MONTREAL — Ivan Demidov looked in mid-season form Saturday as the Montreal Canadiens edged the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime at Bell Centre. The 20-year-old Russian, who paced all rookies with 62 points last season, scored a goal and generated nine shot attempts while dekeing and deceiving every Toronto player in his path in the pre-season opener.
Asked what off-season work translated immediately, Demidov redirected with a smile: “You tell me.” Head coach Martin St. Louis offered the detailed read. “If anything, maybe he’s gained a little bit of a step,” St. Louis said. “Not that he was slow, (but) I feel there’s a little more jump, a little more power, a little more strength. I don’t know what it is, but I felt like I saw that tonight, I’ve been seeing it in practice, which always will help you get places quicker if you anticipate the right way. And you find better pockets if you have a little bit more of a step. I thought he was really good in space tonight. Demi’s able to create space for himself. He looks like he’s going to get closed off and he’s able to turn on a dime and go the other way. Very slippery that way. But you can be slippery and immediately create separation with that step I’m talking about it, and you get your eyes up and he has all the talent and the skill to execute the next thing, and he can do that. So, based on what I’ve seen so far, I feel like he’s just got another step.”
That extra step pairs with a shooter’s mentality Demidov says he intends to bring in Year 2. St. Louis called it a natural evolution for the gifted playmaker. “Demi’s a really good passer, but I think he’s learning to find that balance and make the best play possible instead of just making a pass,” St. Louis said. “I think with experience, he can make clearer reads on it instead of always thinking of passing. That always gets better with experience.”
On the blue line, Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj are battling each other — and themselves — for a regular spot while Kaiden Guhle can’t start the season and is expected back in four weeks. Both were caught out of position on goals Toronto scored Saturday. “I definitely wasn’t happy with my personal performance,” Struble said. “I didn’t have it really tonight. The plays I was making, some decisions…” St. Louis still likes the pair’s potential together. “They’re two guys that play a physical game,” he said. “You look at (Kaiden Guhle) Guhles can’t start the season, it’s a scenario that maybe those two play together… They’ve done it last year. We’ll keep evaluating, but I like what I saw.” Both defencemen are on expiring contracts, and the six-foot-four, 236-pound Xhekaj drew praise for playing to his DNA with physicality. Pressure is mounting after Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher both fared well in Montreal’s 4-1 win over Toronto’s A squad with the Canadiens’ B squad.
Luke Mittelstadt also made himself noticeable. The 23-year-old, five-foot-11 defenceman stood out at the prospects challenge in Gatineau, Que., last week and held his own in his first NHL pre-season game Saturday. Former Canadiens defenceman and current development coach Francis Bouillon had praised his competitiveness and smarts before Montreal signed him to a two-year, entry-level contract last spring and plugged him into its American Hockey League lineup. On Saturday his speed, poise and puck movement made him one of the best players on the ice.