A Canadien in Team USA

[The True Blue Crew]

There are also issues with the disolutions of the Eastern Bloc. Darius Kasparitus is Lithuianian by birth, but still plays for Russia. I think Nabakov is going over to Team Russia despite being a Kazak.

it's Kazakh. from Kazakhstan. Kazaks are (in Russian) what you call cossacks in English

 

[Vyacheslav]

it's Kazakh. from Kazakhstan. Kazaks are (in Russian) what you call cossacks in English

Are you sure about that? I've read a bit about Ukrainian cossacks in my Russian history books, and obviously they would be christian. But 50% of Kazakhstan's pupulation is muslim. I don't think there are muslim cossacks, but I could be wrong.

 

[The True Blue Crew]

cossacks aren't related to kazakhs.
though out of Asian Russia buryats(mongols) were cossacks serving White Royal Guard against the Bolsheviks.

 

[Lyons71]

My feelings exactly. Like we've ever needed him.

This is Brett Hull We're talking about. He's not exactly chicken feed...

 

[BCCHL inactive]

Do we know for a fact that Heatley is German? Does he have German citizenship? Olaf's name means a lot. It means that he has German blood, both his parents are German but they now live in Canada. The only and single thing that retales Heatley to Germany is that he was born there and that's it. Keanu Reeves was born in Lebanon, does it make him Lebanese? Heck no. Hull's mother is American, so he has the right to play for the USA. I believe parentage is more important than the birthplace of a person.

Some countries give you automatic citizenship when you are born, and some don't....but for those countries who don't, it should be very easy to acquire if you were born there.

I was born in Canada, but my family is Dutch. According to your logic, I am more Dutch than Canadian. I say bull**** to that. Truthfully, I have about the same amount of pride in each country....but being born in Canada does mean a lot.

I think Nabakov is going over to Team Russia despite being a Kazak.

He can for the World Cup, but not for IIHF sanctioned events. He represented Kazakhstan at the 1999 World U20 Championship (if I remember correctly), therefore his nation is Kazakhstan according to the IIHF. However, the IIHF has a rule that (again, if I remember correctly) a player can play 4 years in a domestic national league, and then apply to represent that country so long as he does not represent another country during those 4 years, and this application can only happen once.

In other words, for Nabokov to be eligible to represent Russia in an IIHF event, he must play 4 years in Russia while not representing Kazakhstan during those 4 years, and then apply to the IIHF for permission to represent Russia. If approved, his nation according to the IIHF would be Russia for life.

 

[Canuck21t]

I was born in Canada, but my family is Dutch. According to your logic, I am more Dutch than Canadian. I say bull**** to that. Truthfully, I have about the same amount of pride in each country....but being born in Canada does mean a lot.

According to my logic? You simply didn't understand my point. Everybody was quick to assume that Dany Heatly has German citizenship. So I said being born in x country does not automatically means he's a citizen of that country. He was born there but what other relation does he have with Germany? How many years did he spend there? Parentage and where someone grows up are more important than the place of birth. You were born in Canada but I bet that you also at least spent a handful of years in Canada. Else I doubt you'd feel Canadian.