Ivan Demidov: despite his three-point game, he seems to have lost his spot on the first line.

Ivan Demidov is having a big year with the SKA. The forward, who has 35 points in 44 games this season, is managing to shine even though his ice time hasn’t always been great.

He is really, really full of talent.

That said, for the past few weeks, we’ve seen him in a much more prominent role. He’s playing a lot more… and unsurprisingly, the points are following, having scored three in his last game.

His coach even (finally) publicly praised him.

But evidently, his big performance and the compliments from his coach don’t seem to have been enough to keep him on the first line. Indeed, in a video posted by SKA, we see Demidov training in a blue jersey… and the blue jersey means he’s been training on the second line.

The club only plays on Tuesday, so it could still change… but Roman Rotenberg seems to want to (again) mix things up.

It should be noted that despite Demidov’s recent individual successes, the SKA is struggling lately. In the last match of the team, for example, Demidov’s three points were not enough as the club lost.

The team’s record of 25-15-5 is unsatisfactory considering the high expectations. Unless there’s a major collapse, this will be enough to qualify for the playoffs… but the SKA will not enter as a favorite. Let’s remember that even an early elimination for the club would not bring Demidov to Montreal this season.

Returning to the kid, this means that he continues to move from line to line within his team. He clearly seems to be part of the solution for SKA… and even if he remains in the top-6, he seems to be on the verge of losing his place on the first line even though the last few days couldn’t have gone better for him.

I wonder how Demidov is taking this, especially since, in the meantime, in Montreal, the lines are more stable than ever…

Quick Notes

— News from La Victoire.

— Note this.

— What a photo.

— A name to watch next winter.