Chudinov heads short list of drafted defensemen competing in the KHL

[HF Article]

Photo: Lokomotiv Yaroslavl defenseman and Calgary Flames prospect Rushan Rafikov was part of a Team Russia defensive unit that was very effective at the 2015 World Junior Championship (courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images)


 

The exodus of young Russian players to the CHL didn’t leave many prospects of note in the KHL, especially when discussing defensemen, the type of players Russian hockey is having the hardest time developing, especially at depth level.

Russia continues to produce high-level defensemen, like Nikita Zadorov (BUF) or more recently, Rinat Valiev (TOR) and 2015-eligible Ivan Provorov. But the problem is that there is little left behind back at home considering that other defenders, such Dmitry Orlov (WSH) or Alexei Marchenko (DET), left Russia at a young age.… read more

The post Chudinov heads short list of drafted defensemen competing in the KHL appeared first on Hockey's Future.



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[Atas2000]

From top to botton - no-clue article. There is a ton of young D-men in the KHL worth noticing "especially at depth level." and that's thje problem. Lack of top notch guys like Zadorov may or may not become.

 

[Yakushev72]

All of the best Defensemen at the WJC in the past few years have played in Russia, not in the CHL. In 2015, all the best D men (Gavrikov, Cherepanov, Yudin) were the ones developed in Russia. That is why most Russian fans strongly believe that the "exodus" is killing Russian hockey, and killing the guys who end up going to the CHL.

 

[Fantomas]

I think that past a certain point, it's just an improper age to undergo a significant change of scenery for a prospect.

Whereas many people tend to blame certain leagues, playing styles and geographies for these prospects' struggles, I think that the real problem is the process of acclimatizing to a completely different way of life. There is a difference between migrating to play in North America at 14 and doing so at 17.

I agree that ideally prospects should remain at home and then maybe make the decision for themselves once they hit a more mature age. An even better scenario for Russian hockey would be a system that keeps all the players at home. But I do not know under which scenario this would be possible.