I think you're right.
It should be really easy for him to earn more time in the KHL by playing a minuscule amount of time per game.
Sure, some might say that he isn't getting enough time or opportunities to show what he's got, but I don't think they've ever developed a skill before.
I remember when I tried to teach myself to cook I limited my time in the kitchen to 5 minutes per week. It worked perfectly. Instead of watering down my learning over a long period of time, I had 5 minute super lessons where I had just enough time to chop up some ingredients and turn on the stove. Then the for the rest of the year I just did it over and over again. Before I knew it, I had 2 Michelin Stars.
Oh c'mon. Russia has been developing players in this manner since forever. And, 2nd to Canada (who also have 6.5 x the total players we do) we have developed the most skilled players in the history of the game.
For us it's about practice, practice, practice.....skill, skill, skill.
There is no wrong way to develop (NA vs Russia). However, what harms young players is switching from one method of development immediately to another at the tender age of 16-19. Particularly for forwards. Although it hasn't harmed some outliers (Kucherov, Radulov...I can't think of anymore) it's been a total disaster for the gazillion other high end Russian forwards who've taken the CHL route the last 20 years.
Will the same hold true for Rubtsov? Who knows? But the odds are against him.