As an old Detroit teammate, for instance, Kozlov will know precisely the kind of puck possession game Shanahan wants. Having scored 853 NHL points, Kozlov knows what NHL success requires. Plus, he just spent the entire season playing and practicing alongside Soshnikov. And Kozlov has a great hockey mind — he retired this year and has stepped into coaching already. His views are likely to be a pretty big upgrade over the kind of thing you’d get from a scout sitting in the stands and watching a few games.
Now, officially, the Leafs say the tip came through assistant coach Evgeny Namestnikov, who they’d hired. Okay, sure, that could be the case. After all, Namestnikov’s son played junior for the London Knights, so maybe he knew Mark Hunter and the connection came in that way. But it’s worth noting that Namestnikov is also the brother-in-law to… Slava Kozlov. He may have just been asked to be the official contact for a Kozlov-Shanahan link.
Anyway, perhaps it came through Namestnikov. It’s hard to tell, but regardless of who initiated the contact, that’s two top-notch information wires in a network that runs back to the Leafs. And Shanahan’s Russian network goes well beyond this.
For starters: Slava Fetisov: Just elected to the KHL board, Shanahan played with him on his first NHL team, and then on his first Cup-winning team in Detroit. Lou Lamoriello famously brought him over to the NHL.
Sergei Fedorov: General Manager of the Red Army team, Shanahan played with him, and Babcock coached him in Anaheim.
Igor Larionov: A high-profile agent for numerous Russian players, Shanahan played with him, and he ended his career in New Jersey with Lou. Just on their own, these three former players likely have connections to about three quarters of Russian hockey. They’re enormous names to know.
Read more at:
https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2015/11/22/shanahan-soshnikov-kid-whos-scared-nothing-part-v/