Path to stardom: Ivan Demidov
KHL.ru continues telling stories of those who showcased an exceptional level of playing despite their young age, with today’s talk being about forward Ivan Demidov. The SKA player is dominating the JHL, winning the MVP award two years in a row, but he had an injury-plagued 2023-2024 campaign.
The 2023-2024 season was a mixed one for Ivan Demidov: the forward suffered three injuries, missed half of the regular season, but ultimately won the Kharlamov Cup and was named the most valuable player of the season for the second year in a row in the JHL. On Sep 15, 2023, in a game against Dynamo St. Petersburg, Ivan got injured, returned to play, but got injured again on Oct 5: he crashed his knee into the goalpost at high speed. Despite a forecast of at least eight weeks without hockey, Demidov was back on the ice after just one and a half months. Ivan finished the regular season in second place in the scoring race, with 60 points (23 goals + 37 assists) in 30 games. By comparison, JHL’s top scorer, Amur’s Ivan Volgin, produced 64 points but played 24 more games.
In the 2024 playoffs, Demidov scored eight points in both the first and second rounds, including a game-winning hat-trick in the decisive match against Spartak. In the semifinals, the White Bears couldn’t stop Ivan either, who produced nine points in the five-game series. Due to an injury at the start of the fourth game of the finals, the SKA forward didn’t participate in the deciding match, but he was with the team, came onto the ice on crutches, and lifted the Kharlamov Cup over his head. Demidov finished the elimination stage with 28 points in 17 games (a record for the past seven years), and a week later, he was named the most valuable player of the season.
“As a two-time MVP I feel just as good as before,” Demidov smiles. It’s very nice to have won this award two years in a row. More to come.” In the 2022-2023 campaign, the forward collected 62 points when he won the prize for the first time.
Of course, the hardest moment of his season was game four of the final series against Loko. “The puck bounced into the opponent’s zone, and I wanted to get ahead of two Loko defenders and ran through them, but they boxed me in,” he recalls. “I got my skate caught on an opponent’s skate, flew up, and landed badly on the ice.”
He wasn’t sure that it would have been a serious injury right away. “The doctors didn’t tell me anything about it to avoid upsetting me,” he explains. “I hoped and believed that I could still play in the finals. I went with the team to the fifth game in Yaroslavl anyway, because we had gone through this journey together, and I wanted to see it through to the end with them.”
However, even without playing, the game was just as memorable. “I was sitting on a stool next to the bench the whole three periods,” he tells. “We were all counting down the last seconds and waiting for the puck to be cleared from the zone. After the final buzzer, the guys helped me get onto the ice to celebrate this victory with the team. It was an amazing feeling!”
That said, not being able to help the team was hard for Demidov. “At that moment, I was very worried about it. But I believed in every guy and knew that any of them could step up. I was confident in our victory.” Then, in the postgame celebration, he lifted the Kharlamov Cup together with Vladislav Romanov. He didn’t feel the cup as heavy as it looked to be. “Vlad Romanov is a strong guy, he helped me, and I just grabbed the handle and lifted it up,” he smiles. “It was an incredibly pleasant moment! I want to thank the guys for letting me be the first to lift this trophy; I really appreciate it. I still don’t know where I’ll take the cup.”
Despite Demidov’s stats, Romanov was awarded with the playoffs MVP award. “Before the injury, I thought I would most likely get this award,” Demidov admits. “However, Romanov performed very well throughout the playoffs and helped the team score important goals during my absence. I’m glad he was chosen as MVP and I congratulated Vlad on this award. I have no hard feelings.”
The forward played most of his JHL career with his brother Semyon, who however graduated last year and couldn’t play in the league anymore. The line with the two brothers and Daniil Lazutin was then changed, with Romanov taking Semyon’s place. “When considering their game as a whole, they are two completely different players with different styles,” Demidov says about his two linemates. “Vlad and I only started playing together around January and quickly developed chemistry. What I like about him is that as soon as he sees an opportunity for a pass, he makes it. When it comes to playing with Semyon, we have a brotherly connection that can’t be described in words. We just know where each other will be.”
Considering Demidov’s impressive stats, it can be said that he overgrew the league. “My secret is my utmost confidence in myself. In my previous seasons in the JHL, when I stepped onto the ice, I sometimes wasn’t sure if I could score, and the game might not go according to my plan. This season, before every game, I knew I would control the game and definitely score. There was no longer any fear of making mistakes.”
An important, and appealing, part of Demidov’s game is his versatility. The forward can play – and has played – both on the wing and in the middle. “As a center, you cover more ground – you need to be the first to get to both defense and attack,” he explains the difference. “Playing in the middle is definitely more enjoyable in terms of seeing the rink. You’re the conductor of the game, seeing the whole ice. I’m comfortable playing both on the wing and as a center.”
The final series against Loko started with a defeat for SKA-1946. “For the second game, we increased our aggression – we won many puck battles and thrown the body more,” Demidov says. “We took many shots, but not just towards the goal; we focused on putting pressure on their goalie. We also improved our power play. Until the finals, this aspect was weak, but in the series against Loko, we made good use of the man advantage.”
Then, once Lokomotiv lost to Metallurg in the KHL finals, Loko was strengthened by two high-level players in Daniil But and Dmitry Simashev. “I wasn’t worried about it as before the fifth game, the doctors had already told me that I wouldn’t be playing,” the forward say. “I played with Simashev and But already, so I knew all their strengths and weaknesses. I told the guys on the team how best to play against them. I understood that the Lokomotiv players were already demoralized after losing to Metallurg in the KHL finals, so we weren’t worried. I think the opponents were much more nervous after losing three games in a row in the finals.”
Once the forward returned to the ice in the JHL after his injury in the fall, he quickly started dominating the league. He was probably expecting a call up to the KHL. “The SKA management told my representatives that it would be better for me to work in the JHL to get stronger and return to my previous level,” Demidov recalls. “I used this as an opportunity to improve my skills, learn new tricks, and build confidence.” He was well focused when asked about the parts of his game he improved. “Vision on the ice and dekes. In the 2022-2023 season, I had many predictable moves on the ice, so opponents understood what I was going to do. Because of this, I had to learn to act more unpredictably.”
In a regular-season game against Amur’s JHL team, Demidov netted five goals. However, he doesn’t consider that game his most remarkable in the season. “The third game of the quarterfinals against Spartak was more intense emotionally,” he says. He had a Gordie Howe hat-trick that night. “In the regular season, the game against the Amur Tigers is definitely one of the most memorable. On par with it is only the match against Atlant in the 2022-2023 season, when I scored seven points.”
Due to his skating ability, SKA’s coach Roman Rotenberg compared Demidov to Evgeny Malkin. “He’s a center forward and much taller than me. I like Malkin, but we don't have much in common. Maybe just in our game vision,” Demidov says, who wears #11 as Malkin used to. “I did wear that number because of him. Last year, that number was taken by another player, so I had to choose #91. I like it too, but I still really wanted to get number 11 back. I consider it symbolic since I’ve played with it since childhood.”
Demidov already knows that in the future, for his career, knowing the English language will be important. “I think my knowledge of the language is a bit above average,” he says. “I can’t quickly respond to a native speaker without preparation. To speak English well, you need to be in that environment. When we were training in Saint Petersburg with coach Daniel Bochner after my injury, I could easily respond to him. But as soon as the communication practice decreased, the language got a bit forgotten.”
However, before thinking about it, Demidov still has a summer in front of himself, where he needs to return to game practice and improve. “In the offseason, I need to work on myself. I’m at the age where I need to work as much as possible. I want to improve in all aspects, particularly strength and speed.”
Considering how he has improved in the last couple of seasons, it looks like his summer routine is more than good. And he can only get better.
