Montreal Canadiens' Ivan Demidov suffers setback in his home country: he has been benched

The Montreal Canadiens got extremely lucky when prodigy Ivan Demidov fell to them at fifth overall. However, it has not been an easy road in the KHL.

Despite a phenomenal season debut, where Demidov had an assist and an amazing scoring chance, in only his third game, he was benched for all but two shifts in the third period.

His linemates on SKA St. Petersburg's third line are longtime NHLer and former Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Champion Evgeny Kuznetzov, and Croatian power forward Borna Rendulic. Evgeny Kuznetzov is on the first year of a four year deal, but looks unengaged and lazy, while Rendulic is just trying to keep up.

To most, Ivan Demidov has been the best player on the line, but head coach Roman Rotenberg has used him as a scapegoat thus far due to his age - a common tactic in European leagues.

Demidov's ice time has now fallen from 14 minutes in his first game to only 10 in his third, and it is a worrying trend. It is no secret that Ivan Demidov has all the talent in the world, and he will almost certainly be a star in the NHL, as he has not only the skill, but a positive mentality, but it is tough to watch his development handled in such a rudimentary and unprofessional way.

We will see if Ivan Demidov can win back over Roman Rotenberg, as the worst possible scenario would be to have him sent back to the MHL (junior league). Montreal Canadiens fans will just need to hold on to the hope and potential for now.

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