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European Canadiens Prospect Report: Rasmus Bergqvist on Habs interest and Five Nations tournament

Bergqvist is set up for World Juniors success, while Ivan Demidov impresses on a nightly basis in Saint Petersburg.

Credit: Patrik Bexell / EOTP

Ivan Demidov

SKA Saint Petersburg, KHL, Russia

It is tough to compete against your teammate, and Demidov was beaten by Yegor Zavragin for the title of best rookie in October. Zavragin was acquired from Sochi as it was clear that SKA’s goalie situation was unsustainable. The goalie posted a .933 save percentage over close to 300 shots for both Sochi and SKA.

Demidov continues to play well on the third line. He received more ice time throughout the month, and is currently earning around a respectable 15 minutes a night since the middle of October. I mentioned on the Player of the Month podcast that I think it is necessary to keep his TOI around this area, and maybe even a bit lower as Demidov has never played more than 50 games a season and that was in the Junior ranks. The KHL season is 68 games and then SKA will go on a deep playoff run, meaning that Demidov would play more than 80 games over the season (not counting potential national team games). Along with travelling over eight different time zones (to the far East) for different games increases wear and tear and the risk of injuries. I do, however, think that Demidov could be used on the power play a bit more.

Everyone has seen the great goal by Demidov, but it is his passing that really stands out. The Demidov – Kuznetsov connection is real, but look how Demidov makes the no-look pass to create that extra space for his teammate. It’s something that could be used on the power play.

Bogdan Konyushkov

Torpedo Nihzny Novgorod, KHL, Russia

Three games for the “blue machine” this week, and while Torpedo lost all three and let in 10 goals, Bogdan finished the week at -2.

He is still earning those 23 to 24 minutes a game and he plays in all situations. To be honest, I have only watched highlights and while I can’t see that much of a difference in his skating, he does seem calmer in his own end, which I take as a step forward for the defender.

Makar Khanin

Dynamo Moscow, KHL / Dynamo Saint Petersburg, VHL / MHK Dynamo Moskva, MHL

Khanin is currently with Dynamo in the KHL but has not gotten any minutes since the middle of October in any of the leagues.

Yevgeni Volokhin

HC Sochi, KHL

Volokhin was the backup for Sochi in a 4-0 loss to Spartak.

While the rest of Europe goes on international break this week, the leagues in Russia will continue as normal. The KHL has no break, which means that the Russian prospects will have the regular season to look forward to.


Aatos Koivu

TPS Turku, Liiga/ TPS U20, Finland

Koivu has been absent since the middle of October from TPS’s Liiga team, but he has played games with the U20 team. With one assist over three games. Koivu will face Rasmus Bergqvist in the Five Nations tournament in Imatra, Finland, in what will be the last real test before the WJC. While Koivu looks to be set for a role with Finland, it will be interesting to evaluate him against the best Europeans in the same age group.

Filip Eriksson

Växjö Lakers, SHL, Sweden

There were two games last week for Eriksson, while he missed Saturday’s game for an undisclosed reason.

Eriksson has been moved down the lineup which has limited his ice time, and as you could hear last week the youngster struggled with confidence. He played well against Brynäs, but again didn’t have the margins on his side as his shot off the post went out instead of in, as is typical for a struggling player.

Rasmus Bergqvist

Skellefteå AIK, SHL, Sweden

I watched Bergqvist live against Frölunda in what was a battle for the top spot of the league at the time. What did stand out to me was the fact that he was so calm on the ice in such a game. He reminded me a bit of Alexander Romanov in his first season with CSKA where as soon as the puck went over the offensive blue line he went to change and not get caught flatfooted. It was especially evident in the second period with the long change.

He did join the attack at times, and he wanted the puck in the offensive zone. In a way, he could be more selfish but being the minor on the team I can understand why he defers. At times he was playing with Axel Sandin-Pellikka in what I expect will be a pairing in the U20 Five Nations this weekend, and a potential WJC pairing in December.

Bergqvist told me after the game that it was “unbelievably hot” in Scandinavium; the arena is known to be a warm arena in the SHL even with ‘only’ 10,000 spectators of the 12,000 capacity. But he was happy to be part of the team for real. Especially after having earned his rookie contract after 100 minutes played in the SHL.

I spoke with Bergqvist and Skellefteå’s coach Robert Ohlsson after the game in an interview you’ll find on our podcast channel, or just use the player below (the podcast is about five minutes long).

Vinzenz Rohrer

Zürich Lions, National League, Switzerland

With the International break coming up Vinzenz Rohrer wanted to showcase what he does bring to the Austrian team that will face Slovakia, Denmark, and host Germany this week. Playing in all situations for his Zürich Lions, he was the only player to score for the home team as the game finished 1-1, and Rohrer was the only player to score in the shootout.

Rohrer’s penalty was a fast one, with a nice backhand move to finish it off.

It is important to realize that Rohrer’s responsibilities have increased this season. He has been used to deadly effect on the penalty kill (as evidenced above) earning more minutes and getting chances in three-on-three overtime as well. Last year Marc Crawford called Rohrer one of the smartest players he had coached when I spoke with him; this year it is clear that Crawford makes use of Rohrer’s intelligence once again.

The comparison has always been with Brendan Gallagher, however I can see a bit more of Paul Byron in him. The skating isn’t at that level, but he shows the same kind of maturity and Rohrer’s skating has gotten better.

Podcast

Patrik Bexell caught up with Rasmus Bergqvist and Skellefteå coach Robert Ohlsson after Tuesdays game against Frölunda in Gothenburg.

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