Ivan Demidov
2023-24 Team: SKA-1946 St. Petersburg (MHL)
Date of Birth: Dec. 10, 2005
Place of Birth: Sergiyev Posad, RUS
Ht: 5-foot-11 Wt: 168 pounds
Shoots: L
Position: RW
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2024 first-year eligible
Rankings
The question as to who will follow consensus first-overall 2024 pick Macklin Celebrini has been hotly contested since September. Initially, Cole Eiserman seemed like the best choice with his elite goal-scoring abilities, but he has since slipped out of favour following a less-productive second half of the season. In his place, defencemen Artyom Levshunov and Anton Silayev have gained popularity with their incredible impact on the blue line, but scouts seem divided as to which one is better. But Ivan Demidov has always been there, threatening to take over as the second-best prospect, and with the season winding down, he may have finally secured that spot for good.
Demidov is arguably the most exciting prospect up for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Like Eiserman, he possesses an incredible eye for the net. After initially struggling in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), he was sent down to the MHL, Russia’s junior league, where he immediately caught fire and never looked back. In 30 games with SKA-1946 St. Petersburg, he has 23 goals and 60 points, placing him second overall in league scoring. His point-per-game pace, however, was on another level. Over a full season, he not only would have led the league in points, but he would have been the only 18-year-old to cross 40 goals. In the playoffs, he has been just as good if not better; he’s already up to eight goals and 20 points in just 10 games.
Related: THW’s 2024 NHL Draft Guide
What makes Demidov so dangerous on offence is his patience. By now, most teams know that when he gets the puck, it’s likely ending up in the back of the net, so he frequently is pressured more than his teammates. However, that’s just fine by him, as he will wait for opponents to corner him, drawing in the double- or triple-team, and then quickly passes the puck to an open teammate or, if none are ready, uses a quick change of direction to create a wide-open space for an excellent scoring chance. No space is too small for the crafty Russian, and he has the agility and speed to take advantage of most openings.
Demidov’s patience is evident in his shot, too. He doesn’t have the most powerful release of his draft class, but it’s incredibly accurate. He waits until the goalie is in a position he can’t easily recover from, then fires off a quick, accurate shot into the opening. In the clip below, he waits until he has the perfect angle to split the puck above the goalie’s pads and just inside the post. That’s an impossibly tight angle for mist, yet Demidov makes it look effortless.
While he isn’t as complete of a player as Celebrini or Konsta Helenius, Demidov still has a decent two-way game that’s especially noticeable in the MHL. He’s great at watching the opponent’s play develop and can exploit weaknesses and errors with an active stick and a quick direction change. He’s also always moving, using his edges and momentum to ensure he’s in a good position to take advantage of those mistakes or catch a pass when the puck changes possession. He’s incredibly smart and competitive and will do anything to return the puck to his team.
In the KHL, however, Demidov didn’t look as competent. He didn’t engage as well and was forced off the puck easily. Yet that’s not uncommon for Russian teenagers in the league; Michkov also started the 2022-23 season with SKA St-Petersburg before going down to the MHL and then was loaned to HK Sochi, where he finally got more ice time and thrived. Demidov never got the chance to build up confidence in the KHL, which prevented him from sticking around. A knee injury in January also didn’t do him any favours, but he’s bounced back better than ever ahead of the 2024 Draft.
Other Draft Profiles
Ivan Demidov – NHL Draft Projection
Demidov is arguably the second-best forward available at the 2024 Draft, and the only thing standing in his way of following Macklin Celebrini is the plethora of high-end defencemen, especially those with right-handed shots. Some scouts will inevitably see the comparisons to Matvei Michkov, who slipped to seventh at last year’s draft, which already looks like a steal. Depending on how the lottery goes, Demidov could find his name called anywhere from second to fifth. Any lower than that is highly unlikely at this point.
Quotables
“Since returning from injury, [Demidov] has been hovering around the two-points-per-game mark and is seventh in total offence in the MHL this season while playing nearly 20 games less than every player in front of him. He’s staking his claim to challenge for the top spot in the 2024 NHL Draft with his elite puck skills, creativity, and playmaking, but we just have to wonder what he would look like if he was playing professional hockey right now.” – Dylan Griffing, EP Rinkside
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“From a stylistic perspective, Demidov has so much going for him. He’s extremely creative, has quick hands, is good on his feet and makes smart decisions with the puck. Demidov will beat players with a stutter-step move that leaves a defenseman confused, and his release is incredibly deceptive, in a few ways. He’ll lull you into thinking he’s going up high before beating a goaltender between the legs. Other times, he’ll wind up before purposely shooting much softer. Scouts love his release, but it’s how he chooses to use it that makes him difficult to stop.” – Steven Ellis, Daily Faceoff
“He’s got the best hands in the draft (though he can get himself into trouble trying to beat two or three guys in a crowd) and has made more one-on-one skill plays so far this season than almost any prospect I’ve scouted for any draft. He’s also a pretty engaged off-puck player who keeps his feet moving, hunts pucks on the forecheck, and can turn a steal into a game-breaking play in an instant. He’s not quite at Matvei Michkov’s level (as some have suggested) for me but he still looks — at this age — like one of the most purely talented prospects to come out of Russia in recent memory (his game also has more of a pro-style/competitiveness/roundedness to it than Michkov’s at the same age) and scouts really like him.” – Scott Wheeler, The Athletic (from “2024 NHL Draft rankings at midseason: Celebrini, Levshunov lead Scott Wheeler’s top 64 list,” The Athletic – 29/01/2024)
Strengths
- Quickness
- Puckhandling
- Creativity
- Hockey IQ/Intelligence
- Competitiveness
Under Construction – Improvements to Make
- Strength
- Defensive awareness
NHL Potential
Demidov is already a game-breaking forward who can move the puck effortlessly and there’s no question he’d be a fantastic partner to some of the best prospects in the NHL today. His production in the MHL is comparable to Patrick Kane’s 2006-07 season with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights. Whether Demidov can reach the heights of that future Hall-of-Famer in the NHL is another question; scouts are still trying to figure out if he will be better than Michkov. The 2023 first-round pick has been better internationally and in the KHL, but Demidov has had one of the most productive MHL seasons from a under-18 player of all time, surpassing Michkov and Nikita Kucherov. But others have tempered expectations, comparing him to a smaller Alexei Kovalev. While that’s a wide range of projections, one stands out as the same – Demidov is a bonafide first-line winger who will score tons of goals.
Awards/Achievements
- 2024 MHL Forward of the Month, West (December, January & February)
- 2022-23 MHL Most Valuable Player
- 2022-23 MHL All-Star
- 2021-22 Hlinka Gretzky Cup – gold medal
- 2021-22 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival – gold medal
Interviews/Links
Ivan Demidov Stats
Videos
