A terrible development is confirmed for Ivan Demidov before game 5 against the Sabres on Thursday
Ivan Demidov and Martin St. Louis now head into Thursday's playoff game against the Sabres with a fresh hit to the rookie's confidence.
Demidov just watched the NHL hand the 2026 Calder Trophy to Matthew Schaefer, and there was no suspense once the voting total came out.
Schaefer won it Wednesday after a rookie season that forced voters to notice him from start to finish.
The 18-year-old put up 59 points in 82 games and scored 23 goals from the blue line.
That alone would've made noise.
Add 8 power-play goals, 10 power-play assists, and a +13 rating, and the case became hard to push aside.
Anaheim forward Beckett Sennecke finished with 60 points in 82 games, so the race was close on the raw totals.
But Schaefer did it as a defenseman, and that changed everything.
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That position matters in this vote.
A young defenseman logging that kind of workload, surviving all 82 games, and still driving offense usually gets remembered in a different way.
A brutal moment for Demidov before a playoff test against the Sabres
For Ivan Demidov, the hard part isn't only losing. It's the way it happened.
He didn't just come up short. He got zero first-place votes, while Schaefer swept the board with 198.
That can land hard on a young player, especially one already carrying playoff pressure in Montreal.
A result like that can mess with self-belief, even when the winner clearly earned it.
And this timing couldn't be tougher.
The Canadiens are staring at a major Thursday game against Buffalo, and Demidov now has to reset mentally before puck drop.
That's where St. Louis has work to do.
The coach has to make sure this doesn't follow Demidov onto the bench, into his shifts, or onto the power play.
Because playoff hockey exposes hesitation fast.
A winger gripping the stick too tight usually loses his edge before the game settles.
Schaefer deserved the trophy.
Four game-winning goals from an 18-year-old defenseman is no small detail, and the Islanders were rewarded for trusting him right away.
But in Montreal, the bigger story now is Demidov's response. Thursday is no longer just another playoff night. It's a test of confidence.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 13, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nick Foligno | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Parker Kelly | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brett Kulak | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brent Burns | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Martin Necas | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Nico Sturm | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Marcus Johansson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Quinn Hughes | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nicolas Roy | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Devon Toews | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Ahcan | - | - | - | |
| Mackenzie Blackwood | - | - | - | |
| Ross Colton | - | - | - | |
| Brock Faber | - | - | - | |
| Marcus Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Ryan Hartman | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||