The 2025 outside of season continues, and completed with the large events such as the NHL -Try concept and the free agent Frenzy, the dog days of summer clothing on while NHL management groups take a little breathing break before training camps start. In this series I will try to investigate every schedule of Montreal Canadiens, summarize their last season and look ahead to this coming season. I will look at their place in the organization, their role and their possible impact.
Related: Montreal Canadiens: 3 Burning Questions on the way to the 2025-26 season
In this edition I will continue to look at the forward group of the Canadiens, this time with Rookie Vooruit Ivan Demidov
2024-25 season Summary
Montreal selected winger Ivan Demidov with the fifth everywhere in the NHL version of 2024 for enjoying every Canadiens fan. After the summer, Demidov returned to Russia and joined the Ska St. Petersburg team of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Ska St. Petersburg. Despite his highly recommended access to that competition and his high level of performance, Demidov was consistently relegated, had cut his ice age or just benched. His ice age varied from about three minutes to more than 15 minutes per game, leading to concern about his development And whether Ska St. Petersburg prioritized his growth or possibly punished him because he did not sign again.
Before he became a member of the Canadiens for the last two games of the regular season, the young Russian attacker Rookie and under-20 scoring records put in the KHL while he led Ska St. Petersburg in regular season points with 19 goals and 49 points in 65 games. He broke the record of 42 points that was previously in the hands of the former Salavat Yulaav UFA product and the current Minnesota Wild Star Kaprizov, a record that stood seven seasons, and it all did on average only 13:21 per game on average. He followed that by leading his club in goals and points in the play -offs with three goals and five points in six games. The 19-year-old attacker is ready to become a game-changing star for the Canadiens, something that the fan base of the franchise has brought to. That record-breaking season, done with a limited ice age, led him to won the KHL Rookie of the Year Award.
As soon as his KHL season ended, Demidov signed his entry level contract. This allowed him to reach the Canadiens at the end of 2024-25 season, where he was available to play in two NHL matches in the regular season. In his debut, the 19-year-old scored a goal and an assist against the Chicago Blackhawks. He also played in all five Playoff matches of the Canadiens last season, where he added two assists. Although Demidov has only seven NHL games under his belt, there is a considerable excitement to see him perform in 2025-26.
2025-26 season expectations
Demidov is a highly skilled attacker who is known to take over games with his vision of the ice, fast hands, play options and an unpredictable creativity that makes him a danger to attack. His potential to become a top wing and one of the best game makers in the NHL is clear. But will he be a star immediately? There are some in the NHL who believe that. Eric Engels van Sportsnet Meeted managers During the NHL Board of Governors’ meetings and he received a glowing assessment. “He is a bona fide superstar that arrives in Montreal and will have an immediate impact,” he said, adding that he thought it would not be long before the Russian attacker would become the best player of the Canadiens.
He has already had a number of exciting moments, and his future potential is that fans are the most enthusiastic about. It would be no surprise to see that he has a season 2025-26 with 20 goals and 60-plus points, especially if he is on a top power play unit with the current core of the club of Cole Carefield, Nick Suzuki and Lane Huton, who had a record-breaking Rookie’s best season and the Rookie season.
There is another reason for Canadiens fans to be enthusiastic: his vision and hockey IQ have made him an early favorite among Canadian sports books to win the Calder trophy in 2025-26. He is entered in the highest Power Play of the team, and the additions of Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc add more depth and skilled players to feed on or feed the puck; This will increase the number of points he could count.
After years of reconstruction and a surprising berth in the NHL play -offs from 2025, a change in expectations will wait for the Canadiens next season. Both the media and the fans will expect them to continue their success. This pressure must not be aimed at Demidov as someone who has to lead the team offensively or make the team success. Although he is not expected to become a superstar immediately, great things are projected for the young man and he will remove fans from their seats with excitement in 2025-26.
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