I agree with some of what is said here, but then the obvious problem is the many top players leaving, imo the u18 NDP team will not stop this flow of players leaving, so what can they do to stop it? Sweden and Finland seem to do a good enough job.
Actually, I have no idea whether an NDP team would work or not until they try it. According to the FHR website, this command comes from Mr. Putin himself, and if that is true, we will find out whether it works soon enough. IMO, they have to try something, because otherwise, all this investment in the KHL and MHL will be completely lost. Hockey players will become even more of an export crop than they are now, with all the expense at the Russian end and all of the money falling into the laps of Alberta Oil men.
It seems to me that the only real leverage the RHF has to keep kids at home is to deny those who go to NA access to national teams. Not just U18, but U20 as well. World junior championships match up elites from each country, and those who are denied access won't be able to be measured against the world's best competition. The kids should be free to make the decision to leave Russia, but their value as an asset to the Russian Federation plummeted the day they left. They have to factor that into their decision to leave.
Sweden and Finland are very comfortable with having their players leave for NA. They do not have competitive, top level domestic leagues, and they rarely make any move toward winning international championships. Sweden more or less backed into the Olympic Gold Medal in 2006, but that is much more the exception than the rule. So for them, its not really an issue.
