It's very interesting to watch this unfold. Not really Telegin in particular -- he is a fool IMO for reneging on his contract if he has any designs on playing in the NHL ever again. He wasn't in our near future plans so I am not crushed by it. What is interesting is watching the whole 'Russian player' evolvement unfold. It started with the Jets taking big risks drafting Russians in the early 90's, not knowing if they would ever play here. Watching phenomenal players such as Zhamnov, Korolev, Davydov, Khabibulin, and Mironov suit up for our team and dazzle. Seeing drafting Russians become commonplace. Now it appears to be coming full circle.
Drafting Russians has never been a sure thing. Guys like Radulov have shown that there was always some risk in drafting Russians, on top of the risk of whether a player would develop or not. Say what you want, but drafting the player who could potentially take his ball and go home if he doesn't agree with development choices is a very unsavoury proposition for an NHL GM. You only have so many picks so you have to eliminate as much risk as possible.
I think what players such as Kovalchuk, Burmistrov, and Telegin are doing is driving down the value of Russian prospects in the draft. I don't think you will see as many go in the first round. They are going to start becoming flyer picks if the trend continues.