Team Russia announced!!!

[ikovy]

the letter 'v' comes up 26 times on the roster.

.......can u tell i was bored?

 

[Egil]

Wether the Russian or US defense better is moot. The Russian will have a FAR superior goalie sitting on the bench than ANYTHING the US has to offer, and that will make all the difference.

 

[wilka91*]

Yeah sure but I think usually goaltenders are overrated. The defense has to be very strong or your goalie is in trouble, no matter who it is, DiPietro, Brodeur or Nabokov.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Wether the Russian or US defense better is moot. The Russian will have a FAR superior goalie sitting on the bench than ANYTHING the US has to offer, and that will make all the difference.

Fair enough. I don't have any problem admitting Khabibulin and Nabakov are superior to anything the U.S. can throw out there. The fact remains though that the U.S. won't be icing scrubs, and in a short tournament anything can happen. See: Ty Conklin at this year's WC's.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

I figure Vishnevski will crack the top 6. While in the past he was just a d-mn who hit everything that moves, he did pretty well offensively this year. Offense was originally what Anaheim drafted him for in 1998.

Personally, I'd take him over Volchenkov. But then again, that's just me. I'm also surprised Bryzgalov didn't make it. Sokolov(sp?) is pretty good, from what I've heard, but Bryz is also a good goalie. I figure he would've done pretty good as the third goalie.

 

[wilka91*]

The third goalie won't probably see any action. But trust me, Sokolov is better than Bryzgalov, even if he's a great young prospect who'll probably start next season as Giguere's backup.

 

[LaVal]

Chubarov

if there was one guy who really deserved some recognition... it's him. in the 3 and a half years i've seen him with the Canucks, i don't think i've EVER seen him make a mistake.

 

[wilka91*]

Chubarov

if there was one guy who really deserved some recognition... it's him. in the 3 and a half years i've seen him with the Canucks, i don't think i've EVER seen him make a mistake.

Russia's head coach said they took Chubarov over Nikolishin because the no. 5 center wouldn't see a lot of action, and wouldn't make any sense to sit such a talented player as Nikolishin.

 

[LaVal]

Russia's head coach said they took Chubarov over Nikolishin because the no. 5 center wouldn't see a lot of action, and wouldn't make any sense to sit such a talented player as Nikolishin.

and

playing time or not, i'm happy he's there. and since when is Nikolishin such a talent that he's left off the team because it would be wrong to sit him? he's not exactly much different from Chubarov in terms of skill.

 

[helicecopter]

Russia's head coach said they took Chubarov over Nikolishin because the no. 5 center wouldn't see a lot of action, and wouldn't make any sense to sit such a talented player as Nikolishin.

Sorry but this is just typical crap to justify choices without saying what they truly think; If he thinks Nikolishin is such a talented player then take him and put Yashin on the wing.
Also, even if it was the true reason, that's stupid. If Nikolishin don't mind to be there as a depth player on the roster and you think he is better than Chubarov then it would be better to take him in the eventuality one of the other 4 centers go down with an injury during the tourney (by the way, can they replace a player during the tourney? How many players make a final roster? I see 15 forwards for Russia and i guess there will be further cuts..)

 

[helicecopter]

... They clearly said they wanted to see young talent on the team, because they consider this tournament is a preparation for the 2006 Olympics!!!

Well, if true this sounds encouraging. Last time i read talks about chances to see NHLers in Torino2006 there was pessimism; Now i wonder how they could consider the WC a try for the Olympics without expecting NHLers to be there in 2006 (since almost the whole roster for the WC is made up with NHLers)
Anyone knows something new about the subject aside from the known fact they won't be there without a new CBA is reached?

 

[Ironchef Chris Wok*]

Valeri Bure people?

One decent season has people forgetting about the string of futility he put up a couple of seasons back.

 

[RoyIsALegend*]

and

playing time or not, i'm happy he's there. and since when is Nikolishin such a talent that he's left off the team because it would be wrong to sit him? he's not exactly much different from Chubarov in terms of skill.

Apparently you don't understand the difference between the ability to excel in certain aspects internationally as opposed to the NHL.

Andrei Nikolishin has been Russia's been face-off man, best defensive specialist, best fourth line centerman and best penalty killer in every international tournament he's played in. It's a shame they didn't take him this year, either.

Nikolishin is a better player than Artem Chubarov.

 

[Ajacied]

Sergei Zubov won't go. He's thankfully declining every inventation he's getting..

I actually like the Valeri Bure pick. He was a pleasant surprise for the Stars. Tons of skills, very fast, he'd flourish with quality teammates,

Ironcheff; don't forget that Bure has put up very respectable, if not, great numbers in all of his last few seasons of which he played in at least 65 games, ppg average in brackets..

1998-99 80 games - 26 goals, 27 assists for 53 points (0.663 - on pace for 55)
1999-00 82 games - 35 goals, 40 assists for 75 points (0.915 - on pace for 75)
2000-01 78 games - 27 goals, 28 assists for 55 points (0.705 - on pace for 58)
2001-02 31 games - 08 goals, 10 assists for 18 points (0.581 - on pace for 48)
2002-03 45 games - 05 goals, 23 assists for 28 points (0.622 - on pace for 52)
2003-04 68 games - 22 goals, 30 assists for 52 points (0.765 - on pace for 63)

 

[wilka91*]

Valeri has to be aggressive with the puck. He'd be useful only if he played like in 1999-2000.

 

[RoyIsALegend*]

Valeri Bure is a brutal pick and nobody can sugercoat that.

M=G, what are you talking about him being a pleasant surprise for the Stars? He was *BRUTAL* in the playoffs. *BRUTAL*. He was literally scared every single time he enters the Avs zone and was absolutely attrocious playing defense on the powerplay for them. Colorado scored two short-handed goals as a direct result of Bure's pathetic efforts on the blueline.

Valeri Bure has _0_ playoff goals in his career. Not a single goal scored in 22 NHL playoff games, and this is supposed to be a good player?

When the going gets tough, Bure get's going... going away and hiding under a rock, that is.

Awful hockey player.

 

[Sotnos]

I wonder who will end up with the starting job?

Khabibulin's the man, I'd think that's pretty obvious.

 

[wilka91*]

In today's (online) edition of Sport Express, coach Bill (Bilyaletdinov) says that of the 26 players that were selected, 2 were not yet contacted ... they are Nikolai Khabibulin and Sergei Fedorov.
I think there's no doubts that Khabibulin will accept to play, but how about Fedorov?

 

[Ajacied]

Valeri Bure is a brutal pick and nobody can sugercoat that.

M=G, what are you talking about him being a pleasant surprise for the Stars? He was *BRUTAL* in the playoffs. *BRUTAL*. He was literally scared every single time he enters the Avs zone and was absolutely attrocious playing defense on the powerplay for them. Colorado scored two short-handed goals as a direct result of Bure's pathetic efforts on the blueline.

Valeri Bure has _0_ playoff goals in his career. Not a single goal scored in 22 NHL playoff games, and this is supposed to be a good player?

When the going gets tough, Bure get's going... going away and hiding under a rock, that is.

Awful hockey player.

Bure is a wonderful player if you have the right mix of players surrounding him. Sure he avoids any physical contact that he forsees, but he's usually smart enough to avoid such situations by using his speed and general skillset. In fact, much like Mike Modano. He is butter soft that is for sure, and he is clearly isn't a defensive stalwart (though he isn't nearly as bad defensively as you claim him to be) but surround him with players that have some muscle, and are defensively comitted, and Bure is a pretty lethal sniper, capable between 25 and 35 goals. The fact that he dissapears in the playoffs is true from what I know and saw, but to use the series vs the Avs as an example is quite off base, as I don't recall any Dallas Star individual playing even remotely on par with how they played during the season, and they all pretty much sucked during the season, so go figure. You are judging him strictly on his flaws, while completely ignoring his strenghts. You can not deny his offensive talent and the fact that he has put up some very respectable numbers over the years. I am not a fan of his by any means, he's a demanding winger, but under the proper conditions, Bure is a very solid top 6 sniper.

 

[helicecopter]

Samsonov-Fedorov-Kovalchuk

This is the LAST line i want to see in the WC.
This line was used in SLC and Samsonov was just useless there because Kovi never gave him the puck. I guess Kovi will try to overdue once again in WC no matter which linesmate he gets so i would put a more defensive or physical player on the other wing of his line; who cares if that player won't keep Kovi's pace on transitions:
Kovi will get the puck just to go to the other side of the rink and shoot it in every case.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

All I can say is I'm glad Russia has some controversial picks so some of the spotlight is off the U.S. team!

 

[helicecopter]

In today's (online) edition of Sport Express, coach Bill (Bilyaletdinov) says that of the 26 players that were selected, 2 were not yet contacted ... they are Nikolai Khabibulin and Sergei Fedorov.
I think there's no doubts that Khabibulin will accept to play, but how about Fedorov?

****!!! ****!

 

[ZBORNAJA]

This is the LAST line i want to see in the WC.
This line was used in SLC and Samsonov was just useless there because Kovi never gave him the puck. I guess Kovi will try to overdue once again in WC no matter which linesmate he gets so i would put a more defensive or physical player on the other wing of his line; who cares if that player won't keep Kovi's pace on transitions:
Kovi will get the puck just to go to the other side of the rink and shoot it in every case.

I agree I would put Ilya on line with datsyuk

 

[jerseydevil]

This just announced.....Viktor Kozlov will scratched for the majority of the games due to a lack of effort...

 

[thrill_me_mogilny]

In today's (online) edition of Sport Express, coach Bill (Bilyaletdinov) says that of the 26 players that were selected, 2 were not yet contacted ... they are Nikolai Khabibulin and Sergei Fedorov.
I think there's no doubts that Khabibulin will accept to play, but how about Fedorov?

Only in Russia...let's pick players without ASKING first! I actually posted about that situation. What if they just announce players to make the deadline without talking to the players?

Bozhe, bozhe, bozhe.