Honestly, I’ve said it on here before and I’ll say it again. As frustrating as Amirov not playing is, I really truly have zero worries about him as a player and how he is developing. Or rather not developing at the moment. I do agree with
@Zine that Amirov likely wants to be closer to home, and when he agreed to be loaned back to UFA he was likely happy to go back. I even think he posted on social media after his loan agreement was arranged how excited and appreciative he was for UFA, but then again I don’t read cryllic script nor do I speak Russian. So I really don’t know what he said. It just looked like an appreciation post.
That said, I really don’t think he ever envisioned his year going the way it has. Obviously injury is something UFA and Rodian could not have predicted. But the way they’ve handled him in his return is not very good till this point IMO.
I don’t think it’s completely out of the realm of possibilities that he may have some frustration setting in when he sees clearly inferior players getting better opportunities. I would not be surprised if he wants to make the move to NA sooner rather than later. Especially with the heavy Russian influence on the Marlies. At the end of the day, Rodian knows he is an NHL talent. He’s not going to be persuaded against that by his current coach indicating otherwise either verbally or by his coaching decisions.
My worry has always been with Dmitry. I can only imagine that his belief that he can be an NHL’er is fading by the day. He is buried in a league he continually dominates, and when given a call up does not play. Despite strong showings in the preseason and in the limited times he’s seen a KHL sheet. It looks clear to me that they don’t have a development plan for Dmitry in Sibir, because At the very least he’d be playing in a league that progresses him as a player.
I would love for the leafs management to set a plan in motion to get Dmitry and Rodian over to the Marlies for the start of next season. I recognize there are a lot of things that contribute to them wanting to stay in Russia, but in the case of Dmitry, it might be as simple as saying this is realistically the only way we [Leafs Management] see you making the NHL at some point in your life. Come over to Toronto for 3 seasons, if you don’t see NHL time by then you can always return home to make your bread. But at least you gave it a run. And what better timing to go to NA then now. When there is SDA, Gogolev, Abramov…and maybe Rodian to help you adjust.
That possibility would have to excite him I’d think. Not to mention Kyle has been unbelievably fair with Russian players in the past, and has never denied them a change of scenery or a return home. So why would this be any different? To me that should be a priority from our development staff this coming offseason. Get control of our Russian prospects.
