131 Junior players in the KHL right now due to lack of players signing in Russia
Almost half the AHL is 21 or under when in years past 23-24 woulda been one of the youngest teams on average

If KHL Goaltending is so weak 50 year old Nikolai Khabibulin came out of retirement after a Decade
How bad do you think the Goaltending got on Average in the leagues below it ?

Demidov reminds me of Joe Sakic's little Brother
He was SO GOOD! at the Junior level during a time Canada had a lot more Canadians choosing NCAA over Junior like Paul Kariya did.
What we thought was God Mode level of Play turned out to be situational.

A more Recent Example of Situational Value is Drouin with and without Mckinnon
Without he's an NHL player but barely a 1st round guy if you re-draft ,depending on your team that can be even Lower.
But beside Mckinnon you see why teams thought he was worth the Gamble in the top 5 of the NHL draft.

I've watched Russian Hockey since i heard about a 14 year old Romanov practicing with a Championship KHL team a decade ago
I've seen a lot of things get reported wrong by people who dont watch the games.
Demidov's good but 133 players from Junior were good enough for the KHL, like 1/2 the VHL (Russian AHL) has Junior level players.
In fact 36 players i believe it was are Demidovs age and in the KHL but he couldnt hang with the big boys.

Being really good in a bad Development league is like being the most Well Hung Monk in a Tibetan Monastery, a lot of hype given the Impact it will have.

not gonna lie the KHL is sketchy right now.

Not only do you have the level of play that is concerning. But can you even get him out? They have blocked the boarders for men his age.

In politics, a lot can change and will change in 18 months.

As for the skill at the MHL level, I would put it at least on par with the OHL. If a kid in the OHL was doing what Demidov is doing, he would be in contention to be 1st overall.

He just plays at a higher speed than the rest of them and he's extremely skilled. Yes he will TOTALLY have to reign it in once he hits the NHL, but he drives every play for his line and the puck sticks to him. The way he attacks the net... Have you watched his highlights? Even if he's alone on a medium danger chance, he carries the puck to the high danger area, dekes a defender, dekes the goalie, and scores.

I don't agree with the skill level comparison. OHL is basically every younger player in Canada and some other countries sprinkled in.
A hand full go to the NCAA and the NHL.
But in Russia, it's more than a handful have been moved up. I would be like talking the top 100+ players out of the CHL and then saying, ok, it's the same level as before right?
The best players were all sent to the KHL to fill ranks, because no one will go there to play. Its like a par down OHL.
Even that is a sketchy description of it because god knows how many guys have bolted out the country when they could.
You probably got a russian hockey team in Georgia or the UAE right now.
They say millions of people have fled, basically anyone who could.

So I'm not sure what to tell you other than I'm sketchy on the competition level over there at the moment.
Could he be really good, sure, but hell he's not even getting KHL level minutes at the moment.

Interesting points about the KHL on here which I had not considered before. My question is, though, shouldn’t one still give credit to all of the scouts etc who consistently rank Demidov in the top 5 of the draft when the people who put out their online drafts (the Bob MacKenzies, Craig Buttons, Scott Wheelers etc.) ask them (presumably) before they write their articles. Those articles usually rave about his skills, regardless of the league he is in.

Interesting topic. I don't agree that it's the top 100 MHL players though. It may be the ones that are most physically mature, but they could still be role players.

For example, Mitchell Stephens played half the season in Montreal. It's not because he's more skilled than Roy, Farrell, Kidney... It's because he can fill the role and it won't "spoil his development" to rush him.

either way it's a talent drain that effects the level of play.
I mean I can't just hit a button and compare rosters now to before over there and really see.
But I do know it's very different from what it was.
I know if the KHL is not the league it use to be, than the minor league isn't either. It's a trickle down effect.

Maybe. I would agress that more competition is better than less. I know it's been reported a lot that leagues like the Swiss NL is significantly improved at the expense of the KHL.

I'm not sure I believe it though. I've watched a few Kloten games and I've never seen anyone do what Demidov is doing.

It wouldn't surprise me if some of the euro leagues are better as far as their competition level is concerned now. I'm sure some of those guys want to keep playing and had to play somewhere.