The problem with your take is you are defensive and thus irrational.
Some simple facts that are known by now to everyone who follows the discussion, but for you I will briefly reiterate:
NA and especially canadian players have close to no choice in their development path. There is no point in discussing them here.
They also by playing in the CHL just build on a continous development path that is in place in Canada. They step into that system as kids. Russians come from a different environment, diefferent country, different culture, diefferent hockey culture, different way of teaching hockey at an age when development ist most fragile due to the imminent translation from junior to men's hockey, the biggest jump in terms of level of play and adjustment requirements and competition.
No one is "hating" "your" shiny leagues. What I hate is seeing MY prospects not developing properly. Ultimately my team is Team Russia. Why would I be opposed to russian prospects then if they would become great Team Russia players after going to the CHL?
Exactly. Abramov is 19 and his decision to go to the CHL denies him the way more flexible possibilities of development. This is a thoroughly discussed issue you are apprently also ignorantely unaware of. He'd have to go back to Russia? What's the big problem with that? And yes, in Russia he'd easily have the chance to play against better competition than the Q at his age. And players who are as good as you picture Abramov to be usually are playing against better competition in Russia. This is exatly the age when you start looking for more significant achievements than junior leagues success from a player.
The choice of captain for Team Russia is barely influenced by captaincy in the Q. Let alone those remarks about how rare that was. There are way more accomplished players with a a formidable leadership resume. It is tough for a Russian to become captain in Canada, because stereotypes and Cold War narratives which are still very much present. It is way more based on performance in Russia.
Stop being hilariously defensive and for the last time, even if he had Lafreniere's numbers, it is still juniors. There is no guarantee Q numbers will translate. And the fact that he was the best on a bad team does not change that. I am not waving around with some MHL numbers either.
Most moot argument ever about best Russians staying in Russia.
1.Why would they do that?
2.Look up the russian junior national teams and you will find out you are wrong.
3.The rate at which they fail after the CHL is way beyond just the fact that they were not so good prospects(which they are not). As evidenced by the precious NHL draft and them playing key roles on the junior national teams at some point those players are among the best of their respective crops. And some of the guys who develop nicely in Russia were rated well below them in juniors.
That Abramov somehow was not special before the draft is a simple lie. He was 5th in the league in scoring at U17 level(way betterthan his 15th now in the Q). Two points ahead of Amirov, eight behind Chinakhov. Over PPG player on the russian U17 NT. You know, those russian NTs are good, but not that good so we could call a PPG NT player nothing special. And what does KHL have to do with it? Before the draft he was 17. Who gets KHL time at 17? Abramov is certainly no Ovechkin. And at 17 he was among the best on his CSKA junior teamsm He has even played some games with the one year older team and had the best PPG there. HE sure was one of the best prospects in the system. And all of those top guys he was playing with who stayed in Russia are either playing in the KHL regularily now or are getting at least some games on KHL level. So you claim is probably not even ignorant, but deliberately misleading. You also conveniently disregad the fact that there is the VHL too, something that is just not there for the CHL prospects due to specific NA regulations. They can't play in the AHL even if they wanted to and/or are good enough. In Russia starting at age 17-18 they have all three leagues available and can play in those based on their development level. If in Russia Abramov would certainly be plying against men by now.
You are the one polluting this thread with ignorance.
