Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
The young Montreal Canadiens forward, Ivan Demidov, generated a lot of buzz last night.
And for the right reasons.
We know he is a talented player, but last night against the Philadelphia Flyers, we also saw that he is a player with character and someone who is absolutely ready to stand up for his teammates.
Ivan Demidov immediately rushed to defend Juraj Slafkovsky after a hard hit by defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen
We love it! And let’s be honest, Ristolainen is not exactly a small customer.
“Slafkovsky gets rocked by Ristolainen. Furious, Demidov steps in to defend him and delivers a cross-check to the big Finnish defenseman.”
– Nicolas Cloutier, TVA Sports
“Ivan Demidov showing an aggressive side, avenging Juraj Slafkovsky who got rocked with an open ice hit.”
– Marco D’Amico
It’s pretty easy to see just how much the players and fans loved seeing that from the young Demidov.
“Ristolainen obliterates Slafkovsky who had his head down, Demidov takes exception and goes to have a word. He gets two for cross checking”
– Karine Hains, The Hockey News
Personally, I really liked seeing that from the young Demidov.
There’s no doubt the players appreciated it, there’s no doubt Juraj Slafkovsky appreciated it, and let’s say it was quite something to see big Rasmus Ristolainen go down so easily on the ice after Demidov’s hit.
Not his most glorious moment.
As for Demidov, some are saying that Martin St-Louis did not appreciate it because it put his team shorthanded, but I don’t really agree with that.
Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics
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Ivan Demidov made a strong gesture against the Flyers that has everyone talking
Do you think Ivan Demidov did the right thing by giving Rasmus Ristolainen a cross-check?