You had to see the welcome that was given to him.
An ovation in training, sweaters sold by pallets, comparisons with Malkin and Datsyuk from the first presence.
In Montreal, we behaved as if Ivan Demidov was going to walk on the water, heal the wounded, and transform our digital advantage into a divine machine.
But during this time, in Russia, we laughed.
Not badly. Not with arrogance.
But with the cruel lucidity of those who already know what we refuse to see.
In a Russian podcast that has been circulating abundantly for a few days, local specialists have calmly dismantled the Demidov phenomenon.
What they see is a young player with raw talent, yes, but far, very far from the Savior that we tried to make him play in the Bell Center.
“Two shots in the whole series. Two points, all on the PowerPlay. »»
This is the icy summary that returns repeatedly in the mouths of Russian analysts.
No explosion at 5 against 5. No decisive moment. Nothing that deserves a statue at the entrance to the Olympic stadium.
They recall that in Moscow, in the ska system, Demidov was not even used to orchestrate the digital advantage.
He played a secondary role at the bottom of the net.
In Montreal, we put it immediately on the first wave, above, with Hutson.
As if his CV was enough to give him the keys to the city.
And be careful: no one doubts their talent.
The Russians are the first to say that he has “Impressive flashes, an outstanding vision, and a rare creative instinct”.
But the word that comes back constantly is this: adaptation.
Because right now, that’s where it gets stuck.
Demidov still plays as if he were in the MHL.
He seeks to create with each presence, even when it is not the time.
He forgets that in the NHL, opportunities are gaining in pain, not with a Drag toe out of the area.
And above all, he has not yet understood that if you cannot produce offensively, you must at least contribute defensively.
In Montreal, we closed our eyes to its approximate folds.
We ignored his losses of expensive transition washers.
We swept the fact that he finished the series with the worst differential of the team with a digital equality.
But in Russia? We noted everything.
We saw. We judged.
And we wondered: why do he make a half-god when he plays as a third trio player?
“He does not yet deserve this status, and he has never had it here”, launched a podcast analyst.
“Compare it to Snuggerud or Leonard. At this level, he holds up. No more. »»
But in Montreal, emotion has taken over reason.
We wanted to believe, because we needed to believe it.
Because after so many years of misery, disappointed hopes, aborted rebuilds, a kid with an exotic name who arrives with highlights of fire, it did us good.
The problem is that hope, when it is not supervised, becomes an illusion.
And the illusion always ends up bursting.
Today, Demidov is not a bust.
It is simply what he is: a 19 -year -old, projected in a boosted French -speaking market, still unable to manage the pace, the weight and the consistency required at this level.
And this is where the contrast is the most striking:
-While Quebec proclaims him heir to Kovalev, Russia judges him as a first -year student, still green, still naive, but full of potential … if he learns to defend, block throws, play for the team, not just for fans.
And maybe that’s it, the greatest danger:
Burn Demidov by dint of glorifying it.
Let him put too large wings, too early.
Let us forget that he is a human before being a myth.
Because Russia has seen it:
He is not yet a first trio player.
He is not even a full player yet.
It is a promise. And nothing else.
And while we brandish banners with his name in the Bell Center, while we are selling tuques bearing his effigy on Saint-Laurent, the Russians are waiting.
They are waiting for Montreal to go back to earth.
Because in their eyes, it is not Demidov who is in the illusion …
It’s us.
And this is not a first.
Montreal has this annoying habit of wanting to create legends before they have proven anything.
We did it with Alex Galchenyuk.
We did it with Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
We want to believe that the next one is the right one. We want to stick labels too quickly. We want to skip the steps, burn the cycles, ignore the faults.
But the national league does not forgive.
And Ivan Demidov, as talented as it is, will not escape this rule.
Russian experts are not crucifying it.
They do not say that it is finished, or that it has no future.
They just say: not yet.
Not yet ready, not yet solid, not yet reliable.
And the greatest danger for Demidov is not the opponent.
It’s Montreal.
It is this machine to grind young people that has become this market.
Because if you do not book after three games, you are already considered a disappointment.
And if you book too early, you become a target.
Ivan Demidov’s only salvation will go through silence.
The silence of expectations. The silence of ridiculous nicknames.
The silence of the false prophets who promise him the moon when he learns to skate in a defensive corridor.
He must be given the right to fail.
The right to go through the hell of a first season.
The right to be a teenager in learning, not a god on the ice.
Because by dint of idealizing it, we risk spoiling everything.
And the Russians will not be surprised.
They will have seen our blindness coming.
Misery
