Ivan Demidov
SKA Saint Petersburg, KHL, Russia
Its been a quiet couple of games for Ivan Demidov. The point drought is up to six games and counting. Roman Rotenberg continues to play Demidov around 10 minutes a game and his usage on the power play is sporadic at best.
SKA has fallen to fourth in the standings and eight teams are within 10 points of each other in the Western Division. However, Lokomotiv is 13 points ahead (50 points) of the second-best team Spartak, with SKA a few points further behind them. Looking at the Eastern Division it’s much more consolidated and the top team has 40 points. With this in mind, it looks to be Lokomotiv’s season, even if anything can happen in the playoffs.
Bogdan Konyushkov
Torpedo Nihzny Novgorod, KHL, Russia
Torpedo is sixth in the standings, four points behind SKA, and that’s nothing in a table where you get three points for winning a game. The good thing is that the ice-eating machine that Konyushkov is chugs along like nothing bothers him. He plays around 22 minutes a night, gets around three minutes of power-play time, and is used when Torpedo has pulled the goalie (as in the 1-0 loss to Lokomotiv this weekend.
I don’t think Konyushkov will be a player you write about in regards to points, and I haven’t watched enough of Torpedo this year, but the times I have watched he has gotten better in the defensive zone. I can’t say if that’s because of a better defensive system in Torpedo or if it’s Bogdan that has taken a step further in his development (or both).
Makar Khanin
Dynamo Moscow, KHL / Dynamo Saint Petersburg, VHL / MHK Dynamo Moskva, MHL
Khanin has earned his third KHL game — a game he played 1:21 in. He did play in the MHL against Spartak’s Junior team where he recorded an assist. Going over some tape from last season, I was surprised by this because Khanin has a wicked shot, but with the sporadic usage, his confidence might be at an all-time low.
If Montreal Canadiens fans want to talk about usage, it’s Khanin’s they should talk about, not Demidov’s.
Yevgeni Volokhin
HC Sochi, KHL
Volokhin played just 25 minutes before being substituted out as he let in three goals on nine shots. It was tied at three at the time that Volokhin left the game, so he didn’t earn the loss.
Aatos Koivu
TPS Turku, Liiga/ TPS U20, Finland
During the international break, Koivu was with the Finnish U20 team and recorded two points, one against Czechia and one against Switzerland. Upon his return, he hasn’t featured in Liiga, keeping his number of games under 18 in order to be able to compete for the Jarmo Wasama Memorial Trophy (rookie of the Year) next season.
Oliver Kapanen
Timrå IK, SHL, Sweden
Kapanen returned to the SHL with a bang, and suddenly even the Swedish papers were writing about the Montreal Canadiens (even if one of them turned him into a first-round pick).
His return to the ice was a bit odd. He got to play on the first line and he played well, however he didn’t command the game. Still, when the game was on the line, who stood there and helped Timrå win? Oliver Kapanen. Two good assists, one with an empty Timrå net:
And the second in overtime:
He was held off the game report in Saturday’s game but still led Timrå’s first line that is missing Filip Hållander. When Hållander returns, Timrå might have the best first line in the whole SHL, and they are looking at a deep playoff run this spring.
Filip Eriksson
Växjö Lakers, SHL, Sweden
As we have heard, it has been a struggling start for Eriksson and Växjö this year, and rumour has it that Växjö’s coach Jörgen Jönsson has already signed with SHL rival Färjestad for next season. Eriksson’s struggles are of epic proportions as the sophomore slump is real. He is the 13th forward at the moment, something that doesn’t really help him regain his confidence.
Rasmus Bergqvist
Skellefteå AIK, SHL, Sweden
Bergqvist’s coach (and writer favourite) Robert Ohlsson has left Skellefteå AIK early after an interview when he said, “I don’t really care what the fans thinks. […] When things go well they usually think that I am great, and when things go wrong I am nothing. The truth is somewhere in between, as Sven-Göran Eriksson said.” It didn’t help that Ohlsson had signed with Frölunda for next season and it has been the worst kept secret in Swedish hockey for the better part of the year.
Bergqvist was solid in the games he played in the Five Nations tournament where he faced Aatos Koivu. He was paired with Axel Sandin-Pellikka in what could be a WJC pairing, but the competition is strong on the defensive side in Sweden.
He continues to play big minutes in the SHL and looks like a seasoned player rather than a rookie who was supposed to play U20 hockey this season. He has continued to get those minutes even after Ohlsson was fired, and that speaks volumes that the new coach still keeps playing him. I wish that he would dare to do more when in the offensive zone. Right now he is playing to not make any mistakes, which is understandable.
Vinzenz Rohrer
Zürich Lions, National League, Switzerland
The German Cup wasn’t anything to write about, Austria was atrocious. In last week’s games in the National League, Rohrer was used as normal, getting good minutes in all situations and really developing into a true professional player.