don marcellus
that wouldn’t surprise me. xhekaj had a strong development camp and showed last season that he can score goals, along with having a physical presence, as he posted 34-31-65 totals in 63 games last season with the ohl’s brantford bulldogs. i expect xhekaj to start the season with the ahl’s laval rocket but can also see him near the top of the list when it comes to call-ups if (when?) there are injuries with the canadiens.
how likely is it that ivan demidov starts the season in montreal/laval?
morgan hynes
it’s hard to predict anything that might happen with russian players and the khl. as of now i expect demidov will play out the final year of his contract with st. petersburg, but that could change.
“this season coming up, he’s under contract at st. petersburg,” hughes said after taking demidov with the no. 5 overall pick at this year’s nhl draft. “if he’s playing in the khl, that’s a great environment for him for a year. if he’s not in the khl, we will have to see what our options are.”
if st. petersburg doesn’t keep demidov with the khl team, expect the canadiens to enter negotiations to establish a transfer fee for him like the philadelphia flyers did this summer with matvei michkov, the no. 7 pick at last year’s draft. michkov will now play for the flyers next season. if the canadiens were to succeed in negotiating a transfer fee with st. petersburg, i’d expect demidov to also play in the nhl next season.