Ivan Demidov, SKA Saint Petersburg, KHL, Russia
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t worried about Ivan Demidov’s start of the season. Not in terms of points, nor time on ice. Just as I’m not worried about SKA’s start of the season. I have jokingly said that if SKA was in danger of missing the playoffs a presidential decree would allow the president’s hometown team back in.
There are a few things to consider with SKA. As of now, their power play is poor at 18.2%, and that has actually doubled this week (up from 10%), Roman Rotenberg is more of a playboy owner than a successful hockey coach, and the team’s goalkeeping and defence has been bad. There is not a lot of return on the investment, yet, and Rotenberg probably plays the long game, trying to be in the best shape for the playoffs. There is no need to panic, no matter what other Montreal media write in order to generate traction.
Demidov had a great game against Sochi with four points and overall strong play. He was engaged, continued to play even when hit, and he was used on the power play. He was involved in more that the scoresheet gives him credit for. Still, it came against one of the weakest teams in KHL. One would want to see the same kind of success against teams like CSKA, Lokomotiv, and Salavat.
The good thing is that Demidov’s play is having an impact. He has been moved onto a spot for the power play, and his line is being moved up in the order, leading to more shifts, and more important shifts.
It seems that Rotenberg is easing him into the professional ranks as Demidov is getting more time in the offensive end than in the defensive end. That should be considered a path forward and part of the learning process.
Bogdan Konyushkov, Torpedo Nihzny Novgorod, KHL, Russia
Quite a few things have been said online about Konyushkov’s ‘demotion’ to the third pairing and losing his captaincy. However, Konyushkov hasn’t played less that 18 minutes in any game, more often than not playing more than 20 minutes a night. He has kept a leadership role with the team as he still carries an ‘A’, after Slava Voynov took over the captaincy. Again, much ado about nothing.
More worrying is the fact that Torpedo hasn’t started the season as well as last year,
Yevgeni Volokhin, Mamonty Ugry, MHL / Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk, VHL, Russia
It seems like Volokhin will be moved between the MHL (starter) and VHL (backup) this season. The goalie has played five games with the MHL (the Junior league) team where he has posted a .956 save percentage in the four games played (at the time of writing).
There is a different story in VHL. As a backup he has played two games, one in which he played 20 minutes of relief in a 3-2 loss to Mikhaylov Academy (a known powerhouse in Russian hockey circles) where he kept a clean sheet. The other game was against Khimik where he was substituted out after 30 min having let in four goals on 17 shots.
Aatos Koivu, TPS Turku, Liiga, Finland
With two assists in six games, there isn’t much to complain about in regard to Aatos Koivu. However, I can’t help but think TPS might do the same thing as KalPa did with Oliver Kapanen in his draft-plus-one year: let him play 18 games with the big club then send him to U20s or on loan to a Mestis (second-division) team. One thing that provides food for thought is that TPS coach Tommi Miettinen was the coach in KalPa when Kapanen played there.
Koivu is getting shifts in every game so far, but he is averaging below the 10-minute mark, and he will need to play in order to develop more of his skills and further his skill set. Following the route Kapanen has taken so far, and Artturi Lehkonen before him, is also a valid way forward and shouldn’t be considered a step down, or a failure, but rather a smart way of making sure you make progress somewhere every year.
Oliver Kapanen, Timrå IK, SHL, Sweden / Montreal Canadiens, NHL
Kapanen is In Montreal for camp. If he doesn’t make the NHL team, Timrå has first refusal before he can go to the AHL. He is looking very solid for the Canadiens at training camp so far.
Timrå sustained an injury to their second-line (currently first-line) centre early on opening night, meaning the club will struggle with their centre selection with Kapanen away. One can be safe to assume Timrå would provide Kapanen with first-line and special-teams usage should he return to the SHL.
Filip Eriksson, Växjö Lakers, SHL, Sweden
Eriksson had been playing on what can be described as the first line for Växjö in Champions Hockey League play, and for opening day in SHL he was still there. He played a good game against HV71. The Småland County derby was hard-fought and in the end Växjö got the win.
The one little disappointment in Eriksson’s case was that he should have been on the second power-play unit, but the first wave was playing more or less the full two minutes with the man advantage. One would consider this from the angle that coach Jönsson wants his first unit to get going before offering a chance for the second unit. As we’re seeing with SKA, you need the power-play unit to get going early in the season to create room to the teams below.
Rasmus Bergqvist, Skellefteå AIK, SHL, Sweden
The newly drafted defender got to play his SHL debut away from the cauldron that is Skellefteå Kraft Arena. He got the chance to play due to some serious injuries to the defence corps of the Swedish champions. He took to the ice for 2:40 in his first professional game, but the fact that he is the first call-up for the reigning champions is a good indicator of his talent.
I would expect that Bergqvist gets more games in the U20s than in SHL this season, but the fact that he has had an opportunity to try the professional ranks means he knows what to work on and take his development further along.
Vinzenz Rohrer, Zürich Lions, National League, Switzerland
One player that was expected to play on the B team or even the U20 team last year started the season with a bang. Rohrer has three goals in three games as the National League started last week. Even after last season’s success and championship win, he is still often a forgotten prospect among Canadiens fans.
Rohrer has played an excellent game to start the season. He continues at the third line but knows exactly what to do and when.
Patrik Bexell gives his European Prospect Report for the week:
1:30 – Rasmus Bergqvist
3:00 – Oliver Kapanen’s Timrå suffers an injury blow to their second line (first line centre as Kapanen is in Montreal).
5:30 – Filip Eriksson
7:00 – Vinzenz Rohrer
8:45 – Aatos Koivu
10:30 – Ivan Demidov
15:30 – Bogdan Konyushkov
16:45 – Yevgeni Volokhin
