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European Canadiens Prospect Report: Ivan Demidov making the most of every shift

Demidov continues to produce despite his low ice time, while Rasmus Bergqvist is suspended for a cross-check.

Jun 28, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Ivan Demidov is selected with the 5th overall pick of the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft at The Sphere. | Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Ivan Demidov

SKA Saint Petersburg, KHL, Russia

A lot has been said in regard to Demidov, but his skills are evident when he gets the chance to play.

While this action was impressive, it was in Friday’s game against the other Army club that Demidov really stood out. With nine minutes of ice time, he scored an assist, and was +3 in a game that was 4-4 after regulation, with SKA winning it overtime.

Demidov is fifth in scoring for SKA with 10 points (5G, 5A) over 17 games, while averaging 10 minutes of ice time. When he is on the ice, things happen. I still think it is smart not to play him too much; he needs to be able to play 68 games, with some extensive travel, while doing a pretty big jump in terms of competition. I think playing and practising with SKA benefits him at the moment, and I will not judge SKA and Roman Rotenberg at this moment but rather at the end of the season when we can see Demidov’s full development.

Bogdan Konyushkov

Torpedo Nihzny Novgorod, KHL, Russia

Konyushkov is still putting in a decent shift every night even if his ice time has gone down from previous years. This season he is putting in 22-and-a-half minutes a night while continuing to perform at a high level. He is a stable player to have on defence,. He still makes some defensive errors, but they are fewer and one has to think that his more managed usage has improved his game. His skating is still a work in progress, but there is a base to work with.

In the few games I have caught, he looks to work smarter. Slava Voynov’s arrival means he has been able to take a step back and it seems that he doesn’t have to do it all himself anymore, giving him a chance to work a bit more on his weaknesses. The arrival of the former NHL defender means that Konyushkov’s point total will most likely go down for the season, but as long as he improves his defence, it’s a trade off worth making.

Makar Khanin

Dynamo Saint Petersburg, VHL / MHK Dynamo Moskva, MHL

No games for Khanin last week, and while all other prospects have progressed upward, Khanin has gone the other way. He was a good player in the VHL last year, and now he has been demoted to the MHL, albeit the best team in MHL at the moment. Limited ice time and games that are far between makes it tough to understand the development path.

Yevgeni Volokhin

Mamonty Ugry, MHL / Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk, VHL, Russia

After SKA acquired Yevgeni Volokhin, he was loaned to Sochi, but hasn’t played any games for that organization yet. It is unclear if he can jump up to the KHL level directly, and one has to wonder if he will show up in Sochi’s or SKA’s development system for MHL or VHL usage.

Aatos Koivu

TPS Turku, Liiga, Finland

With five points (1G, 4A) in 14 games and a time on ice around nine minutes, it is time to make a move for more minutes in the U20 team, and getting some confidence for the November internationals and World Junior Championship, That would leave open a possible run for Jarmo Wasama Memorial Trophy, the rookie of the year award in Liiga, next season. It would be the same development path that Oliver Kapanen followed.

Koivu had an assist in Friday’s loss to HIFK, He battled hard behind the net to get the puck out and Christophe Beaudin jumped on the lose puck.

TPS is currently the last team to get into the playoffs and it will be tough for the team to go on a deep playoff run this season.

Filip Eriksson

Växjö Lakers, SHL, Sweden

While Eriksson only has one point in 11 games, something I wasn’t expecting before the season started, there are some explanations. Växjö’s top scorer has five points as as the team has scored a total 23 goals, an average of two goals per game, The power play is currently second-worst in the SHL with a success rate of 11.5%. Still Växjö is eighth in the table, also not expected, but the team is avoiding the relegation battle at the moment and has some time to work things out.

Eriksson has been used as a winger on the third line, and centring the fourth line at times, a move down from the start of the season when he was used on the second line more often than not.

Rasmus Bergqvist

Skellefteå AIK, SHL, Sweden

One of the prospects who has stood out so far is Bergqvist. He has been a good defender for Skellefteå, logging around 10 minutes of time a game. He is currently 53 seconds from getting a rookie contract as a reward (you need 100 minutes of ice time to get that). He has sometimes been paired with Axel Sandin-Pellikka in what could become a pairing for Sweden in the World Junior Championship, where Bergqvist could be the sandpaper to Sandin-Pellikka’s flair.

Bergqvist is a smart player. You see how he joins in on the offence from time to time, but his focus is clearly on defence. Having a pairing that has already played together for a good part of the season could be an asset in a short tournament. We get to see what Magnus Hävelid says in a few days as he will announce the squad for the November internationals, and I fully expect Bergqvist to be part of that squad.

This weekend, Bergqvist stood out for the wrong reasons. First he overextended his push and puck-watched a bit too much for MoDo’s opening goal. Then in the third period when Skellefteå was chasing the game, he took a really stupid five-and-a-game penalty with this cross-check:

It is accidental and Bergqvist is a fair bit taller than the MoDo player, but still it is vicious and he needs to control his actions a bit more. He said that he understands the seriousness of the situation and that he understands that it can be considered vicious and dangerous. “My intention was not to hurt my opponent,” he explained. (The opposing player continued to play in the game.)

Bergqvist has been suspended for two games, and will sit out this week against Linköping and Färjestad.

Vinzenz Rohrer

Zürich Lions, National League, Switzerland

Rohrer got his first assist in Zürich’s 12th game of the season. As it stands, he now has five points (4G, 1A) in 12 games. While his ice ice time remains high (16:19) he is being used as a filler as injuries occur, even used in all different special teams, showing his adaptability.

I was hoping for a more productive Rohrer this season, especially with the start that he had in the National League, however, playing on the third or fourth line hasn’t given him the same opportunities. It is still clear that he is developing more as a hockey player overall. His usage on the penalty kill will make him more interesting for the Canadiens down the line.

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