The Ivan Demidov hype train has officially left the station. The Montreal Canadiens phenom made his highly-anticipated NHL debut against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night and immediately delivered on the scoresheet.
Demidov needed just three shifts to tally his first NHL point, a beautiful assist to Alex Newhook that blew the roof off of an already loud Bell Centre. The 19-year-old forward carried the puck into Chicago’s zone with a between-the-legs move, slithered his way to the side of the net, and fed Newhook in the low slot for the game-opening goal.
The Canadiens’ home crowd went ballistic when the PA announcer confirmed the scoring on the goal. Demidov could be seen taking in the moment on the team’s bench, nodding to himself as the crowd response only amped up further.
“Great expectations, but I don’t know if they expected this,” play-by-play man Ken Daniels said.
Demidov would only outdo himself just two shifts later, potting his first NHL goal on Blackhawks netminder Arvid Soderblom. Defenseman Mike Matheson sent a stretch pass off the boards behind Chicago’s net, and Demidov beat the Blackhawks to the puck, faked a shot, and pulled the puck to his backhand for an easy finish.
Soderblom is notably one of only 28 goaltenders to face an Alex Ovechkin shot and never allow a goal. Demidov burned the Swedish goalie just 13:32 into his first-ever game.
Canadiens fans were already elated before puck drop to simply have Demidov take the ice for his first game, giving him a standing ovation when he took his solo rookie lap. Their level of anticipation for the top prospect was originally made evident when a mass of fans met Demidov at the airport when he arrived from overseas last Thursday.
The 2024 first-round pick was selected fifth overall last summer from the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg. He spent the majority of the 2024-25 campaign with SKA until they were eliminated by Dynamo Moscow in the first round of this year’s Gagarin Cup playoffs.
Demidov recorded 49 points (19g, 30a) in 65 games for SKA, skating regularly with former Washington Capitals star Evgeny Kuznetsov. The two combined on a beautiful fake-Michigan play in September for Demidov’s first career KHL goal.
With a win of any sort against the Blackhawks, the Canadiens would clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and a first-round series with the Capitals. Demidov would be immediately thrust into a marquee matchup with Ovechkin, his famous fellow countryman, who already had 18 career NHL goals before Demidov was born on December 10, 2005.
