Jeff Gorton admits there is some frustration in the Ivan Demidov case
The Montreal Canadiens struck a major blow at the last draft by selecting young Ivan Demidov 5th overall.
The staff, including Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov, among others, is unanimous: Ivan will potentially be the best player in his class and the organization is very excited to have him.
The young prodigy's progress therefore becomes a priority for the club, but the latter is having obstacles put in its way. He hardly plays, almost 4 minutes per game on average. That's very little.
Asked about this and the possibility of bringing him to Montreal earlier, Jeff Gorton had this to say:
"We are in contact with his team there and we would definitely like him to play a lot more. It's a situation that's out of our control and can be frustrating, but we're happy with his performance when he gets the playing time he deserves."
When asked if we might see Ivan in Montreal this year, Jeff had this to say:
"Because of the relationship between the National Hockey League and the KHL, we have to honor his contract there. He only has one year left on his contract with SKA. We'll be patient with him and look forward to seeing him in Montreal."
- Via Alex Jodoin
This is where we see that even though they are in contact with the KHL, there's still a long way to go for the cooperation to be effective.
There's a reluctance about the precarious relationship between the two leagues and that's mainly what's holding the organization back from making a move.
Personally, I'm not convinced that the Canadiens would endure this for long if Ivan Demidov had a multi-year contract in the KHL. Much like Matvei Michkov, he arrived after only one year in North America.
What is certain is that his playing time in the KHL is not enough, but the watchword is to let it go until next year. It's really too bad.
