Ivan Demidov is a Russian right winger for the Montreal Canadiens, drafted fifth overall in 2024. He led all NHL rookies with 62 points in 2025-26 and finished second in voting for the Calder Trophy. On 1 July 2026 he signed an eight-year, $73.2 million contract extension that begins in 2027-28.
| Fast facts: Ivan Demidov | |
|---|---|
| Current team | Montreal Canadiens |
| Position | Right wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| Born | 10 December 2005, Sergiyev Posad, Russia |
| Height / weight | 6’1″ / 192 lbs, per NHL.com |
| Drafted | 2024, first round, 5th overall, Montreal Canadiens |
| Contract status | Entry-level contract at a $940,833 cap hit through 2026-27, then an eight-year extension at $9.15 million a season from 2027-28 through 2034-35 |
| Jersey | No. 93 |
What is Ivan Demidov’s contract?
Ivan Demidov plays 2026-27 on the final season of his entry-level contract, which he signed on 8 April 2025 and which carries a $940,833 cap hit. The Canadiens announced his extension on 1 July 2026: eight years and $73.2 million, or $9.15 million a season, from 2027-28 through 2034-35. According to TSN, $57.6 million of it is paid as signing bonuses, and he has a ten-team no-trade list in the final three seasons. He is due to become an unrestricted free agent in 2035, according to PuckPedia’s contract data.
His agent, Dan Milstein, told the Montreal Gazette that Demidov chose a lower number on purpose. “He wanted to leave money on the table so they can sign other players,” Milstein said, as we reported in Ivan Demidov’s agent explains why he took less money.
What are Ivan Demidov’s career stats?
Ivan Demidov came through SKA St. Petersburg’s system and played for its junior team, SKA-1946, before moving up to the KHL.
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | SKA-1946 | MHL | 41 | 19 | 43 | 62 |
| 2022-23 | SKA St. Petersburg | KHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | SKA-1946 | MHL | 30 | 23 | 37 | 60 |
| 2023-24 | SKA St. Petersburg | KHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | SKA St. Petersburg | KHL | 65 | 19 | 30 | 49 |
| 2024-25 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2025-26 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 19 | 43 | 62 |
He was MVP of the MHL, Russia’s top junior league, in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, and won its title with SKA-1946 in 2024. His 49 points for SKA in 2024-25 set the KHL record for a player under 20, passing the 42 Kirill Kaprizov scored in 2016-17, and he won the Alexei Cherepanov Award as the league’s rookie of the year. He scored at almost exactly the same rate in both leagues: 0.754 points a game in the KHL and 0.756 in his first NHL season.
He had two assists in five playoff games in 2025. In the 2026 playoffs he had nine points in 19 games as Montreal beat Tampa Bay and Buffalo before losing the Eastern Conference Final to Carolina.
Is Ivan Demidov still a rookie?
No. Ivan Demidov played only two NHL games in 2024-25, which kept him eligible for the Calder Trophy in 2025-26, but after his full 2025-26 season he is no longer a rookie. He led all rookies in points, assists and power-play points, with 20 on the power play, was the NHL’s rookie of the month for December 2025 with 14 points in 15 games and made the All-Rookie Team.
He finished second in Calder voting with 1,158 points, named second on 120 of the 198 ballots, behind Matthew Schaefer of the Islanders, who won unanimously. Demidov became the seventh rookie in Canadiens history to reach 60 points, and Montreal had a Calder finalist for the second year in a row, after teammate Lane Hutson won the award in 2025.
When did Ivan Demidov make his NHL debut?
Ivan Demidov made his NHL debut on 14 April 2025 at the Bell Centre against Chicago, six days after signing. In the first period he set up a goal by Alex Newhook and then scored his first NHL goal on a backhand, although Montreal lost 4-3 in a shootout. “It was an elite execution, a little deception to the backhand. It was really nice,” head coach Martin St. Louis said.
The debut came 290 days after Montreal drafted him fifth overall in Las Vegas, where Céline Dion announced the pick.
Why does Ivan Demidov wear 93?
Ivan Demidov wears No. 93 because No. 91 already belonged to Oliver Kapanen when he arrived in Montreal, the Quebec site Dose.ca reported. According to TSN, the only Canadien to wear 93 before him was Doug Gilmour.
Who is Ivan Demidov compared to?
Ivan Demidov is a playmaking winger, and 43 of his 62 points in 2025-26 were assists. Former Canadiens scout Christer Rockstrom compared his skating to that of Sergei Makarov, the Soviet great. “He changes direction like Sergei Makarov did,” Rockstrom told NHL.com.
Why doesn’t Ivan Demidov play for Russia?
Russia has been excluded from IIHF tournaments since 2022, and on 30 July 2026 the IIHF decided that it would also be barred from the 2027 men’s World Championship, World Juniors and U18 championships, citing safety, security and sporting integrity concerns. Demidov’s international record is from youth hockey, including gold with Russia at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he had five points in five games. In December 2024 he was named MVP of the Channel One Cup, a 3-on-3 event in Russia.
What is Ivan Demidov’s role in Montreal?
Going into 2026-27 training camp, Ivan Demidov was expected to stay on Montreal’s second line with centre Oliver Kapanen, his most common linemate in 2025-26, and he finished 2025-26 on the first power-play unit. He had not missed a game in 2025-26, playing all 101 of Montreal’s regular-season and playoff games. Martin St. Louis is the head coach and Kent Hughes the general manager. The channels and streams for every Canadiens game are in our guide to how to watch the Montreal Canadiens.
Where is Ivan Demidov from, and how tall is he?
Ivan Demidov was born on 10 December 2005 in Sergiyev Posad, in the Moscow region. His father, Aleksei, left his job as a truck driver when Ivan was 12 to focus on his sons’ hockey, and his mother, Olga, works in retail. His older brother, Semyon, a forward born in 2002, was his teammate at SKA-1946 and joined the KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk in July 2026.
NHL.com lists him at 6’1″ and 192 lbs. PuckPedia has him at 6’0″.
Demidov signed an eight-year, $73 million extension with Montreal on July 1, 2026, carrying a $9.125 million cap hit. It takes effect in the 2027-28 season. He plays 2026-27 on the final year of his entry-level contract at $940,833.
He chose 93 as a nod to 1993, the year of Montreal’s most recent Stanley Cup. It became a talking point in the city before he had played a game.
Ivan Demidov was born on December 10, 2005, making him 20 years old.
He is from Sergiyev Posad, Russia.
Demidov is a left-shooting right winger.
He stands 184 cm tall, or 6’0″ in feet and inches.
His father Aleksei left his job as a truck driver when Ivan was 12 to support his sons’ hockey. His mother Olga worked in retail. His older brother Semyon also plays professionally in Russia and was his teammate at SKA-1946.
