Kris Letang isn’t shy about what he sees in Ivan Demidov.
The Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman made it clear during a recent podcast appearance that the Montreal Canadiens forward has the kind of talent that can put him on a fast track to stardom. Letang started by talking about Pavel Datsyuk, calling him one of the toughest players he ever had to face.
"Datsyuk is one of the best players I've ever played against."
- Kris Letang
From there, he drew a direct line between Datsyuk’s game and Demidov’s. For Letang, the appeal is the same: creativity, unpredictability, and the kind of skill that can tilt a game on its own.
When asked where Demidov’s ceiling might be, Letang didn’t hesitate to set a bold marker.
"I told my son because we talk about this stuff and I said give it 3 years and I think he's gonna be close to the top 5 in the league. I mean assuming that he stays healthy and he has a good development and everything... That's where I see him."
- Kris Letang
That’s a massive projection, especially coming from a veteran with Letang’s track record and respect around the league. Demidov already gave plenty of people reason to pay attention by leading all NHL rookies with 62 points last season.
At 20 years old, the Canadiens winger is still early in his career, but praise like this only adds to the buzz around him.
Letang, meanwhile, is 39 and still doing his work from the blue line. The Montreal native is a 6-foot, 199-pound right-shot defenseman who posted 34 points in 74 games with the Penguins last season. Over his career, he has piled up 806 points in 1,235 games.
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