Love his skill, love his energy, hate his individualistic play which ends up detracting from the play of line mates who are equally as skilled. If he would use his teammates properly, he would be one of the few pure leaders on the team.
WJC: 2015 — Russia Roster Talk
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Love his skill, love his energy, hate his individualistic play which ends up detracting from the play of line mates who are equally as skilled. If he would use his teammates properly, he would be one of the few pure leaders on the team.
True, but the questioner asked how well he played, and the aspect of his play that stood out was his leaving his check wide open to tap-in the winning goal. Rafikov is an excellent player who has made a lot of positive contributions, but in that critical game, his blunder cost the team a chance to win.
At the same time that I said that Tolchinsky was making a very positive impact in the WJC, I criticized him, not for playing in the CHL, but for making these pointless, unproductive end-to-end rushes, while his linemates like Goldobin and Kamenev, both of whom are extremely talented themselves, are effectively taken out of the play. I was responding to a poster who was upset because Tkachyov was again passed over. IMO, Bragin and his staff want to win far more than any of us who post here, and the fact that he didn't select Tkachyov tells me that he concluded that he would be better off selecting someone else.
kp61c
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that's it, after today's game i changed my opinion and now fully agree with you. but can i reserve the right to have some reservations about golyshev and fischenko? sure it can't be all players are good out there
You miss the important part. It's not like his linemates are in perfect position to make those unselfish plays. And the problem is 100% mental. They can be better, they choose to play with no focus. This team lacks a leader. Buchnevich is no leader as expected. Somebody has to kick those butts to focus and complete the damn passes and think the plays not dream them.
Fischenko is a 4th liner on this roster in the first place. Nobody expects him to be the scoring leader. It's a damn shame Leschenko has to be the scoring leader, because he is the one guy who seems to be focused and commited, even if he is not the most skillful guy out there. The big names look like they are on vacation half the time. It's not Golyshev and Fischenko we should blame for this lack of effort. Buchnevich, Barbashev, Tolchinsky, Kamenev, Sharov should drive the offence.
Hehe, actually I haven't heard of many Cherepanovs in the hockey world, at least until now. The name is sort of interesting, since 'cherep' means 'skull' in Russian 
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.They have looked like skilled forwards who have been unable to deliver when the pressure was the greatest, or when they were needed to generate something. If they continue to play the same way tomorrow, they will all be on the flight back to Moscow on Saturday morning.
In my opinion this side played 1 good game against the Swiss, half a good game against the Swedes, and at most one good period against the USA. However they showed a lot of determination against the USA which shows they can fight hard (Many were doubting them having this ability).
Minimum expectations have been achieved, another WJC Semi Final 5th in a row.
It's a results business and they got the result tonight. Kudos to them.
I still believe this team is capable of winning gold.
Minimum expectations have been achieved, another WJC Semi Final 5th in a row.
It's a results business and they got the result tonight. Kudos to them.
I still believe this team is capable of winning gold.
If Dergachyov adds some offence he'd be a top prospect. Glad you realized how much Leschenkos hard work is worth to the team.
So we sent Eichel packing(impressive personal skill, but only that indivisdual effort doesn't win you games). Hopefully the guys realize how tough a road is still ahead.
I thought Russia was the better team in the first period, but then went into a defensive shell and completely abandoned any offensive attack after going up 2-0. For Russia, going into a defensive shell is nearly always a disaster, but in the end, they escaped a disaster today.
I'm usually guilty of what I am accused of, but you can't accuse me of not being a fan of Leschenko from the beginning. He makes things happen!
The general standard game at the WJC against North American sides. I honestly don't believe Russia has the squad to control matches against the USA and Canada. They may have been able to 10+ years ago however playing an almost Finnish style of Hockey (But with better individual brilliance) appears to work on a regular basis against those sides.
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Peter25
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- Sep 20, 2003
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Russia was a lot better 12-13 years ago than it is now. I still remember how Russia outplayed Canada by a wide margin in 2002 and 2003 WJC finals winning the Gold. Russia also had more skilled, stronger and faster players in those teams than they have now. And currently Russia is unable to outplay Canada/USA/Sweden for a full hockey game, because the quality of players is not what it used to be.
Yes, that is what I have been saying.
Although I think things will keep improving and eventually Russia will be able to dictate play. Like everything in Russia, things always change rapidly and in the past 10 years generally in a positive direction.
kp61c
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Peter25
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- Sep 20, 2003
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I'm a bit more pessimistic than you. First, Russia must stop the flow of the best junior players to Canada. Almost everyone from the 1995 and 1996 age groups have already left.
I just went through the rosters of the WHL, OHL and QMJHL teams and they are full of Russian players born in 1995-1997. There are a lot more Russians than Czechs and Slovaks in the CHL, and almost no Finns and Swedes at all. Why is that? Why are Finns and Swedes staying at home and Russians are leaving in this scale? This is basically killing off the top Russian players from each age group because their development stalls in Canada.
The first thing Russia should do is to somehow prevent these kids from leaving with both stick and carrot. It will benefit Russian hockey and these kids as well.
But the decline of junior hockey is not explained fully with the CHL factor. The development system has deteriorated. It has not only deteriorated when compared to Soviet hockey, but also when compared to 10-15 years ago. Russia was producing better players then. One factor is also that the current age groups are much smaller. The Ovechkin age group of 1985 is the biggest in Russian history (more babies were born in 1985 than ever before or after), but with birthrate collapsing in the 1990's the current age groups are something like 40-50% smaller.
The popularity of the sport has also declined. In the 1980's Moscow was full of kids playing outdoor hockey, but now kids playing outdoor hockey is a rare sight. Junior hockey of St.Petersburgh has been almost dead for two decades. Cities like Yaroslavl, Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk and Cherepovets are keeping Russian hockey alive. One place where hockey development has actually been improving is Kazan and that is great news for Russian hockey.
But as I said I don't see the improvements yet and therefore I'm not willing to be overly positive. A year or two ago there was a lot of talk about this 1995 age group and how great it was supposed to be. The greatness is not there. The age group has lost most of its top players to Canada and their development has stopped there. Someone like Buchnevich should be good, but I'm not expecting a superstar from him either.
On the other points, yes popularity is a lot yes, although I never lived in the USSR, I have only worked in Russia since around 2006. However they should still be more than capable of producing quality players. I personally really enjoyed how they played against the Swedes, and finishing let them down. It was the first time I enjoyed a Russia WJC team playing in North America. They were bad tonight against the USA and bad against the Czechs but hey it is junior hockey a lot of things can change. I don't think many expected Kucherov to have as many goals and more points than Ovechkin by 2014-15. He had talent but his production in the NHL jumped big time.
With regards, to birth rate, I don't think you can attribute birth rate to success (With regards to 1985) Russia's birth rate is now higher than the USA.
I think many here a few years ago expected a lot from the 1995 crop, but we will never know where they end up. They were great in the 2012 Under 17 challenge but a lot can change from 18-21 years of age. I am not completley against kids going to the CHL as long as they are placed in an environment which values their skill-set, and focuses on improving other aspects of their game while allowing creative freedom. It is there career, and they have a choice. However, you can't blame the system for them leaving. They want to play in the NHL, and they see no point playing in the MHL when they can be playing CHL in front of good crowds and increase their chances (So they believe) of playing in the NHL. The pulling power is too big and this will always be a problem unless you want the return of the USSR. Some players have become better players continuing their development in NA (Zadorov is a good example having 20+minutes per night, 1995 born). Remember Knyazev from the 2002 Gold medal team? captained a WJC Gold Medal team. Was also named best defenseman in the tournament, boom nothing. A lot can change quickly.
I still think we have to wait and see on the 1995 class, only a few years from now will we be able to see whether these kids are good.
What i mean is, have a look at the 2002 (Who lost to the Finns and Canadians before beating them in the medal games) and 2003 teams you mentioned, they "dominated" the WJC, who were the stars in those squads? Kovalchuk, Chistov, Knyazev, Svitov, Frolov, Perezhogin, Grigorenko, Trubachev(I may be missing players), but those were generally the top players on those two gold medal teams. These players had great skills but the majority of them never lived up to the "hype". I think 3 Russians went top 5 in the 2001 NHL Draft. Only one succeeded.
edit : Kovalchuk did not play in the Gold Medal winning side.
A lot can happen between the ages of 18-21.
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