Not only Murray isn't inclined to draft Russians, but the Sens organization has a lot of history with Russians picks too... Here's a post I made in another trade :
Why was Tarasenko undraftable again Murray?
List of Russians drafted by Ottawa
2007 Entry 60 2 Ruslan Bashkirov L Quebec Remparts [QMJHL]
2005 Entry 70 3 Vitali Anikeyenko D Yaroslavl-2 (Russia)
2005 Entry 98 4 Ilya Zubov C Cherepovets Jr. (Russia) 11 0 2 2 0
2005 Entry 186 6 Dmitry Megalinsky D Yaroslavl Lokomotiv [Russia]
2004 Entry 58 2 Kirill Lyamin D CSKA Moscow [Russia]
2004 Entry 122 4 Alexander Nikulin C CSKA Jr. (Russia) 3 0 0 0 0
2003 Entry 67 2 Igor Mirnov F Moscow Dynamo [Russia]
2003 Entry 166 5 Sergei Gimayev D Cherepovets Severstal [Russia]
2002 Entry 47 2 Alexei Kaigorodov C Magnitogorsk Metallurg [Russia] 6 0 1 1 0
2002 Entry 276 9 Vitaly Atyushov D Perm Molot [Russia]
2000 Entry 21 1 Anton Volchenkov D CSKA Jr. (Russia) 558 18 95 113 367
1999 Entry 269 9 Konstantin Gorovikov R St. Petersburg SKA [Russia]
1998 Entry 101 4 Petr Schastlivy L Yaroslavl Torpedo [Russia] 129 18 22 40 30
1998 Entry 223 8 Sergei Verenkin F Torpedo-2 Yaroslavl (Russia)
1993 Entry 157 7 Sergei Polischuk D Krylja Sovetov [Russia]
1992 Entry 2 1 Alexei Yashin C Moscow Dynamo [Russia] 850 337 444 781 401
Many of those guys could have been stars or very solid NHL players
(or just NHL players) but it never materialized outside of Volchenkov and Yashin... I find it silly to see some Sens fans still asking about that... maybe young guys who haven't been around for too long?
This organization has too much history with Russians and is biased against
drafting them,
particulary with a higher pick... Call it the Yashin/Kaigorodov expirement if you want. They prefer to sign them as UFAs (or could even trade for them)
when they are proven commodities or spend a lower pick for a high potential young Russian (3rd for Filatov), but you won't see them spending a 1st round pick on a Russian. I would be extremely surprised to see that
EDIT : I worded a few things badly... I have edited my post in blue
Everyone knows Murray has no problem with Russian players, just his reluctance to draft them.
Best way to summarize the situation in a short sentencce