Russian roster

[CSKA]

8. explain the bykov decision. what's he doing on this team ahead of tverdovsky, kalinin, or even the other rsl dmen who were at the world's, or a young kid w much better numbers like kulyash.

I was thinking alot about that ..........and hell i just dont unterstand that decision !


kulyash has a superb slapper .......thats it ! He is a horrible D !

 

[espo*]

It does not matter, neither Bryza nor Max will see any action. But Bryza makes more sense just because he has a future (no need to upset him), and Max does not: he'll be 37 by the next OG and probably won't go even as a 3-d goalie. Of course, if there's a chance that Max can challenge for #2 position I would take him just to reward for the years of service....

max,Nabokov? ..........................don't count your chickens before they're hatched...................he may see cage duty when all is said and done.

 

[Den]

max,Nabokov? ..........................don't count your chickens before they're hatched...................he may see cage duty when all is said and done.

No, Max is Max Sokolov, and he or Bryza will see action only if both Khaby and Naby are out of service. Which is very unlikely

 

[Slitty]

thanks slitty for your response.

some/questions comments

1. im dont think the dec 22 deadline is just an nhl imposed deadline. the iihf site itself says that rosters can only be changed now in case of injury or exceptional reasons. i think den is right about this. why do you guys think that federov and samsonov would were asked to say that they were pulling out. i dont see how this could make any sense. why would kirkunov and bure not want these players there? they would both really help the team. i was assuming that federov didnt want to play for bure after bure stole his girl, and i have no idea what samsonov's deal is, but i dont see why kirkunov wouldnt want him on the team. he's having a great year, has great offensive skils.

2. i have been watching some of last years world championship games, and i am really unimpressed w kharitonov. he did nothing playing w kovalev and datsyuk, he leaves the zone early looking for the breakaway pass, and seems weak in the corners and in the front of the net. he appears to be similar to samsonov, but not as skilled offensively. i cannot understand how they could rather have kharitonov than samsonov.

3. i was watching the quarterfinal game against finland. kovalev did not make it on to the ice during the 10 min ot period. can anybody explain that?

4. i am assuming malkin will play w sushinksy and kharitonov. i think this is a terrible mistake. malkin and sushinksy are more playmakers than scorers. kharitonov is not a sniper, not someone who will dominate in front to get rebounds or garbage goals, or someone who get the puck out of the corner. this seems like a waste of malkin's talents to play w kharitonov.

5. what do you expect the lines to be? i am hoping that ovechkin - datsyuk - kovalev will be the top line. i think their talents will complement each other well. ovechkin was born to play with players like this. he will get the puck out of the corner, drive hard to the net, and will open up a lot of space for the other two to dance.

6. ovechkin's goal in the bronze medal game walking around mattias nortstrom was spectacular.

7. i agree russia needs some penalty kill specialists. there could be a ton of penalties called and games could come down to speacial teams. i am just worried that kharitonov is not good enough to do the job; he is very small, does not a have a great reach, and seems weak on the puck. against nhlers like heatley and nash i dont think he'll fair well. succeeding at the rosno cup and against nhlers in turin are very different things. who else do you see doing the penalty killing? datsyuk? kovalev? zhamnov? i'm very concerned about their pk forwards. it would be nice to see brylin and federov here.

8. explain the bykov decision. what's he doing on this team ahead of tverdovsky, kalinin, or even the other rsl dmen who were at the world's, or a young kid w much better numbers like kulyash.

9. who are going to play the points on the pp? gonchar, zhitnik, and markov are three spots, whose the other dman? or do you think they will use a forward back there? i think kovalev is more effective on the point on the pp. it seems kirkunov and russian coaches in general dont like to do this.

thanks in advance for any help with this.

1. I dont think Federov didnt play because of Kournikova personally. He was either genuinly injured or told to decline by the RUssian Hockey Federation to save face as his performance in the NHL wasnt going to get him selected. Lets face it Federov sucked this year. If he was an unrefusing patriot like Zhamnov, they may have overlooked it, but since he has run into conflict and refused Russia before, they simply considered him not worthy of a spot. As for Samsonov: in the end it came down to either Samsonov or Kharitonov for the last left winger spot after Frolov, Ovechkin, and Kovalchuk who were locks. Kirkunov, after the Rosno Cup decided he wanted Kharitonov for the reasons I've already outlined and told Samsonov to refuse. Its quite evident because prior to his refusal Samsonov kept telling the press he wasnt expecting an invitation... he is not injured as he said and never refused Russia before. Im sure that Russian management can pull healthy players at any time with this method even if rules dont allow for it.

2. Kharitonov is worse than Samsonov, no doubt. However, he is better defensively on the penalty kill and showed great chemistry with Sushinsky by excellent passes. This is the decision they made, we will see if its a good one. Or on the other hand Samsonov could have genuinely pulled out due to nagging injuries (unlikely)... and then Kharitonov was a no-brainer.

3. Can't expain it... despite his questionable comments on team Russia management, he is in good standing with Kirkunov and was the captain of the 2005 World CHampionship team. Injury, benched for mistakes, other players showing more jump.... your guess is as good as mine.

4. The two possible lines for Malkin are either "Kharitonov-Malkin-Sushinsky" or "Ovechkin-Malkin-Afinogenov". The coach mentioned both these lines as possibilities quite recently. The KMS line was impressive in Rosno Cup and despite the type of player combination was effective. The KMS line may also stick according to Kirkunov because all of them play in Europe and want have to get adjusted to the timezone switch upon arriving in Italy (which they will do pretty much right before their 1st game) and can be used as the 1st line right away. The OMA line played together before and was impressive... you can expect either line or maybe a bit of both.

5. Ovechkin-Datsyuk-Kovalev is whats going to happen if Ovechkin does not play with Malkin because Malkin with play with Kharitonov+Sushinky. I would imagine that would be the first line in that case. In all fairness, I think 2 or 3 lines will recieve about equal playing time so no real 1st line.... more like 1a, 1b, 1c.

6. It was, I agree.

7. This team Russia dosen't impress one when looked from the point of defensive ability of forwards. Kharitonov, Viktor Kozlov, and Frolov are known for their defense and will likely kill most penalities. Guys like Ovechkin are physical and energetic enough to kill some penalties as well. Hell, even Sushisnky kills penalties once in a while for Dynamo. Their size (Sushsinky+Kharitonov) is ofcourse questionable... will they be able to stop Bertuzzi driving to the net from the corner... probably not. Yet Volchenkov, Kasparitis, or the bigger forwards could.

8. Kalinin has sucked, and Tverdovsky is seen as unreliable defensively and in bad standing with the Russian Hockey Federation. Those two, along with Kulyash (who is admittedly worse defensively) are offensive defencemen. I dont see the reasoning since out last 4 defencemen are defensive... but Kirkunov said he wanted 1 more defensive defensemen to jusitify picking Bykov. I dont know much about Bykov personally and havent seen him play much.

9. I would expect Kovalchuk as the number one guy to take shots from the point on the powerplay.

 

[Den]

I was thinking alot about that ..........and hell i just dont unterstand that decision !


kulyash has a superb slapper .......thats it ! He is a horrible D !

I don't think that current Tverdovsky is good, Kalinin was making tonns of mistakes in all tournies he was playing for us. Bykov is one of several possibilities: Vishnevsky, Kalinin, Vyshedkevich, Gusev. And obviously Krikunov chose somebody who is a better at defence at the cost of offence. I think it's one of possible but equal choices...

 

[espo*]

No, Max is Max Sokolov, and he or Bryza will see action only if both Khaby and Naby are out of service. Which is very unlikely

Ah,thanks.Yep,barring some strange dream(but a nice one!!)..................they won't see action.

 

[espo*]

1. I dont think Federov didnt play because of Kournikova personally. He was either genuinly injured or told to decline by the RUssian Hockey Federation to save face as his performance in the NHL wasnt going to get him selected. Lets face it Federov sucked this year. If he was an unrefusing patriot like Zhamnov, they may have overlooked it, but since he has run into conflict and refused Russia before, they simply considered him not worthy of a spot. As for Samsonov: in the end it came down to either Samsonov or Kharitonov for the last left winger spot after Frolov, Ovechkin, and Kovalchuk who were locks. Kirkunov, after the Rosno Cup decided he wanted Kharitonov for the reasons I've already outlined and told Samsonov to refuse. Its quite evident because prior to his refusal Samsonov kept telling the press he wasnt expecting an invitation... he is not injured as he said and never refused Russia before. Im sure that Russian management can pull healthy players at any time with this method even if rules dont allow for it.

2. Kharitonov is worse than Samsonov, no doubt. However, he is better defensively on the penalty kill and showed great chemistry with Sushinsky by excellent passes. This is the decision they made, we will see if its a good one. Or on the other hand Samsonov could have genuinely pulled out due to nagging injuries (unlikely)... and then Kharitonov was a no-brainer.

3. Can't expain it... despite his questionable comments on team Russia management, he is in good standing with Kirkunov and was the captain of the 2005 World CHampionship team. Injury, benched for mistakes, other players showing more jump.... your guess is as good as mine.

4. The two possible lines for Malkin are either "Kharitonov-Malkin-Sushinsky" or "Ovechkin-Malkin-Afinogenov". The coach mentioned both these lines as possibilities quite recently. The KMS line was impressive in Rosno Cup and despite the type of player combination was effective. The KMS line may also stick according to Kirkunov because all of them play in Europe and want have to get adjusted to the timezone switch upon arriving in Italy (which they will do pretty much right before their 1st game) and can be used as the 1st line right away. The OMA line played together before and was impressive... you can expect either line or maybe a bit of both.

5. Ovechkin-Datsyuk-Kovalev is whats going to happen if Ovechkin does not play with Malkin because Malkin with play with Kharitonov+Sushinky. I would imagine that would be the first line in that case. In all fairness, I think 2 or 3 lines will recieve about equal playing time so no real 1st line.... more like 1a, 1b, 1c.

6. It was, I agree.

7. This team Russia dosen't impress one when looked from the point of defensive ability of forwards. Kharitonov, Viktor Kozlov, and Frolov are known for their defense and will likely kill most penalities. Guys like Ovechkin are physical and energetic enough to kill some penalties as well. Hell, even Sushisnky kills penalties once in a while for Dynamo. Their size (Sushsinky+Kharitonov) is ofcourse questionable... will they be able to stop Bertuzzi driving to the net from the corner... probably not. Yet Volchenkov, Kasparitis, or the bigger forwards could.

8. Kalinin has sucked, and Tverdovsky is seen as unreliable defensively and in bad standing with the Russian Hockey Federation. Those two, along with Kulyash (who is admittedly worse defensively) are offensive defencemen. I dont see the reasoning since out last 4 defencemen are defensive... but Kirkunov said he wanted 1 more defensive defensemen to jusitify picking Bykov. I dont know much about Bykov personally and havent seen him play much.

9. I would expect Kovalchuk as the number one guy to take shots from the point on the powerplay.

That goal he scored in the bronze game was one of the best goals i've seen in about 15 years.What leg and hand work!! A beauty for sure.

 

[CSKA]

9. I would expect Kovalchuk as the number one guy to take shots from the point on the powerplay.

Krikunov is not a Kovalchuk fan ! Thats for sure , look at the last WC !
Krikunov : "Who said that Kovalchuk is better than Antipov"

I have a bad feeling about Kovys status on that team ! Damn Kovy is our best weapon on the PP by faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar ! Hell he has the best slapper in the whole NHL ! I just hope Krikunov will give him that PP time ! He deserves it ! He must be outthere !

 

[espo*]

Krikunov is not a Kovalchuk fan ! Thats for sure , look at the last WC !
Krikunov : "Who said that Kovalchuk is better than Antipov"

I have a bad feeling about Kovys status on that team ! Damn Kovy is our best weapon on the PP by faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar ! Hell he has the best slapper in the whole NHL ! I just hope Krikunov will give him that PP time ! He deserves it ! He must be outthere !

There's no question he's your teams best option and pp option by far.You need to get the puck to him when he's ready at every available opportuinity.About 7-8 feet from the blueline on the left side he's most dangerous,he's almost automatic when a teammate gives him a proper pass there.One time and ...............it's over!! teams will just have to cover him there or they'll get killed.Simple as that.

 

[CSKA]

There's no question he's your teams best option and pp option by far.You need to get the puck to him when he's ready at every available opportuinity.About 7-8 feet from the blueline on the left side he's most dangerous,he's almost automatic when a teammate gives him a proper pass there.One time and ...............it's over!! teams will just have to cover him there or they'll get killed.Simple as that.

yep i just hope Krikunov thinks the same way

 

[espo*]

yep i just hope Krikunov thinks the same way

Well he should.

Of all the decisions their coach will have to make in that tourney,that should be his easiest one.

 

[rananda]

1. I dont think Federov didnt play because of Kournikova personally. He was either genuinly injured or told to decline by the RUssian Hockey Federation to save face as his performance in the NHL wasnt going to get him selected. Lets face it Federov sucked this year. If he was an unrefusing patriot like Zhamnov, they may have overlooked it, but since he has run into conflict and refused Russia before, they simply considered him not worthy of a spot. As for Samsonov: in the end it came down to either Samsonov or Kharitonov for the last left winger spot after Frolov, Ovechkin, and Kovalchuk who were locks. Kirkunov, after the Rosno Cup decided he wanted Kharitonov for the reasons I've already outlined and told Samsonov to refuse. Its quite evident because prior to his refusal Samsonov kept telling the press he wasnt expecting an invitation... he is not injured as he said and never refused Russia before. Im sure that Russian management can pull healthy players at any time with this method even if rules dont allow for it.

2. Kharitonov is worse than Samsonov, no doubt. However, he is better defensively on the penalty kill and showed great chemistry with Sushinsky by excellent passes. This is the decision they made, we will see if its a good one. Or on the other hand Samsonov could have genuinely pulled out due to nagging injuries (unlikely)... and then Kharitonov was a no-brainer.

3. Can't expain it... despite his questionable comments on team Russia management, he is in good standing with Kirkunov and was the captain of the 2005 World CHampionship team. Injury, benched for mistakes, other players showing more jump.... your guess is as good as mine.

4. The two possible lines for Malkin are either "Kharitonov-Malkin-Sushinsky" or "Ovechkin-Malkin-Afinogenov". The coach mentioned both these lines as possibilities quite recently. The KMS line was impressive in Rosno Cup and despite the type of player combination was effective. The KMS line may also stick according to Kirkunov because all of them play in Europe and want have to get adjusted to the timezone switch upon arriving in Italy (which they will do pretty much right before their 1st game) and can be used as the 1st line right away. The OMA line played together before and was impressive... you can expect either line or maybe a bit of both.

5. Ovechkin-Datsyuk-Kovalev is whats going to happen if Ovechkin does not play with Malkin because Malkin with play with Kharitonov+Sushinky. I would imagine that would be the first line in that case. In all fairness, I think 2 or 3 lines will recieve about equal playing time so no real 1st line.... more like 1a, 1b, 1c.

6. It was, I agree.

7. This team Russia dosen't impress one when looked from the point of defensive ability of forwards. Kharitonov, Viktor Kozlov, and Frolov are known for their defense and will likely kill most penalities. Guys like Ovechkin are physical and energetic enough to kill some penalties as well. Hell, even Sushisnky kills penalties once in a while for Dynamo. Their size (Sushsinky+Kharitonov) is ofcourse questionable... will they be able to stop Bertuzzi driving to the net from the corner... probably not. Yet Volchenkov, Kasparitis, or the bigger forwards could.

8. Kalinin has sucked, and Tverdovsky is seen as unreliable defensively and in bad standing with the Russian Hockey Federation. Those two, along with Kulyash (who is admittedly worse defensively) are offensive defencemen. I dont see the reasoning since out last 4 defencemen are defensive... but Kirkunov said he wanted 1 more defensive defensemen to jusitify picking Bykov. I dont know much about Bykov personally and havent seen him play much.

9. I would expect Kovalchuk as the number one guy to take shots from the point on the powerplay.

2. true, that is the decision they made. i think we can question its soundness before the opening curtain is drawn.

4. kirkunov has recently stated that the datsyuk and kharitonov have worked well in the past (dynamo and wc05), and he has hinted at the possibility of reuniting them. add in kh and su's alleged "chemistry", and the line of kha - dts - sus seems like a realistic option. the only good thing about this line is that it would make a kovalev - ovechkin pairing more plausible. though it should be datsyuk or malkin in the middle, i feel like kirkunov may still revert to kharitonov - datsyuk - kovalev line. grrrreat.

9. i dont think there's any way kirkunov plays kovalchuk at the point on the pp. he's not going to risk a sh chance. it'd be great to see him back there; markov feathering him perfect passes that he one-times past brodeur or lasak or lunquist, or maybe its kovalev from the half boards, but alas, kirkunov would never go for it. he doesnt understand kovalchuk and he wouldnt risk him being back there (didnt he say anitpov was just as good or something). i'm at least hoping he puts kovalev back there who isnt a liability and he could then put datsyuk on the half boards , ovechkin in front, and yashin on the other side. then malkin and frolov and gonchar come out there for pp no 2. special teams will be dispositive in many games.

8. bykov plays last year in akbars, has a ho-hum year, the team badly underachieves. he gets no consideraion for kirkunov's world championship team. no one cares. fast forward to this year, bykov now plays for kirkunov's dynamo, all of sudden kirkunov notices him, despite missing a significant amount of time for dynamo, he's on the first pairing at the rosno cup, plays well apparently, and now is on the olympic team. does this imply an objective and fair and reasoned selection process. no. it's the same old bush league nonsense that plagues the russian team year in and year out. a system that created the most beautiful and skilled players has conversely created the ugliest and dubmest system of management and coaching. let me guess, russia will badly outplay and outperform canada in an elimination game, but will lose by one goal despite a furious last minute finish. heatley will score the game winner off his left foot. kharitonov will finish pointless with 1 shot and will be -1.

 

[Panopticon]

They go in not as the favourite or team to beat, or even No. 2 (Canada and the Czechs are ahead on most people's list, and I had Finland at No. 3 before Kiprusoff backed out)

People seem to forget about Slovakia completely... Sure, they don't have a great goalie, but their offense is almost as scary as the Russians. Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, Jozef Stümpel, Marek Svatos, Miroslav Satan, Peter Bondra, Marcel Hossa, Ladislav Nagy, Handzus and Zednik... and their defense is much better than what the Czechs have...

Satan and Stümpel have been slightly disappointing this season, but they're still dangerous...

 

[greatwhite101*]

7. This team Russia dosen't impress one when looked from the point of defensive ability of forwards. Kharitonov, Viktor Kozlov, and Frolov are known for their defense and will likely kill most penalities. Guys like Ovechkin are physical and energetic enough to kill some penalties as well. Hell, even Sushisnky kills penalties once in a while for Dynamo. Their size (Sushsinky+Kharitonov) is ofcourse questionable... will they be able to stop Bertuzzi driving to the net from the corner... probably not. Yet Volchenkov, Kasparitis, or the bigger forwards could.

Well maybe you should take off your Canadian glasses.
Size doesn't mean a lot with new rules.
In WC Russian came back against Canada and lost 4:3 (I believe) Canada scored 3 goals in the first one of the main reasons was questionable calls of Finn ref (who didn't even speak english). Never the less Canada will ice a great team.
IMO it will be between Canada and Russia

 

[wildone26*]

People seem to forget about Slovakia completely... Sure, they don't have a great goalie, but their offense is almost as scary as the Russians. Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, Jozef Stümpel, Marek Svatos, Miroslav Satan, Peter Bondra, Marcel Hossa, Ladislav Nagy, Handzus and Zednik... and their defense is much better than what the Czechs have...

Satan and Stümpel have been slightly disappointing this season, but they're still dangerous...

I agree with most of that except the Slovaks having much better defence than the Czechs. They do not, Chara clearly leads their defence, and it goes down from there. The Czechs clearly have the better defence and the better goaltending, compared to Slovakia.

 

[Den]

Morozov:

http://sport.gazeta.ru/sport/2005/12/a_505741.shtml

and Sokolov:

http://sport.gazeta.ru/sport/2005/12/a_505743.shtml

are classy.

I still think that it is probably right that Max is not going as the 3-d goalie, but Morozov should be on the team...

 

[Den]

Mikhailov promisses offensive hockey:

http://www.sovsport.ru/news/default.asp?id=209417

In all previous tournies coaches were talking about "balanced hockey". Let's see how it works out this time

 

[wildone26*]

In an international tournament balanced, smart two-way hockey is better than just "offensive hockey". It does not matter if you score 4 or 5 goals, if you give up 6.

 

[Den]

In an international tournament balanced, smart two-way hockey is better than just "offensive hockey". It does not matter if you score 4 or 5 goals, if you give up 6.

In Russian context balanced hockey meant "we are not sure what we are doing...". Did the USSR suck at defence? Here you go

 

[CSKA]

In Russian context balanced hockey meant "we are not sure what we are doing...". Did the USSR suck at defence? Here you go

good one

 

[wildone26*]

 

[Panopticon]

I agree with most of that except the Slovaks having much better defence than the Czechs. They do not, Chara clearly leads their defence, and it goes down from there. The Czechs clearly have the better defence and the better goaltending, compared to Slovakia.

And who do the Czechs have? Exactly.

 

[Slitty]

Whats your opinion on the fact that all 3 Russian Superleague players came from Krikunov's team of Dynamo... taking the roster spots of better and perhaps more deserving players. Dynamo is by far not even the best team in the Russian Superliga, yet the only one to get represented. Granted Sushinsky should have been there. Yet Kharitonov is worse than Morozov, Korolyuk, and Samsonov. Bykov is useless as an 8th defencemen and really stole the roster spot from one of the previously mentioned... yet Tverdovsky or Kulyash (not to mention other RSL players of the likes of Kalinin/Vishnevsky) would have been more logical choices in the eyes of many.

So.... I thought the best were supposed to go to the Olympics, not just the best from the coach's club team.



Edit: Correction, Malkin plays for Magnitigorsk in the RSL. Sorry I omitted him, I consider him in a diferent category since he was a lock whether he played in the RSL, NHL, or Egypt's Hockey League.

 

[rananda]

yea, it's completely ridiculous though totally predictable that kirkunov would have picked 3 dynamo players. like i said, bykov wasnt even on the national team's radar before this year. now he's probably dynamo's most dependable dmen, and all of a sudden, he's playing in the biggest hockey tournament in the world. this is criminal in my opinion. not only is the concept of an 8th dmen laughable considering it is taking a roster space from morozov, korolyuk, or brylin, picking bykov as the 8th is taking away a roster spot from tvedovsky, who could really help on the pp. the more i think about all of this the more incensed and enraged i get. how can the russian hockey federation continually allow this to happen, this team should go in as a co-favorite to win every tournament they enter, instead they settle for potential darkhorse. this team, solely on the basis of datsyuk, kovalev, kovalchuk, ovechkin, malkinand khabibulin, still has the ability to win this thing, but if they do so, it will be in spite of kirkunov and kharitonov and bykov. just terrible. what kind of coach is one that only thinks his players are good and usable? a dumb coach.

 

[Slitty]

According to the most recent (possibly drunken) Krikunov interview the reasoning behind the 8th defencemen is that he will make his defencemen play something different than the NHL style of play. When he talked to Gonchar + Zhitnik he was amazed at how they log 25 minutes a game and asked them how they were still on their feet. They said that in the NHL all a defenceman does is pass the puck up and let the forwards worry about it and thus dont get tired. Krikunov said this wont do at the Olympics, and since the NHLers may not be used to this kind of exerting play and may get tired... he will bring 8 defencemen and roll 4 defensive units.


This may actually be a good thing... remember the dominant 5-man units of Soviet hockey and later the Red Wings?