In a surprising move on Tuesday, Canadiens top prospect Ivan Demidoff has ended his contract with KHL Ska St. Petersburg before signing with Montreal, the team announced Tuesday.
The 19-year-old forward has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canadian, who holds the second wildcard spot at the Eastern Conference. Montreal has five games left in the regular season.
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Montreal selected the forward on the fifth pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. In a statement released by SKA, the team called it a “co-decision” to end the contract, but said his KHL rights remain with the team.
“If he doesn’t get foothold in the NHL, he’ll return to St. Petersburg,” Ska’s statement said. Demidov’s contract was set to expire on May 31, 2025, deep within the NHL playoffs.
Demidov is considered one of the most talented prospects currently not playing in the NHL, scoring 19 goals and 49 points in 65 regular season games to lead SKA this season. The 19-year-old thrived in one of the best leagues in the world, leading his team with playoff scores, scoring five points in six games before being eliminated by Dynamo Moscow. Ska St. Petersburg was eliminated, but the team could have sent Demidov to Lower Leagues, MHL or VHL affiliates for the rest of the playoffs.
Demidov was considered one of the most talented players in the 2024 draft, but fell into fifth place as the team feared that the team might be able to come to North America.
In December, the Canadians sent their top brass squads, including GM Kent Hughes, adviser Vincent Recavalil and director of amateur scouting Nick Bourbov, to visit Demidoff in St. Petersburg, spending time with their top prospects. It was considered one of the first NHL executives to enter Russia for scouting since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
