Canadiens brass visited top prospect Ivan Demidov with boots on the ground in Russia

The freeze might not be thawing any time soon in the geopolitical sphere with Russia, but the Montreal Canadiens didn’t want to wait to go the extra mile to show support for top prospect Ivan Demidov.

Canadiens brass, led by general manager Kent Hughes, traveled to Saint Petersburg to watch 2024 No. 5 overall pick Demidov play for SKA and spend time with him. The Canadiens are believed to be the first NHL team to put executive boots on the ground in Russia in nearly three years since the country’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine in Feb. 2022 altered and cut ties with the hockey scene.

The mission was mostly kept under wraps in the weeks leading up to the trip citing security concerns; it was deemed a success as the Canadiens’ leadership group had uneventful exit from the country and returned to North America on Friday.

Hughes was joined on the trip by Canadiens co-director of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov as well as special advisor Vincent Lecavalier. They also met with SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg, who also serves as the first vice president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. Rotenberg used the occasion to state his case for Russia to rejoin international competition.

“Today we discussed the development of young players, the club’s infrastructure and possible cooperation in the field of youth ice hockey,” Rotenberg wrote in a translated post on Telegram. “We engaged in interesting and useful conversations, our opinions coincide on many issues. The most important thing is that we have a common view with regard to our country’s return to the international arena, because hockey is unthinkable without matches between Russia and Canada.”

Although Rotenberg spoke for the Canadiens, it is unclear whether the Canadiens share the same view. Rotenberg is part of the Russian political machine that has orchestrated the war with Ukraine, something that has had significant impact on his business with SKA and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. In 2022, the NHL instructed teams to cut ties with Russian contacts and Russian business, Russian teams were banned from competing internationally by the IIHF, and Sweden and Finland made Russian inclusion in the upcoming 4Nations Face-Off tournament a non-starter.

To this point, most of the NHL scouting being done in Russia has been by video, though a handful of teams still employ Russian-based scouts. But that is slowly changing. Sources said three or four NHL teams sent scouts to Russia for the Channel One Cup played last week in Saint Petersburg.

Demidov, 18, has put together a fantastic season in the KHL with 21 points in 26 games despite often seeing limited ice time under Rotenberg. He is in line to make an immediate impact in the NHL with the Canadiens, much like Calder Trophy candidate Matvei Michkov has in his first season with the Philadelphia Flyers. Demidov’s contract with SKA expires on May 31, 2025 – at which point he would be eligible to sign a deal with Montreal, unless Rotenberg grants him an earlier exit.