Demidov, the top view of Canadiens, ends KHL, signs with Habs

In a surprising step on Tuesday, the top prospect of the Canadia, Ivan Demidov, terminated his contract with Ska St. Petersburg from The Khl, before signing at Montreal, the team announced on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old striker signed a three-year entry contract with the Canadiens, which recorded second place in the Eastern Conference on the second game card plate, which would mark the team’s first trip to the Stanley Cup final during the Playoffs 2021 since their surprise run. Montreal still has five games in the regular season.

Demidov is entitled to play in the playoffs. His agent Dan Milstein confirmed Greg Wyshynski from Espn.

Montreal chose the striker with the No. 5 selection of the NHL design of 2024. In a declaration published by SKA, the team cited it as a “joint decision” to terminate the contract, but his KHL rights would remain with the team.

“He will return to Saint Petersburg if he doesn’t get a foothold in the NHL,” said Ska’s explanation. Demidov’s contract should expire on May 31, 2025, which is deep in the NHL playoffs.

Demidov scored 19 goals and 49 points in 65 regular season games to run SKA this season, and is considered one of the most talented prospects that are currently not playing in the NHL. The 19-year-old lived in one of the best leagues in the world and led his team in the playoff value with five points in six games before he was eliminated by Dynamo Moscow. Although SKA St. Petersburg was eliminated, the Demidov team could have sent the rest of the playoffs in the lower leagues, the MHL or VHL, to their connected companies.

Demidov was one of the most talented players in the draft of 2024, but slipped to 5th place because some fears of a team could stand in North America.

In December, the Canadiens sent a contingent of their top messing -including GM Kent Hughes, consultant Vincent Lecavaleir and director of amateur, the Nick Brobov Scouting -to visit Demidov in St. Petersburg and spend time with their top view. It was believed that the NHL managers have been in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in Russia.