Photo credit: Montreal Gazette

Ivan Demidov appears to be heading to North America soon, and as a result, he’s seen some punishment from his KHL team, SKA St. Petersburg.

The Montreal Canadiens hit a home run when they landed Ivan Demidov at No. 5 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, and now, it appears they have yet another young star on their hands.

His 2024/25 season in the KHL has been going incredibly well, as he is breaking scoring records for players his age in that league, posting 19 goals and 49 points in 63 games thus far at just 19-years of age.

However, things have soured in recent times, as reports emerged late in January that he had turned down offers from SKA to stay in Russia and the KHL, but he rejected them with the goal of making the Canadiens roster in 2025/26.

That has left a sour taste in the mouth of his coaching staff and the organization, as he was limited to just one shift in the third period of the teams latest game, this coming after mysteriously being benched at points in recent games since the announcement he rejected those deals.

At this point in time, all signs point towards Demidov making it to North America next year, and while he meets the age requirement to play in the AHL with the Laval Rocket, if he does come over, it’s with the sole goal of making this Canadiens team.

Given that he has set scoring records for people his age in the KHL, it’s clear he’s ready for the jump in competition, and with Montreal assembling a talented young roster led by the likes of Lane Hutson, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, with David Reinbacher on the way to the NHL soon, things are getting very exciting for Habs fans.