Canadiens: Ivan Demidov To Appear In First Public Signing

While Ivan Demidov shone brightly on the Videotron Centre ice last night, Mascouche-based company Memorable Authentic announced that it would be holding a public signing with the Montreal Canadiens rookie on October 19 at its office, located at 3305, local 120 Av. de la Gare, Mascouche.

Even though Demidov is an exclusive AJ Sports athlete, the company was able to strike a deal with them, which will allow the Russian wonder to meet his fans and make their day by signing autographs.

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To attend the event, you must purchase tickets in advance. We recommend not delaying, as they are selling quickly. Getting a regular item signed, such as a puck or an 8x10 photo, will cost $99, while a premium item, like a jersey, will cost $199. There are also VIP packages available. For $750, you can receive an autographed Fanatics Premium red jersey, an exclusive 11x14 autographed photo montage (limited to 25 copies), a photo of yourself and Demidov at the event taken by a professional event photographer, a fast track ticket, which will allow you to jump the queue, and a $50 discount coupon on framing. 

For the second year in a row, Canadiens fans will be enjoying a fantastic season watching a superstar in the making plying his trade in Montreal. After being dazzled by Lane Hutson’s play last season, the Sainte-Flanelle faithful will be able to watch Demidov learn the NHL ropes. Judging by his play so far in the preseason, the Habs have another Calder Trophy candidate on their hands.

A wind of change is blowing in Montreal for a generation of fans that grew up marvelling at Carey Price’s saves but who were offensively starved. Gone are the days when the team was putting all its eggs in the goaltender’s basket and hoping for the best. The Canadiens are now competing at both ends of the ice, and Demidov will be one of the headliners of this new look Montreal team for years to come.

So far this preseason, the youngster has shown just how shifty he is and how he can fool the best players into thinking he’ll go one way before heading for an entirely different direction. He’s also a playmaking ace who can thread the needle and produce lightning-fast, picture-perfect feeds from one side of the ice to the other. It’s been years since the Tricolore has had that kind of offensive performer in its ranks. The Bell Centre crowd hasn’t responded to a Canadiens’ forward that way since, well, ever. The last time the Montreal crowd had such a talented forward on its hands, the Habs were still playing at the Forum.


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12 Days Until Opening Night At NWA: The History Of Jersey #12

The Columbus Blue Jackets have 12 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #12. 

Let's take a look.

Ted Drury - 2001 - Drafted by Calgary in 1989.

Drury played a single game for the Jackets during the 00-01 season. He never played another NHL game after Columbus and would retire in 2007 after playing five seasons in Germany.

Ted is the brother of former New York Rangers Captain and current President and General Manager of the Rangers, Chris Drury.

Sean Pronger - 2002 - Drafted by Vancouver in 1991. 

The brother of Hall of Famer Chris Pronger played 104 games in Columbus and had 17 points. He retired in 2005 after playing in Germany.

The brother of Hall of Famer Chris Pronger played 104 games in Columbus and had 17 points. He also attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio. 

After his two seasons in Columbus, he played for Vancouver and then left for Germany, where he played one season before retiring. 

Mathieu Darche - 2003 - Undrafted out of Saint-Laurent, Quebec.

Darche played 24 games for the CBJ over their first three seasons, totaling two points. Darche played until 2012, retiring with the Montreal Canadiens. 

He is now the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Ops for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He started with Tampa Bay in 2019 and has held various positions. 

Jiří Novotný - 2008-2009 - Drafted by Buffalo in 2001. 

Novotný played 107 games for the Jackets and had 29 points. He never played another NHL game and left for Europe where he played until 2023.

Novotný spent time in Russia, Czechia, and Switzerland until he retired. He is now the Sports Manager for HC Motor České Budějovice.

Elite Prospects said about Novotný "Novotný is a center with a sound two-way game. With good vision and passing ability, he is more of a playmaker than a shooter. Handles the puck and skates well, too. Can kill penalties and win faceoffs."

Mike Blunden - 2010-2011 - Drafted by Chicago in 2005. 

Blunden played 41 games with the Jackets and totaled 4 points.

He retired in 2020 after playing the last two years of his career in Germany and Italy. He finished his NHL career playing in 127 games. Blunden has been a Pro Scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning for the last four season. 

Ryan Craig - 2014-2015 - Drafted by Tampa Bay in 2002. 

Craig played 8 games for the Jackets and had zero points. He was also the Captain of both the Springfield Falcons and the Cleveland Monsters. He retired in 2017 and went into coaching for the Vegas Golden Knights. He is currently the head coach of the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights. 

Owen Sillinger - 2025 - Undrafted out of Regina, Saskatchewan. 

Sillinger has played one career NHL game and has zero points. The older brother of Cole has spent his career playing for the AHL's Cleveland Monsters. In parts of four seasons, he has a total of 114 points. 

Owen will be looked at as a vet on an otherwise very young Monsters team. Expect Sillinger to be called up should the CBJ need him. 

One scouting report said of Sillinger. "Sillinger is a pure sniper. He might be the best shooter in this draft class. His wrist shot is powerful and accurate. He has quick hands and is able to get the shot off quickly. Sillinger also does a good job of changing the angle on his shot, fooling goaltenders. His snapshot is also very good and features a similar quick release. Sillinger also has a knack for getting open for a one-timer, especially on the power play. His slap shot is also very good. He can even score with a good backhand. Sillinger has the hands to get deflections and pounce on rebounds in front of the net. His lateral agility and hands allow him to move laterally to open up shooting lanes."

Another scouting report said of his defensive game, "Sillinger also needs work in his own end of the ice. He can become too focused on the puck away from the play, losing his man and getting out of position. He also seems to take risks at times, leaving the zone early and trying to create offence. Sillinger could improve by using his size and strength to help contain in the cycle game but is not always committed to working down low in the defensive zone. These are areas where he will need some strong coaching in helping out his defense."

There are 12 days left until opening night at Nationwide Arena. 

The pre-season schedule is as follows:

Saturday, Oct. 4 at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET

After that, the Blue Jackets will open the regular season on the road against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

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Heartlanders Announce 19 Current And Former Players To Attend AHL Training Camp

The Iowa Heartlanders announced that 19 players with Heartlanders ties will attend 2025 Iowa Wild training camp. The Wild are AHL affiliates of the Iowa Heartlanders.

Of the 19 players, 10 are signed to 2025-26 contracts with the Heartlanders. The other nine are former Heartlanders signed to AHL contracts with the Iowa Wild or NHL contracts with the Minnesota Wild.

The Heartlanders will begin their training camp next Monday, Oct. 6. They open the team’s fifth season at Xtream Arena on Friday, Oct. 17 vs. the Tulsa Oilers.

Here are the players attending Wild training camp with Heartlanders ties.

Goaltenders (3)

Samuel Hlavaj (played with Heartlanders in 2024-25)

Dante Giannuzzi (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

William Rousseau (AHL contract, played with 2024-25 Heartlanders)

Defensemen (8)

Mike Koster (AHL contract, played with 2024-25 Heartlanders)

Will Zmolek (AHL contract, played with 2024-25 Heartlanders)

Thomas Stewart (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Elliott McDermott (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

David Spacek (NHL contract, played with 2023-24 Heartlanders)

Lordanthony Grissom (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Carter Allen (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Kyle Masters (NHL contract, played with Heartlanders 2023-25)

Forwards (8)

Matthew Sop (AHL contract, played with Heartlanders 2024-25)

Ryan McGuire (AHL contract, played with Heartlanders 2024-25)

Isaac Johnson (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Ryan Sandelin (AHL contract, played with Heartlanders 2024-25)

Jaxon Nelson (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Keltie Jeri-Leon (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Jack O'Brien (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Adam Capannelli (ECHL contract with Heartlanders)

Power’s Absence Further Depleting Sabres Defense

The Buffalo Sabres practiced at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, and while the club got back center Jiri Kulich after he sat out for a week with a muscle tweak, the club was still without four regulars, as defenseman Owen Power joined forward Jordan Greenway, and defensemen Bowen Byram and Mattias Samuelsson on the sidelines.  

"Owen just strained something yesterday, and so we held them out today," Ruff said. 

Power was described as being day-to-day, but it is in question whether the Sabres will risk putting him in the lineup for the first of their final home-and-home preseason games against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. Byram was injured in the Sabres 5-2 victory over Detroit on Saturday and has not practiced the last two days, but did skate prior to practice according to Ruff. 

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Kulich and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will play on Wednesday, although it is not certain that the Sabres goalie will play the entire game since it is his first action of the season. Greenway has not taken part in any camp workouts after he suffered an recurrence of the mid-body injury that he had surgically repaired over the summer, but has started to ramp up his work on the ice. 

 "(Jordan) skated at Harborcenter. He's progressing nicely and (it's) just probably a short period of time before he joins us in practice." Ruff said. "(We're) just trying to do the right thing, but he's feeling good."

Without Power or Byram, the Sabres top pairing at practice was Rasmus Dahlin and Michael Kesselring, Ryan Johnson partnered with Conor Timmins, and 2025 first-rounder Radim Mrtka partnered with Vsevolod Komarov. 

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