{"id":297368,"date":"2025-10-12T13:29:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T13:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/297368\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T13:29:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T13:29:10","slug":"canadiens-rookie-ivan-demidov-targeted-by-blackhawks-further-shows-what-hes-all-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/297368\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov, targeted by Blackhawks, further shows what he\u2019s all about"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2013 Montreal Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov played his first career game at United Center, a building he could have called home had the Chicago Blackhawks decided to draft him at No. 2<\/a> in 2024 instead of defenceman Artyom Levshunov, who was a healthy scratch<\/a> for this home opener.<\/p>\n

Whether that was part of the dynamic that quickly took hold in this game is unknown, but for whatever reason, the Blackhawks appeared to be targeting Demidov. At least, that\u2019s what the Canadiens thought anyway.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s kind of what mattered in a game that was hard to draw much meaning from \u2014 one where the Canadiens had a ridiculous 10 power plays and won 3-2 on a goal with 15 seconds left in regulation by Kaiden Guhle, who was a big part of the story surrounding Demidov.<\/p>\n

He saw what the Blackhawks were doing with Demidov. He saw Blackhawks defenceman Wyatt Kaiser take a cross-checking penalty for throwing Demidov into his own net, a penalty Kaiser appeared to think came as a result of a dive based on how he reacted afterward, and a penalty that resulted in Cole Caufield scoring the game\u2019s opening goal on the ensuing power play.<\/p>\n

Guhle saw all of that, and took note of it.<\/p>\n

So, when he saw Blackhawks centre Frank Nazar skating the puck through the neutral zone with his head down, Guhle pounced.<\/p>\n

\n

Les coups explosent \u00e0 Chicago!!! Et Demidov doit se d\u00e9fendre. \ud83d\ude33\ud83e\udd4a pic.twitter.com\/ugTfcthoP2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 TVA Sports (@TVASports) October 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Did he realize that was Nazar skating through the neutral zone?<\/p>\n

Guhle remained silent, which basically answered the question.<\/p>\n

Did he know that when he hit a young, skilled player the way he did, he would be challenged to a fight?<\/p>\n

\u201cYup,\u201d he simply replied.<\/p>\n

Was it a response to what the Blackhawks were doing with Demidov?<\/p>\n

Guhle did not remain silent for that one.<\/p>\n

\u201cA little bit, yeah,\u201d Guhle said. \u201cI mean, if you go after one of our younger, skilled players, I\u2019m going to do the same thing. I think they expect that. I don\u2019t know, maybe they didn\u2019t. But yeah, it had a little bit of something to do with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki had the same read on the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe definitely had a target on his back tonight,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cI think guys around the league know what kind of player he is. I mean, he\u2019s had that his whole life, probably. In minor hockey or in junior, when you\u2019re a top player, guys know that. And he\u2019s obviously that. He definitely handled it really well. He wasn\u2019t retaliating, just kind of took it on the chin and kept battling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to see that from a young player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demidov was on the ice when Guhle hit Nazar, as was Kaiser and Tyler Bertuzzi. They both went after Demidov as Guhle was busy fighting Louis Crevier, who picked up an instigator penalty for going after Guhle \u2014 a power play the Canadiens also scored on.<\/p>\n

Demidov didn\u2019t cower under attack. He gave as good as he got in that scrum.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens know a lot about what Demidov can do in an NHL environment, but this was an environment he had not faced before. The playoff series against the Washington Capitals last season was hostile, but this was a level of hostility directed at him that he had not yet seen.<\/p>\n

And his reaction to it resonated with his teammates in a way that will have value far beyond this disjointed game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he sees what we do as a team and I don\u2019t think he wants to be the guy standing on the outside of it,\u201d Guhle said. \u201cI don\u2019t know, I haven\u2019t talked to him about it. Maybe he likes that stuff. It seemed like he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you learn something about your new teammate?<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d he said, \u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goaltender Sam Montembeault seemed to learn something about Demidov as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was nice to see his grit,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a skill player, you don\u2019t always see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suzuki spent most of the summer skating with Demidov at the team\u2019s practice facility and was therefore a little less surprised than Guhle might have been.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot anymore,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cI probably wouldn\u2019t have thought that when I didn\u2019t really know him, but in the summer in practice, he\u2019s competitive, not afraid to throw his weight around, win battles.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a super competitive guy by nature, and you see it out on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Martin St. Louis also felt he didn\u2019t learm anything he didn\u2019t already know about Demidov, which is a pretty big endorsement of what he\u2019s shown his coach so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just know that he\u2019s a tough kid,\u201d St. Louis said. \u201cHe takes hits to make plays, he doesn\u2019t play on the outside, he gets on the inside. I don\u2019t think I learned something I didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a tough kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

There will be other learning moments that involve Demidov this season, other challenges he will need to answer, and how he gets through them will further inform his teammates about who he is. And if he gets through those challenges as well as he did this one, Demidov will further ingratiate himself to his teammates, if that\u2019s even possible.<\/p>\n

Every player who\u2019s asked about Demidov makes no effort to hide how impressive he has been, how committed he is to being the best player he can be, how high his work ethic is. He is leaving an impression with his teammates every day, and it has nothing to do with his skill, which is obvious.<\/p>\n

It has to do with character-related evidence like we saw Saturday night. And it wasn\u2019t limited to his response to being physically challenged and not getting intimidated, it also included an elite-level backcheck after a Patrik Laine turnover on the power play put the Canadiens in a bad spot.<\/p>\n

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THE BACKCHECK FROM DEMIDOV??? pic.twitter.com\/jXJ1riZMky<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nathan “Grav” Murdock (@NathanGraviteh) October 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Wonder who might have inspired that?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s obviously a really talented player, but the thing that\u2019s impressed me the most is how good of a person he\u2019s been,\u201d Jake Evans said in Toronto prior to the season-opener against the Maple Leafs. \u201cHe\u2019s always trying to learn, doesn\u2019t care if you\u2019re a lot less skilled than him, he\u2019s always trying to learn from everyone. He\u2019s been just a really great teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the game Saturday, Demidov was asked if he\u2019s enjoying visiting all these new cities. He had never been to Chicago, or Detroit, or Toronto \u2014 all of this is new to him. Demidov responded he wasn\u2019t experiencing anything different aside from playing in new buildings, because he basically doesn\u2019t leave the hotel.<\/p>\n

He is focused on playing hockey. Not a whole lot else.<\/p>\n

Demidov was also asked Saturday morning how he\u2019s learned to manage risk, which is a priority for St. Louis and something Lane Hutson struggled with early in his rookie season. When you are as skilled as Demidov or Hutson, taking risks comes with the territory. But Demidov hasn\u2019t taken too many of them with the puck through three games, and St. Louis considers his game to be smart and measured.<\/p>\n

So, how does Demidov go about managing risk?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, it\u2019s just a feeling inside,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say what\u2019s happening, it\u2019s just inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

That, in a different way, was also what we saw from Demidov on Saturday in the face of physical challenges, in the face of seemingly intentional targeting, in an environment he was largely unfamiliar with.<\/p>\n

We saw what\u2019s inside him.<\/p>\n