If you look, most of the fans hyping him up aren't the Russians. As someone who watches a lot of KHL hockey, I can unequivocally say, Gusev is no Panarin. He's a good player though and with the right attitude and a willingness to change a few parts of his game, he can carve out an NHL career. People who are getting hyped, are those that look at him atop the KHL leaderboards, without realizing just how diminished KHL hockey has become over the past 3-4 seasons. Some teams are so bad, the top ECHL teams could beat them-handedly. It's a very top heavy league, and even then the talent isn't up to snuff when compared to years passed.
