Russians in the NHL 2018/19
- Thread starter Atas2000
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It's not that simple. A couple of years ago that might be all true. Right now SKA faces a major talent drain. Panarin and Kovalchuk are gone. Datsyuk is old and on his way out anyway because in a feud with the front office. Gusev might give the NHL a try as late as this summer. There is no Olympics soon to use as a lure for players to stay. What do the have on their hands up front? Yakupov, Kuzmenko, Barabanov(who might want to leave too)? The Big Bad SKA might start to be more careful with their assets and a talent like Podkolzin might get his ice time way earlier than you think. And he still has the option to go to a different KHL team. A team would be stupid to not give an arm and a leg for him.
cska78
Registered User
"big" Popugaev is going to NA. I just don't know if the guy is even good enough for the AHL....I had such hopes for him early in his career.
cska78
Registered User
Quickly looked at the SKA mhl roster - top 5 of thier scorers only one born in St Petersburgh, they are working really hard gathering talent across Russia. The problem is - there is not all that much talent anymore. Gone are the times, when you could get Gusevs/Kucherovs/Prokhorkins out of the MHL. Players are very raw.
Exactly because of SKA that destroys the established schools in Russia woth it's money sack policy.
cska78
Registered User
cska78
Registered User
they continiously robbed junior schools, especially pre-ska power time. Kazan ravaged Tolyatti schools quite a lot.
Obviously you are pretty much exagerating. I would like to see some long list of names.
Yep, rushing to sign a shiny contract in the NHL is a bad idea. It was hilarious to read the comments after the trade. People have no idea who he is while he was actually good in the time given by the coaches. They'll bury you for no reason. The only positive for him is the playoffs. I doubt though he will get more opportunities in Winnipeg. That problem of being treated like spare parts should be thought of by players, actually their agents, but those crooks only care about their money.
cska78
Registered User
What do you mean "They'll bury you for no reason"? A coach wants his players to play in a certain way - if they can't they ride pine.
Coaches are not perfect beings. They make mistakes. A coach good at winning cups with a team of stars might be bad at developing prospects. A coach might not have the time to evaluate every single prospect in the system and/or give them enough time to prove themselves.
The type of coaches you describe are also a thing. Hardass guys not flexible at all with no individual approach.
Like it or not, coaches also go of hypes and draft picks. A guy projected to be a star might get the chances he does not deserve(Nichushkin) while an undrafted player has to deal with a very short leash. And the only way to get the attention is to miraculously go on a tear in a minor league which is not neceesarily a proof for anything just as the opposite does not mean the player will never turn the corner.
Look, Krikunov, who however critized is a good coach and has proven it again by pulling Dynamo out of the cellar and into the playoffs by their hair had to admit he screwed up with Panarin in Kazan. Big part of it was that Panarin wasn't considered a Kuznetsov or Tarasenko level talent at that time.
Prospects should choose a developmental environment wisely if they can. If you are not a top 5-top 10 pick you should not expect to get the best chances in the NA minors as a Russian. As the Panarin example shows staying in Russia is no panacea in itself, but most of the time generally it's better for a Russian to stay in Russia until he is 20-21 at the very least. And in case of Panarin it worked out fine in the end too btw. Again, just staying in Russia is not the goal. The goal is to become a better player.
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cska78
Registered User
I kinda agree with that logic, but it's also very individual and there is no paradigm. Kiselevich, Ozhiganov, Lyubushkin got a shot due to staying in Russia. My guess is - had they come to USA early - probably never make a roster. But it's just a guess.
Hockey players have a short window of opportunity to earn money (for most, about 10 years is the maximum), and after that, they are just like everyone else trying to find a way to make a living. Sadly, at this stage I would give up and say the best option is to get to North America if you can make an NHL roster. Even 3rd and 4th line players earn $4-5 million dollars per year in the NHL. For the KHL and Russia, it is a vicious circle: as the best players all leave for the NHL, the entertainment value of KHL hockey goes down, down, down! As the quality of hockey plummets, so does interest in investing in hockey development of Russian kids. Why build rinks, hire coaches, and form leagues, only to have all the decent talent wave bon voyage and make the trip overseas? The RHF got $250,000 in exchange for Ovechkin, and Ovechkin promptly put billions of dollars in the pockets of his American owner. Only a few oligarchs (SKA) will still be amused enough to continue spending money on Russian hockey players, but how long can that last? I could easily envision the MHL being abolished for lack of funds and interest, and if that should happen, how much further behind could the KHL itself be?
Your math's wrong. Bottom sixers aren't even getting that much before taxes, let alone after.
Where is your math, along with a comparison of salaries between the NHL and KHL salaries? The best players in Russia aren't flocking to the NHL to do charity work!
Please stay with my statement. I said your math is off with the NHL salaries. Except for some very unlucky contracts that get a thread every week on the main boards, who are those bottom six players making 5 Mil.?
Milos Krasic
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Kiselevich signed with one of the worst teams in the NHL. And Florida has a lot of Russians (Dadonov, Barkov are huge parts...Malgin less so, and Mamin was there). Plus we know Russians love Miami. I don’t think it was a bad move by him. It just didn’t work out for various reasons.
Bottom line: it did not work out. His attempt to make the NHL is far from over though. Trades are part of the business. I doubt this trade will do him any good, but that is something out of player's control.
P.S. Barkov is a Finn, so he decided. Speaking Russian doesn't make you russian, especially if you sh... on your roots.
That's a bit extreme, Barkov had no choice in the matter. IIHF rules state that a player must play in country that he represents.
