As the Montreal Canadiens look to build a winning formula for the future, all eyes are on Ivan Demidov, the electrifying young winger whose skill and creativity have already won over fans at the Bell Centre. Many hoped Demidov could be the answer to one of the team’s biggest questions: finding stability down the middle behind Nick Suzuki.

With his left-handed shot and impressive hockey IQ, the idea of Demidov stepping into the second-line center role generated plenty of excitement and speculation throughout the offseason.

However, recent revelations have thrown a wrench into those plans, offering new insight into Demidov’s mindset and preferences as the Canadiens prepare for next season. While his offensive talent is unquestioned, it turns out that Demidov has little interest—or confidence—when it comes to taking faceoffs, a crucial responsibility for any center.

This development adds another layer of intrigue to Montreal’s lineup decisions, leaving fans and analysts alike eager to see how the coaching staff will adapt and which players will step up to fill the void. As the story unfolds, one thing is clear: Ivan Demidov’s journey with the Canadiens will be anything but predictable.

Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov will be an extremely important piece for the team’s success.

That said, it would have been incredible if he could have been the solution for the second-line center role behind Nick Suzuki-especially since some had floated it as a very real possibility.

However, in light of new information shared by the excellent Marco D’Amico, we can immediately forget about that plan.

Ivan Demidov wants nothing to do with faceoffs

Even without officially converting him to a center, it’s clear the Canadiens would’ve liked Demidov to take some faceoffs on his strong side, especially since he’s a left-handed shot-and the Habs are sorely lacking in left-handed centers.

That’s exactly what Zachary Bolduc is currently working on!

But in Demidov’s case, the idea of seeing him take faceoffs can be ruled out.

“Ivan Demidov is also a lefty, but he wants nothing to do with faceoffs. We talked about it over at RG Media.”

– Marco D’Amico, on Poolcast with Marco Normandin and Pascal Cameron.

That said, from what I gather, it’s not a matter of unwillingness on Demidov’s part-it’s mostly a lack of confidence, especially when it comes to the faceoff circle.

This will definitely be an interesting situation to follow this fall, but don’t be surprised if we see a line featuring Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach, and Ivan Demidov, with Bolduc and Dach splitting the faceoff duties.