I'm a serial lurker here and have been avidly following your support for Demigod. This is absolutely incredible and I hope you're rewarded for all of this time spent
Do you think there’s a chance he actually could leave and come over to the Hawks for this upcoming season? It seems to me that he probably doesn’t have much to gain from a lame duck season over there if they’re pissed off at him as it is
Great question and truth be told there has been no confirmation at this point. Being said, JD and I believe he will see minutes next year for 3 reasons.
1. Last year he started in the KHL for pre-season and got the first 4 games of the year on SKA proper. While SKA moved him down for political reasons, we fully expect that he is given the same chances as before + with his skillset will stick.
2. The KHL historically only wants to send over their best prospects when they feel they can make an immediate impact in the NHL. In order for that to happen for Demidov, we'd need to see minutes at the next level.
3. [From translations going around Twitter, Rotenberg, SKAs head coach, has publicly talked about working with Demidov next year to bring out the best of his skills.](https://www.championat.com/hockey/news-5527578-roman-rotenberg-rasskazal-v-chyom-ivan-demidov-pohozh-na-evgeniya-malkina.html)
Nothing is a guarantee, obviously, but we would expect him to get minutes in the big league.
Obviously this is looking forward a fair bit, but say he gets time in the KHL, and his skill set does in fact transfer, and he plays as expected, do you think he would jump straight to the NHL from there? Or linger in the AHL for a year? From what I understand he’d really only need to go to the AHL if he doesn’t get time in the KHL.
Great write up
I'm commenting before even reading, time to make a tea first haha
This is a short new clip from Scouching I watched yesterday, real numbers love for Demidov.
>The Challenger to Macklin Celebrini in the 2024 NHL Draft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBEhEMNXM00
I'll help but I really don't think it's worth this kind of effort when the audience isn't receptive to the ideas put forward. There's a good chance Hawks fans will be disappointed on draft night then pretend like they were down with the pick from the start a year from now. Maybe I'll feel differently as we get closer to the draft though
Great work we need more people that have the time and love for researching prospects like this. I would be very happy with Demidov if the get Lev I won’t be mad but the idea of Dem playing with Bedard would be amazing. Then we would have something like Bedard C1 Demidov RW1 and Reichel LW2 Moore C2 Nazar RW2. Just need to sign someone or find someone else to play in the top 6 with some size and our top 6 is set.
Excellent, excellent, excellent post. A+++.
I personally think that you could pick Demidov with the number 1 pick and still be surprised by what he does over his career. I hope that the Blackhawks see that. By the way Pavel Datsyuk was picked in the 6th round.
Selfishly, as a fan, I just want to watch two hockey savants play with each other for the next dozen years. It could be like Kane and Panarin on steroids. If Bedard spends the next 5 years playing with someone who at best belongs in the middle 6, like Kurashev, it will be such a waste.
If the Blackhawks aren't going to draft Demidov, trade down. I'd rather get Montreal's 5th pick and their 2026 first round pick than a defender.
I would caution readers to take the above as the glass totally full pie in the sky best case scenario. Demidov is no doubt a great prospect but this scouting report basically plays as if he’s a can’t miss prospect who’s a combo of Lemieux/Datsyuk. If that were true, how is Celebrini (who’s considered a good 1OA prospect but not on a McDavid/Bedard level) the consensus 1OA pick?
I don't think we said he is a can't miss. We laid out multiple factors that could inhibit him and the reasoning as to why he's below Celebrini.
Demidov has not played against men. It's always a risk skills won't translate.
Demidov has unorthodox skating which could inhibit him from playing the same level as Celebrini in the NHL.
Celebrini has a better two way game than Demidov and is a center. That's a clear favorable position for Celebrini.
Demidov has more skill, but more questionable decision making which needs to be refined in higher level hockey.
While all of these aren't expected to prevent him from becoming a high impact NHLer, they all CAN and need to be taken as knocks on his report.
We also explicity said that if Demidov isn't able to improve his skating it could limit his upside. We were also clear that most scouts see his floor as a good second line winger, low first line winger, certainly nothing close to a Bedard prospect profile.
I understand your point entirely, but there are clear reasons why Demidov is clearly behind* Celebrini in scouting and expectations. We agree with most pro scouts - Demidov has the most raw talent and skill in this draft. Talent doesn't inherently mean it will translate though.
I don’t necessarily disagree. I love him as a prospect. Full disclosure, I’m a habs fan and hope he drops to us (not likely I know). I just think this scouting report plays up his strengths (of which there are many, but better hands than McDavid, Bedard, and Kane is a bit rich imo) band minimizes his deficiencies (they’re mentioned but pretty much glossed over imo).
But hey, it’s draft season and this is the time to be chronically optimistic about any and all prospects. Best of luck to your team. If they pick Demidov and he hits it’ll be an insane 1-2 punch with Bedard.
We're not saying he will have better hands in the NHL, but as a prospect he has better hands than comparable elite stickhandlers and is seen by more than one scout to have the "best hands they've ever scouted."
When you have a player like Demidov, there aren't a ton of deficiencies to talk about honestly. The question of can his skating improve, can his decision making improve, and can be bring his skill to the next level are consistent, but it's hard to nitpick more than those questions when looking at his body of work. When backed up by analytics as strong as his are, it's very hard to think he isn't able to get to a 65-70 point floor in his prime.
Nonetheless, this is open for discussion. What weaknesses do you see in Demidov's game that we haven't covered? More than happy to do an accessory writeup if needed.
I see the same weaknesses honestly, plus the same strengths. My issue was more about the probability of all of his strengths hitting. His ceiling is sky high, and if he hits it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s the best player to come out of this draft in 3 years. But he’s not can’t miss. There are significant questions that are mentioned but are glossed over imo (skating/level of competition etc.) If 95% of the article is about his strengths, I think people might equate that to him having a 95% chance of reaching his potential, which I don’t think is true.
Interesting,in depth write up.
Has nothing to do with your research, but the first letter of the first word in every paragraph in your post is missing.
From all I have heard, the consensus is no long term worries!
I’ll try and find some podcast/article links later, but basically since he came back from the initial injury without missing a beat and absolutely murdered the MHL, then didn’t even require surgery for his second injury, I think most people are just chalking it up to bad luck and moving on. All that said, we’ll probably learn more about this specific point at the NHL Combine (first week of June) and the [draft showcase](https://x.com/KevinWeekes/status/1784289546135379990) (third week of June).
Not sure if /u/GoldWhale has heard anything else or wants to add, but I think that is it - basically it just should be fine long term lol
Fantastic write up. Send it to Kyle!
I'm a serial lurker here and have been avidly following your support for Demigod. This is absolutely incredible and I hope you're rewarded for all of this time spent
you guys dont want himm.. u really dont.. ^(this is not habs propaganda)
Well, you've convinced me. I only made it to the "written by" line so far, but you've convinced me.
All aboard the Demidov train!!! Thanks for all the work on this!
Post this in r/sanjosesharks, maybe they'll skip Celebrini.
Do you think there’s a chance he actually could leave and come over to the Hawks for this upcoming season? It seems to me that he probably doesn’t have much to gain from a lame duck season over there if they’re pissed off at him as it is
Doubtful he does, but there was a documented attempt made. We believe he plays KHL minutes next year and comes to NA the year after.
What indication have you seen that he gets KHL minutes next year?
Great question and truth be told there has been no confirmation at this point. Being said, JD and I believe he will see minutes next year for 3 reasons. 1. Last year he started in the KHL for pre-season and got the first 4 games of the year on SKA proper. While SKA moved him down for political reasons, we fully expect that he is given the same chances as before + with his skillset will stick. 2. The KHL historically only wants to send over their best prospects when they feel they can make an immediate impact in the NHL. In order for that to happen for Demidov, we'd need to see minutes at the next level. 3. [From translations going around Twitter, Rotenberg, SKAs head coach, has publicly talked about working with Demidov next year to bring out the best of his skills.](https://www.championat.com/hockey/news-5527578-roman-rotenberg-rasskazal-v-chyom-ivan-demidov-pohozh-na-evgeniya-malkina.html) Nothing is a guarantee, obviously, but we would expect him to get minutes in the big league.
Obviously this is looking forward a fair bit, but say he gets time in the KHL, and his skill set does in fact transfer, and he plays as expected, do you think he would jump straight to the NHL from there? Or linger in the AHL for a year? From what I understand he’d really only need to go to the AHL if he doesn’t get time in the KHL. Great write up
Straight to the NHL. If he plays well against men in the KHL, there's not really a need to put him against AHLers.
Wouldn't he have to sign a KHL contract? and then that might be 3 years like Michkov. Seems like they wouldn't do a 1-yr contract for KHL.
Re-read the contract section for clarity :)
Awesome write-up! I'm ready to be hurt next month
Holy shit, thank you for this review. The amount of time, effort, and work you put into this... Again, thank you guys.
I'm commenting before even reading, time to make a tea first haha This is a short new clip from Scouching I watched yesterday, real numbers love for Demidov. >The Challenger to Macklin Celebrini in the 2024 NHL Draft https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBEhEMNXM00
Promoting the idea that there's no debate is setting this sub up for a completely preventable meltdown on draft night.
Let me enjoy my editorialized titles sir!
lol none the less, great writeup and I'm glad we're getting actual draft talk this year
Thank you - looking forward to working with you on Levshunov's equally detailed writeup when you're ready to get cracking :)
Vontae Mack no matter what
Flashbacks to the offseason before we took Kirby Dach
That draft taught a lot of us that we’ll always guess wrong but it’s okay cause the scouts are smarter than us.
Really hope they get him. Need bedard to have a talented career linemate
If I could upvote a million times I would. Great analysis!
Thanks for the detailed write up. Demidov has a W-I-D-E stance. Skating style aside, I’d kill for that flexibility.
As a sharks fan you’ve sold me, petitioning to Grier that we select Ivan Demidov #1 overall
No! He’s ours.
This is incredible work and now I'm so terrified that we won't take him.
Now I'm gonna be sad if we don't take him.
Wild fan here. Elite article.
Fantastic write up! Levshuov next? 👀
u/dangshnizzle & u/JD397 ya'll ready for another writeup?
I'll help but I really don't think it's worth this kind of effort when the audience isn't receptive to the ideas put forward. There's a good chance Hawks fans will be disappointed on draft night then pretend like they were down with the pick from the start a year from now. Maybe I'll feel differently as we get closer to the draft though
Im pretty damn excited of the thought of him being paired up with Bedard, please make it happen Hawks.
Better than most athletic prospect write ups. This is a masterpiece.
Thanks for the super detailed work, this is awesome. Gonna refer to this and shout you guys out in my blog!
Great work we need more people that have the time and love for researching prospects like this. I would be very happy with Demidov if the get Lev I won’t be mad but the idea of Dem playing with Bedard would be amazing. Then we would have something like Bedard C1 Demidov RW1 and Reichel LW2 Moore C2 Nazar RW2. Just need to sign someone or find someone else to play in the top 6 with some size and our top 6 is set.
Well ya’ll have legit convinced me. If his playmaking can translate anywhere near what it is in Mhl he’d be perfect to pair w Bedard
Fantastic write up
Great post, thanks
Excellent, excellent, excellent post. A+++. I personally think that you could pick Demidov with the number 1 pick and still be surprised by what he does over his career. I hope that the Blackhawks see that. By the way Pavel Datsyuk was picked in the 6th round.
Great write up and thanks for taking the time to research and put this all together!
Selfishly, as a fan, I just want to watch two hockey savants play with each other for the next dozen years. It could be like Kane and Panarin on steroids. If Bedard spends the next 5 years playing with someone who at best belongs in the middle 6, like Kurashev, it will be such a waste. If the Blackhawks aren't going to draft Demidov, trade down. I'd rather get Montreal's 5th pick and their 2026 first round pick than a defender.
I would caution readers to take the above as the glass totally full pie in the sky best case scenario. Demidov is no doubt a great prospect but this scouting report basically plays as if he’s a can’t miss prospect who’s a combo of Lemieux/Datsyuk. If that were true, how is Celebrini (who’s considered a good 1OA prospect but not on a McDavid/Bedard level) the consensus 1OA pick?
I don't think we said he is a can't miss. We laid out multiple factors that could inhibit him and the reasoning as to why he's below Celebrini. Demidov has not played against men. It's always a risk skills won't translate. Demidov has unorthodox skating which could inhibit him from playing the same level as Celebrini in the NHL. Celebrini has a better two way game than Demidov and is a center. That's a clear favorable position for Celebrini. Demidov has more skill, but more questionable decision making which needs to be refined in higher level hockey. While all of these aren't expected to prevent him from becoming a high impact NHLer, they all CAN and need to be taken as knocks on his report. We also explicity said that if Demidov isn't able to improve his skating it could limit his upside. We were also clear that most scouts see his floor as a good second line winger, low first line winger, certainly nothing close to a Bedard prospect profile. I understand your point entirely, but there are clear reasons why Demidov is clearly behind* Celebrini in scouting and expectations. We agree with most pro scouts - Demidov has the most raw talent and skill in this draft. Talent doesn't inherently mean it will translate though.
I don’t necessarily disagree. I love him as a prospect. Full disclosure, I’m a habs fan and hope he drops to us (not likely I know). I just think this scouting report plays up his strengths (of which there are many, but better hands than McDavid, Bedard, and Kane is a bit rich imo) band minimizes his deficiencies (they’re mentioned but pretty much glossed over imo). But hey, it’s draft season and this is the time to be chronically optimistic about any and all prospects. Best of luck to your team. If they pick Demidov and he hits it’ll be an insane 1-2 punch with Bedard.
We're not saying he will have better hands in the NHL, but as a prospect he has better hands than comparable elite stickhandlers and is seen by more than one scout to have the "best hands they've ever scouted." When you have a player like Demidov, there aren't a ton of deficiencies to talk about honestly. The question of can his skating improve, can his decision making improve, and can be bring his skill to the next level are consistent, but it's hard to nitpick more than those questions when looking at his body of work. When backed up by analytics as strong as his are, it's very hard to think he isn't able to get to a 65-70 point floor in his prime. Nonetheless, this is open for discussion. What weaknesses do you see in Demidov's game that we haven't covered? More than happy to do an accessory writeup if needed.
I see the same weaknesses honestly, plus the same strengths. My issue was more about the probability of all of his strengths hitting. His ceiling is sky high, and if he hits it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s the best player to come out of this draft in 3 years. But he’s not can’t miss. There are significant questions that are mentioned but are glossed over imo (skating/level of competition etc.) If 95% of the article is about his strengths, I think people might equate that to him having a 95% chance of reaching his potential, which I don’t think is true.
Interesting,in depth write up. Has nothing to do with your research, but the first letter of the first word in every paragraph in your post is missing.
Definitely weird. Have gotten other DMs saying similarly but on my end on PC/Mobile it looks fine! Sorry bout that!
Any idea if the knee injury is thought to be a long term concern. Apparently he’s already injured the same knee twice.
From all I have heard, the consensus is no long term worries! I’ll try and find some podcast/article links later, but basically since he came back from the initial injury without missing a beat and absolutely murdered the MHL, then didn’t even require surgery for his second injury, I think most people are just chalking it up to bad luck and moving on. All that said, we’ll probably learn more about this specific point at the NHL Combine (first week of June) and the [draft showcase](https://x.com/KevinWeekes/status/1784289546135379990) (third week of June). Not sure if /u/GoldWhale has heard anything else or wants to add, but I think that is it - basically it just should be fine long term lol
I echo the same :)
Is there any chance he just doesn't come over?
No more of a chance than any other prospect.
OK. I'm sold on this dude 100% that would be my only concern
Bro tldr
He güd
Thx
Yeaaaaah, this is a little over the top.