Top Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov scored his first professional goal in the KHL on Sunday.
As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. On Sunday, one of the Montreal Canadiens' top prospects, Ivan Demidov, scored his first professional hockey goal, helping SKA St. Petersburg to a 4-3 victory over Lada Togliatti in KHL action.
It was a big day for Demidov and St. Petersburg, as they snapped a two-game losing streak and ended a six-period goalless drought.
Meanwhile, in his 11th KHL game, Demidov collected his first career goal, having previously earned an assist in the season's first game.
Thanks to a feed from behind the net from Stanley Cup winner Evgeny Kuznetsov, Demidov buried a rebound from his first shot that bounced off the post. Once the puck ricocheted back to his stick blade, it was a wide-open cage for his first professional lamplighter.
Interestingly, Demidov started the game on the third line after playing the previous contest on September 12, a 3-0 loss to the Traktor Chelyabinsk on the fourth line.
Despite his placement in the lineup and limited ice time, he was one of the best skaters in the third period, getting a couple of chances to break up the shutout.
His hard work from that period carried over into the opening period on Sunday against Lada Togliatti.
Right now, Demidov is the only top prospect skating professionally, as the four players selected before him in the 2024 Draft have yet to begin their seasons in any leagues.
After a rocky first four games, there was concern over Demidov's development in St. Petersburg, but netting his first goal is a monkey off his back. Now, he can focus on growing his game and becoming a prospect who will eventually come to North America to help Montreal.
