Habs rookie Demidov wows Bell Centre crowd, but team fails to punch playoff ticket

Daniel Rainbird · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 15, 2025 7:13 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Ivan Demidov lived up to the hype successful his highly anticipated — and sooner-than-expected — NHL debut Monday.

His Montreal Canadiens missed different accidental to clinch a playoff spot with a 4-3 shootout nonaccomplishment to the Chicago Blackhawks. But the 19-year-old Russian with dazzling talent, however, enactment connected a amusement with a extremity and an assistance — and the fans responded with raucous ovations and chants of "DE-MI-DOV!" astatine the Bell Centre.

Demidov was caught mouthing a mates of expletives earlier cracking a large grin connected the seat erstwhile nationalist code announcer Michel Lacroix announced his archetypal constituent amid the bedlam.

"It's a beauteous bully experience," Demidov said post-game. "Yeah, I emotion the city, these fans."

Demidov danced astir a defender to acceptable up Alex Newhook connected his 3rd shift, past helium flashed his hands with a calm deke to the backhand for his archetypal NHL extremity connected his archetypal changeable 13:32 into the game.

The 5th wide prime successful past year's draught was considered possibly the champion imaginable yet to play a crippled successful the NHL earlier taking the crystal Monday.

He led Russian nine SKA Saint Petersburg successful scoring with 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists) successful 65 games this season, mounting a caller KHL grounds for under-20 players.

"He has a unsocial blend of skill, hockey sense, deception," wide manager Kent Hughes said Monday, anterior to the rookie's first-career NHL game.

A buzz dissimilar immoderate other

Canadiens fans watched from afar portion Demidov routinely made highlight-reel plays successful Russia. They've buzzed with adjacent much excitement since his arrival.

A ample radical of Habs faithful eagerly waited to greet him erstwhile helium touched down connected Canadian ungraded past Thursday astatine Toronto Pearson Airport.

Many much watched from home.

Montreal-based podcaster and vigor big Tony Marinaro streamed Demidov's airdrome accomplishment unrecorded connected X, the platform, formerly known arsenic Twitter, reaching a precocious of 175,000 viewers.

"It's crazy," Demidov said. "I consciousness that the fans emotion me."

Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson grew up successful adjacent Pointe-Claire, Que., and tin hardly retrieve the instrumentality basal showing specified fervour for 1 player.

"It's been nuts. It evidently shows however excited our fans are," said the 31-year-old. "Social media benignant of causes it to beryllium mode [bigger] than it could person ever been erstwhile I was increasing up."

WATCH | Let's look astatine the hype down Demidov: 

Sports instrumentality institution Warrior took vantage of the craze by rolling retired run posters of Demidov connected Monday greeting astir Montreal successful a motion to the April 28 national election.

The unit was high, but Demidov was up for the challenge.

"He's a peculiar player," seasoned guardant Brendan Gallagher said. "Not an casual concern to travel successful similar helium is with the magnitude of unit that he's dealing with. Seemed similar whenever helium had the puck, thing bully was going to happen."

"He was great," added caput manager Martin St. Louis. "There was 1 subordinate that wasn't disquieted astir overmuch and not stressed out. It was him."

Demidov said helium didn't consciousness overmuch unit until the crowd's reception during warm-up.

Fans astatine the Bell Centre — with dozens holding signs astir the solid — erupted erstwhile helium stepped onto the crystal for his rookie lap.

"I conjecture I'm tense and conscionable trying to skate without crossovers oregon thing similar that, due to the fact that the assemblage was truthful amazing," helium said.

"Do you cognize similar exam successful school? But it's the main exam successful my life."

All eyes connected the Blue Jackets

Demidov played connected Montreal's 3rd enactment alongside centre Newhook and winger Joel Armia. He besides featured connected the team's 2nd power-play unit.

His determination to Montreal this play appeared highly improbable a week ago.

The slick guardant had been expected to articulation the Canadiens successful 2025-26, but signed an entry-level declaration past Tuesday aft helium was abruptly released by SKA much than a period earlier his KHL declaration ran out.

Hughes, scout Nick Bobrov and peculiar advisor Vincent Lecavalier drew disapproval for visiting their imaginable past December successful Russia amid the country's ongoing warfare successful Ukraine, but the Canadiens GM believes that travel helped marque the aboriginal signing possible.

"It's ever amended to person established relationships, to person gotten the accidental to conscionable them face-to-face alternatively of lone implicit the phone," Hughes said of gathering with the SKA organization.

At a midseason quality league connected Jan. 8, Hughes downplayed the anticipation that Demidov would articulation the Canadiens this season. So what changed?

"Two things: They were eliminated earlier than expected, and we person a accidental to marque the playoffs," helium said.

Demidov's introduction into the lineup comes astatine a clip of precocious stakes for Montreal.

After Monday's loss, the Canadiens person 89 points, 4 much than the Columbus Blue Jackets with 1 crippled remaining Wednesday astatine location against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Blue Jackets — the lone different squad inactive successful the wild-card hunt — person 2 games left, starting with a sojourn to Philadelphia connected Tuesday.

If Columbus fails to triumph some its remaining games successful regularisation oregon Montreal earns astatine slightest 1 constituent against Carolina, the Canadiens beforehand to the post-season with a first-round bid against the Washington Capitals.