**** Nichushkin, we've got 5 AHL forwards who are all more deserving of a shot. I called Nichushkin early on he lacked a dynamic quality to his offense, he had a good power move, but was too predictable, just like I said he'd get a touch of early success, but when the league got the book on him he'd be easily neutralized and that has been exactly the case. Nichushkin does not belong in the NHL in any capacity, let him play in Europe where he belongs.
Then Gusev while it would be nice if he spoke English and would help the transition to the NHL, he's pretty close to a finished product, it isn't a case like a Yak or a Pulju where they were raw players with upside who needed guidance, you just send him over the boards with any of McDavid, Drai, or Nuge and they'll click, while synergy is helped with dialogue, when you play and think the game at a certain level you can intuit a lot of what the other guy is thinking and react accordingly. I think Koskinen is the only player on our current roster capable of speaking Russian.