Bill Daly makes announcement regarding the possibility of seeing Ivan Demidov arrive in Montreal right away
As soon as the Montreal Canadiens selected Ivan Demidov last June, the plan was clear.
Let him play another season in the KHL and bring him to North America as soon as possible.
However, the way the Habs prospect is being used with SKA leaves much to be desired.
Even though he was named Rookie of the Month for September, Demidov plays very little, much to the disappointment of Habs fans.
It's no coincidence, even though it had been planned for a while, that Kent Hughes will travel to Russia in the coming weeks to check on the young man's progress.
Let's be honest, the relationship between the KHL and the NHL is not the friendliest.
Especially since the conflict that has engulfed the country in recent years.
We saw evidence of this with Matvei Michkov. The strained relations between the KHL and the NHL seem to have cooled things down for several teams, including the Habs. It's clear that the Flyers had quite a challenge in finally managing to get him out of the country.
It's important to note that the KHL has no agreement with the NHL regarding player transfers through the IIHF.
This makes it difficult, compared to leagues like Finland's Liiga, to bring players over to the NHL. A recent example of ease linked to an agreement is Oliver Kapanen.
He can stay in the NHL despite having a contract with his Finnish team.
An announcement by Bill Daly regarding the possibility of seeing players like Ivan Demidov join the NHL immediately, as some Montreal Canadiens fans are demanding
It would be surprising if an agreement between the two leagues happens anytime soon.
Nevertheless, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly wanted to clarify that players will always want to come to play in North America.
RG - Bill Daly: Best Russian players still want to play in NHL
The fact is, the best Russian players still want to play in the best professional league in the world, and everyone knows that's our league. So they find ways to come here that don't involve direct participation from the NHL or any of our clubs. I don't think there's been a reduction in the number of players entering the league during this period- Bill Daly.
It looks like we'll have to live with this situation for a while longer. Prospects will have to finish their commitments in the KHL before officially making the jump to the NHL.
In this regard, it was recently reported that Demidov declined not one, but three contract offers from SKA Saint Petersburg last month.
With his contract ending next spring and the possibility of finishing the season with the Habs, he certainly doesn't want to commit further with his KHL team.
In short, Bill Daly believes a player like Ivan Demidov could definitely join the National Hockey League, but probably not in the short term.
For this season, it remains an unrealistic and unlikely possibility.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Ivan Demidov will arrive in North America earlier than expected? | ||
