EDGE stats: Demidov’s outlook after signing with Canadiens

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we take a look at the advanced stats behind Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov’s NHL debut on Monday.

The Montreal Canadiens, already one of the biggest surprises of the NHL season with an elite young core, signed forward Ivan Demidov to his entry-level contract on April 8 and immediately saw a glimpse of his advanced stats potential in his NHL debut.

The 19-year-old, who was selected with the fifth pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, scored a goal, had a primary assist and three shots on goal while playing 16:56 in Montreal’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday at Bell Centre. Per NHL EDGE stats, Demidov’s goal came on a high-danger shot, and he also had two midrange shots on goal.

Demidov played mostly on the second line with center Alex Newhook and wing Joel Armia and on the second power play, and then Patrik Laine joined his line with Newhook at even strength in the third period. In the game against Chicago on Monday, Montreal’s leaders in shot attempts percentage at 5-on-5 were Laine (68.4), Newhook (65.3) and Demidov (62.9).

His early impact in Montreal also included a few other advanced stats highlights: Demidov had four 20-plus mile per hour speed bursts in his debut, including a top skating speed of 20.61 mph. Demidov also had six shot attempts, five at 5-on-5, in his debut and an impressive average shot speed of 78.76 mph; although it’s a small sample size, he ranks in the 99th percentile among forwards in average shot speed.

Demidov led SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League in points during this regular season (49 in 65 games) and was tied for their most playoff points (five in six games) before signing with his NHL team.

He now joins fellow 25-and-younger talent in top-line forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky and rookie defenseman and Calder Trophy front-runner Lane Hutson on the Canadiens this season. Montreal will also eventually integrate goalie prospect Jacob Fowler (signed entry-level contract April 4) down the road.

The addition of Demidov should further elevate Montreal -- which is already closing in on an Eastern Conference wild-card spot this season under coach Martin St. Louis -- in the years ahead and potentially as soon as this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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More: EDGE stats for Demidov | MTL