His early impact in Montreal also included a few other advanced stats highlights: Demidov had four accelerations of over 20 miles per hour 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 averaged an impressive shooting speed of 78.76 mph; Although it’s a small sample size, he ranks in the 99th percentile among forwards in terms of average shooting speed.
Demidov led the Kontinental Hockey League’s SKA St. Petersburg in points during that regular season (49 in 65 games) and was tied for the most points in the playoffs (five in six games) before signing with his NHL team.
He now joins other talents aged 25 and under among the leading attackers. Nicholas Suzuki, Cole Caufield And Juraj Slavkovsky and rookie defenseman and Calder Trophy favorite Lane Hutson on the Canadiens this season. Montreal will also possibly add a goalie prospect Jacob Fowler (entry-level contract signed April 4) later.
The addition of Demidov should further elevate Montreal – which is already closing in on a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference this season under coach Martin St. Louis – in the years to come and potentially as early as this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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More: EDGE stats for Demidov | MTL
