BUFFALO – The National Hockey League announced on Tuesday that the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) has selected Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov as a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy for the 2025-26 season.
He is joined by Matthew Schaefer and Beckett Sennecke as the award’s other finalists.
Demidov, 20, led all NHL rookies in assists and points this season with 43 and 62, respectively. His 20 power play points (7G, 13A) were also tops among League freshmen, while his four game-winning goals were tied for second-most among rookies.
The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Demidov was named NHL Rookie of the Month for December after putting up 14 points (4G, 10A) in 15 games that month.
In January, Demidov became the first Canadiens rookie to record 10 career multi-point outings through 50 games in a season since Gilbert Dionne. Demidov went on to register 14 multi-point games in total in 2025-26.
The Calder Memorial Trophy is presented annually “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition.” Voted by the members of the PHWA, the trophy was first awarded in 1936-37 by NHL President Frank Calder, who purchased a trophy each year to be given permanently to the League’s outstanding rookie. The award was named in Calder’s memory following his death in 1943.
This is the second straight year that a Canadiens player has led NHL rookies in points, and the second straight season in which a Canadiens player has been nominated for the Calder Trophy after Lane Hutson achieved the feat in 2024-25. Hutson went on to win the Calder last year.
A native of Sergiyev Posad, RUS, Demidov was the Canadiens’ fifth-overall pick at the 2024 NHL Draft.
