Ex-Soviet Players in the NHL, 1989-90

[Theokritos]

Krutov was a full-blown alcoholic when he came to Vancouver

I don't think he was an alcoholic by then. Or maybe he was, but his CSKA regimen kept him in check.

There's a quote from 1991 by Robert Cherenkov, vice-president of the Soviet hockey federation:

"The Soviets said that Krutov had a drinking problem but the NHL didn't pay attention."

And there used to be another quote around from 1989 where a member of the Vancouver Canucks staff joking he would personally serve Krutov a drink (or something to that effect) when asked about Krutov's alleged fondness of alcohol.

 

[Jets4Life]

The worst was the smug look on his face when he announced the pick, I'll never forget it. Like he thought he found some diamond hidden in plain sight and he was the smartest gm in the league.


Wish there was footage of the 92 draft, I'd love to see it again for a laugh.

If you want a good laugh, check out this "view history" tab on Mike Smith's Wikipedia page. Before spring 2015, it almost seemed Mike Smith himself had written it. Luckily, it has been edited since, to balance out the good and the bad.

 

[blood gin]

The worst was the smug look on his face when he announced the pick, I'll never forget it. Like he thought he found some diamond hidden in plain sight and he was the smartest gm in the league.


Wish there was footage of the 92 draft, I'd love to see it again for a laugh.

There were some hilarious busts in that 1st round. David Cooper, Ryan Sittler, Joe Hulbig, Brandon Convery

 

[Jets4Life]

There were some hilarious busts in that 1st round. David Cooper, Ryan Sittler, Joe Hulbig, Brandon Convery

That was one weak Draft Year, especially comparing it to the 1991 and 1993 drafts. Only Yashin and Gonchar became elite players in the first round.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Anatoliy Semenov looked ok. Gusarov played 600+ games in the NHL, and it's considering he came, when he was 26. Nemchinov came in 1991, and was ok as well (761 games played in the NHL). Dmitriy Mironov came in 1991 as well, and didn't look bad. The same can be said about Kravchuk. And don't forget about Igor Ulanov. So there were enough succesful players from that 1st wave of Soviet players in the NHL.