GDT: Bronze Medal Game • May 15 • Czech Republic 7, Russia 4

[Qurpiz]

the last time I was this wrong about a thread, it was all the way in the Lounge

 

[NMF78]

I agree with you, particularly with the issue of expansion. It doesn't seem realistic to create a Pan-European league headquartered in Moscow. Historically, other Europeans don't gravitate toward Russian leadership. A lot of these attitudes probably go back to Soviet times, but i think it will take time to break down the reluctance to partner up in ventures under Russian leadership.

The best time to attract European partnership was when the league first started up. Since then, a number of teams have gone bankrupt or had severe financial difficulty, which makes the league less than attractive for a lot of would-be expansion franchises throughout Europe.

I agree totally that there should not be limits on non-Russian players, provided that those players add significantly to the quality and prestige of the league. You can't surpass the NHL if you don't have comparable quality players.

It will need time to develop before it can really be a competitor, sometimes to me it seems they are trying to go to quick and skip a few steps.

For me i see the KHL as a Russian league or a Russian dominated league but i don't think expansion into eastern european countries is a bad thing nor is it bad for Russian Hockey i think....

 

[Yakushev72]

It will need time to develop before it can really be a competitor, sometimes to me it seems they are trying to go to quick and skip a few steps.

For me i see the KHL as a Russian league or a Russian dominated league but i don't think expansion into eastern european countries is a bad thing nor is it bad for Russian Hockey i think....

I agree. It would probably give the league a lot more vitality if Czech and Slovak franchises competed in the league. The rivalries might become intensive, which would be good. I'm not sure that I see expansion into Italy as such a great thing, because Italy lacks a hockey tradition, and Italian kids don't play much hockey, as far as I know.

The biggest problem would be dilution of talent, unless the development of talent significantly expands. Most of the really talented European players, Russians included, still want to play in the NHL, which leaves the KHL with less talent to pick from. KHL teams are paying more or less the same salaries as the NHL, but they are not attracting the world's best players. Until that changes, the only answer may be "growing your own," so to speak.

 

[jakzed]

Good job boys. This was a team built for the gold, but nice to have a medal!