidov\u2019s stick.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Weaknesses<\/p>\n

While several pundits have commented on Demidov\u2019s skating, most of the criticism focuses on his unusual stride mechanics rather than concrete circumstances where poor skating has negatively impacted his game. Rather, Demidov\u2019s most obvious weakness right now is his defence. Where he is bold and daring when he or his teammates have the puck, he is more tentative and reactive when possession lies with the opposition. <\/p>\n

For example, in Game 3 of the series against the Washington Capitals, Demidov marked Ryan Leonard, the closest man to him, but this placed all five Habs on the same side of the ice, letting Jakub Chychrun walk in and tie the game. This isn\u2019t to heap blame exclusively on Demidov; Arber Xhekaj should have come high to take Leonard or covered Lars Eller in front of the net, thereby freeing up David Savard to pay attention to Chychrun. However, it does illustrate that Demidov, at the moment, takes the simple option on defence, whereas he\u2019s more capable of making complex reads on offence.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However, it is also very difficult to properly assess Demidov\u2019s defensive capabilities from a macro standpoint. After all, he arrived in Montreal and was dropped into a completely unfamiliar system that took three months of tinkering earlier in the year just to reach something resembling adequacy. With the Army Men, Demidov played for the 19th-ranked defence (out of 23) in the KHL, marshalled by a coach and general manager who unceremoniously jettisoned goaltender Nikita Serebryakov (2.27 goals-against average, .931 save percentage) to Avangard Omsk in order to play Yegor Zavragin (2.55 GAA, .912 Sv%) and Artemy Pleshkov (2.86 GAA, .916 Sv%). He also played with a shiny sword of Damocles above his head, riding the pine more often than not should he make a defensive error. So while his individual mistakes do show up in the film, his ability to understand defensive systems and structures, as well as his capacity for improvement in these areas, remains untested, and therefore undetermined.<\/p>\n

Projection<\/p>\n

The main questions for Demidov heading into his first full season with the Tricolore are how his handling of time and space will adjust to the NHL\u2019s faster tempo and elevated levels of aggression, and what linemates the Canadiens can find for their latest wunderkind. The similarities to Lane Hutson\u2019s situation heading into 2024-25 should be obvious, and both Demidov and the Canadiens will hopefully be able to draw from the lessons learned during Hutson\u2019s introduction to the NHL.<\/p>\n

Ivan Demidov has the ability to be Montreal\u2019s best offensive forward since Guy Lafleur. A strange thing, perhaps, to say about a player who has two regular-season games under his belt, yet not an unreasonable one. Demidov has the temperament, the confidence, and the desire to handle the pressures and expectations of the Montreal market. Perhaps more importantly, he will not be bearing all of the expectations for the next generation alone. Unlike the days of Jonathan Drouin or Alex Galchenyuk, Demidov is currently flanked by three other players under the age of 25 with elite ceilings who will battle him for the top spot moving forward, and who will share the burden should the team stumble during the process.<\/p>\n

Patrik Bexell is joined by longtime Habs reporter Marc-Antoine Godin to discuss Demidov. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Introduction There is something about Ivan Demidov that feels unprecedented, even with the Montreal Canadiens\u2019 century-long history. Thanks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-138554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}