As far as I am aware the Habs have already signed Valentenko, and he will most likely spend next season entirely or almost entirely in the AHL. If he continues to progress in North America, I think there is a good chance of him making the NHL at some point. I would also be extremely surprised if Emelin did not attempt a North American career in a year or two. This comming season with Ak Bars Kazan should be indicative, at least for me, of Emelin's full scope as a hockey player. To end this past season Alexei really seemed to be on the cusp of maturing his game and realizing another big chunk of his considerable potential. If such a leap forward is indeed going to occur - it should happen next year. As for Korneev, he is currently a better and much more polished player than is Valentenko and not far at all behind Emelin in terms of overall player quality, at least for the style of hockey played in the RSL. His hypothetical appearance in North America is, however, dependant upon the Canadiens' willingness to bring him over - which is, at this point, a question mark. As a late bloomer for whom the team didn't originally hold astronomically high hopes, Korneev is bound to inherently (and somewhat unfairly) receive less attention within the organization than his two aforementioned compatriots.Great article. Do you belive that the Habs will ever see Korneev, Emelin or Valentenko?
I am not aware of any considerable effort on the part of the Columbus Blue Jackets to bring Mozyakin over in the past, nor do I think that they realistically have him in their future plans. Despite being a player who is better suited for the RSL, I am of the opinion that he is one of the bigger talents squandered by an NHL team in recent history. Perhaps there is a chance of Mozyakin playing in North America once the Blue Jackets relinquish his rights, but even then, it is quite slim as he is already an established star in the RSL.Another guy that always impressed me was Moyzakin, too bad he hasn't come over, I don't know how he would do in North America but I saw him a couple times with CSKA back when Zherdev and Kostitsyn were on the team and he was easily the most impressive player on the team, he's got a nice mix of skills, is there any hope of him coming over?
Alexei Shkotov had a terrible season and failed to make much of an impact at all when with Khimik, and then faired only slightly better with Salavat Yulaev when Khimik decided that they did not want him on the team. While he may very well rebound next season, he is to date struggling mightily in the RSL and my rather limited hope for him is fading fast. Alexander Drozdetsky is a solid RSLer, but not much more on top of that, and certainly not a prime candidate to vie for an NHL spot. Anton But is currently the best hockey player of the bunch, but realistically still not quite talented enough to make it in the NHL.thanks Slitty.
What do you think of: Anton But, Alexei Shkotov and Alexander Drozdetsky ?
any chances for them to come over?
One of the underlying consequences of the Russian Hockey Federation not signing the transfer agreement is that the NHL does not recognize RSL contracts and that the RSL does not recognize NHL contracts. As a result, numerous players have gone both from playing in Russia to playing in North America and from playing in North America to playing in Russia while being under contract in the league from which they departed. While say Malkin and Kaigorodov raised a fuss with their respective transfers, others have even managed to make such a transition much more smoothly, sometimes even with the approval of the team that they left.Great Read. If Zinoviev signed a 5 year extension, without a transfer agreement there's no way he can come over until that expires, or am I missing something?
Mirnov is under contract with Dinamo through to the end of next, that is the 2007-2008 season. As for the amount of money he is currently being paid - I can only guess. The payrolls of RSL teams are closed and only a select handful of people in the RHF have access to the exact salary figures of players.Good read.
It's interesting to hear that Sens scouts have been paying attention to Atyushov. Still highly unlikely that he comes over but at least they are exploring it. I'm really excited for Mirnov to come to NA. Hopefully 1 more season. Slitty, what kind of contract does Mirnov have.
I haven't heard anything about a contract extention, but Shirokov's current contract with CSKA does run through the end of the 2008-2009 season. I would say that at least another season in the RSL would be optimal for Shirokov's development anyways.Slitty-
Did Shirokov just sign a new contract for CSKA?If so how long is it and what are the chances he comes to NA after?
Its hard to find info on russian players if you dont speak russian so thanks alot.
Great Read. If Zinoviev signed a 5 year extension, without a transfer agreement there's no way he can come over until that expires, or am I missing something?
BTW, do you know where/if Evgeny Tunik played last year?
Whatever happened to Georgi or is it Gregory Misharin?
As Alessandro meantioned, he played for played for Dinamo last season and is signed with CSKA for the next. He has grown into a solid top-4 RSL defenseman, and Krikunov even included him in team Russia's squad for the 2006 World Championships. It is however quite clear that Georgi doesn't have a great deal of NHL potential and is unlikely to capture the interest of the Wild in the near future.Whatever happened to Georgi or is it Gregory Misharin?
Great Read. If Zinoviev signed a 5 year extension, without a transfer agreement there's no way he can come over until that expires, or am I missing something?
My apologies, while I agree that Zinoviev wouldn't have much trouble getting into the NHL in any case, it slipped my mind that his new five year contract reportedly contains an out clause for him to come to the NHL if he so decides.Nah, the opposite. The transfer agreement would uphold the RSL contracts (in the eyes of the NHL), without an agreement, even if zinovjev were to sign a 5-year contract (not sure where this number is coming from though), he could still theoretically come to the NHL next year.
Hm, perhaps something along the lines of Ales Hemsky.What current NHL player's style do you think most closely resembles that of Kaigorodov?
Have you by any chance heard anything concerning such a possibility on the North American end? Khomitsky's plans for next season are a little murky to me.i really hope Dallas is able to get Khomitsky over as 6th/7th dman :-/