European Canadiens Prospect Report: Ivan Demidov producing consistently in KHL

Demidov played three games last week, averaging around 11 minutes per game. Overall, his play looks more settled. He is involved and creates opportunities as well as finishing off chances. It is an all-around performance, and development, that is interesting to see.

His eight points (4G, 4A) in 10 games is a much better start than I expected, and it puts him on a 54-point pace. That would smash the records set by Kirill Kaprizov (42), Yevgeni Kuznetsov (41) and Matvei Michkov (41).

To Demidov’s advantage is the fact that Russia is banned from international competitions and he will therefore have a full season in the KHL with no break for the World Juniors, while also playing for a better team. His disadvantage is that the SKA coaching is a bit so-so at times, and in Sunday’s game he was benched after taking a tripping penalty while having been one of SKA’s best players until then.

Bogdan Konyushkov, Torpedo Nihzny Novgorod, KHL, Russia

Just like last week, Konyushkov is building up his time on ice to what we consider normal. He is playing further down the lineup, but Torpedo is icing a better team overall. His deployment is more normal in the European game than what he had last year.

Stat-watching through the KHL site shows that he has the same number of shifts per game along with more or less the same special-teams usage. This points to a more stable performance with shorter shifts that should benefit his overall play over the season.