Canadiens' Ivan Demidov ditches Alex Ovechkin to choose $24,400,000 Russian superstar ahead of Round 1 battle

Montreal Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov has burst onto the scene in recent weeks. The consensus best prospect in hockey had a memorable NHL debut on Monday night, registering two points (one goal, one assist) in just the first period of play. Now, with two games of experience under his belt, he gets thrown into the fire of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Demidov and the Canadiens will head to Washington to face the Eastern Conference-winning Capitals in the first round. Many have deemed it to be the young up-and-coming Russian star against Alex Ovechkin, the Russian superstar of the last 20 years.

It would make sense to assume that Ovechkin, one of the greatest players of all time, was Demidov's idol growing up. However, it turns out he preferred another Russian superstar much more than the Great 8.

Demidov spoke to the media following practice on Saturday and shared his love for Penguins superstar Evgeni Malkin over Ovechkin. The Canadiens shared the video on YouTube.

"I love Malkin much better, you know what I mean?" Demidov said. (4:30)

Malkin has had a legendary career of his own, racking up 1,346 points (514 goals, 832 assists) in 1,213 games, to go with three Stanley Cups, two Art Ross Trophies, one Hart Trophy, one Conn Smythe Trophy, and one Ted Lindsay Award.

Malkin has one season remaining on the four-year, $24,400,000 contract extension he signed with Pittsburgh in 2022.

Alex Ovechkin was asked about facing Ivan Demidov

Ivan Demidov wasn't the only one posed with the question about going up against a fellow Russian.

Alex Ovechkin spoke to the media on Saturday and was asked to provide his thoughts on Demidov heading into their first-round matchup. HabsOnReddit shared what Ovi had to say on X (formerly Twitter).

"It's gonna be an interesting match. Obviously he's a talented guy. We'll see," Ovechkin said.

Ivan Demidov and the Canadiens will be tasked with slowing down the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer, who had a tremendous year at age 39, racking up 73 points (44 goals, 29 assists) in 65 games on the season.

The Montreal Canadiens will return to action for Game 1 of the first round in Washington against the Capitals on Monday night. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at Capital One Arena.