Olympics: Team Latvia 2022

[Namejs]

No kidding. So that's what's called an eye test which we do have here, no? You can say you don't trust it but stop banging the stupid stat drum which you should have just as many reasons not to trust as well when it comes to the decision which is sort of time-sensitive.

And, once again, we aren't discussing if he's going to score 30 goals or not. We are discussing should he be on the team or not. Maybe he will slow down, maybe his production will switch more to the assist side (very likely), at the end of the day he is a very productive player by KHL standards, you can cry about him being semi-pro and whatnot but it's not like that is unusual for Latvian NT. I ask you, once again, who is out there better than him? To me, he is at the level of Ro. Bukarts at this point, 50/50 between them. So that makes him 7/8th winger on the depth chart.


Based on this season, seems about right. I'd say it's still Balinskis. Zile should probably be above Cibulskis (I don't have quite the same infatuation with him Zubov does) and Rubins is probably higher too, even way higher, arguably. Loads of equally bad defensemen past the top-3, truly a heap to choose from. One guy who deserves to take a look at is Siksna. He is a rightie and probably not worse than Freibergs or Sotnieks in most situations.

We are discussing his expected production values. His expected values outside of PP and outside of the 1st line and in the 3rd/4th line would be around 4 points in 16 games, which is substantially LOWER than Dzierkals or Bukarts and plenty of other players.

No one apart from Darzins/Indrasis in recent years has played on the 1st line and PP1 such a high % of time out of Latvian players. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

Girgensons scored 30 points under Ted Nolan with the Sabres, because the team was a dumpster fire and he actually played on the top lines and on the powerplay.

He's actually shit. Which sort of is the point here. Jelisejevs production has been double-boosted by a) usage b) luck.

He's not better than any of our wingers, including Bukarts and Dzierkals. To snub Tralmaks instead of this bum would be ludicrous.

 

[SoundAndFury]

As someone who doesn't watch any KHL games

We are discussing his expected production values. His expected values outside of PP and outside of the 1st line and in the 3rd/4th line would be around 4 points in 16 games, which is substantially LOWER than Dzierkals or Bukarts and plenty of other players.

I love how you admit to not watching the KHL at all but at the same time reject the notion that he is on the 1st line for a reason completely. And the example with Girgensons is extremely flawed as Dinamo actually has a very strong group of wingers, especially from your stat-watching perspective.

Furthermore, you completely derail the thread with this Sv% discussion when it's largely irrelevant. He was getting lucky with goals, unlucky with assists (as no one else on the team is scoring). Yes, it will even out over time. If he had 5+5 stat line he would belong to this conversation just the same.

You bang the drum to no end about HIS Sv% but by using this very stat we can clearly see he has been unsustainably unlucky with assists as his 2 main linemates are shooting 1.5% at the moment. So his overall production, points-wise would not have changed much either way and your whole point about "luck" is largely irrelevant. You bit on one number and can't let it go because it just "proves" what your confirmation bias considers to be "right".

To snub Tralmaks instead of this bum would be ludicrous.

1. No idea why do you insist on being a disrespectful dick.
2. Tralmaks has 8 pro games in his career and even those were meaningless season-closing ones in a sheltered role. You surely have no idea how good or bad is he. Considering he was cut from Bruins camp before they even played any exhibition games he is no world-beater. But sure, since he went the NA route to you is has to be the best thing since bread and butter.

 

[Namejs]

I love how you admit to not watching the KHL at all but at the same time reject the notion that he is on the 1st line for a reason completely. And the example with Girgensons is extremely flawed as Dinamo actually has a very strong group of wingers, especially from your stat-watching perspective.

Furthermore, you completely derail the thread with this Sv% discussion when it's largely irrelevant. He was getting lucky with goals, unlucky with assists (as no one else on the team is scoring). Yes, it will even out over time. If he had 5+5 stat line he would belong to this conversation just the same.

You bang the drum to no end about HIS Sv% but by using this very stat we can clearly see he has been unsustainably unlucky with assists as his 2 main linemates are shooting 1.5% at the moment. So his overall production, points-wise would not have changed much either way and your whole point about "luck" is largely irrelevant. You bit on one number and can't let it go because it just "proves" what your confirmation bias considers to be "right".

KHL doesn't record advanced stats, there is no way of telling things like expected shots on goal with him on/off the ice and with him on the ice with other linemates. Without stats like that, it is impossible to quantitatively differentiate between him and his linemates in terms of offensive contribution, especially with such tiny sample sizes and a league where shot position and distance from the goal are not recorded.

But it is completely obvious and straightforward that bad players with good linemates and more ice time than usual will record more points on average.

If 4 hypothetical 'Jelisejevs' A, B, C and D would play simultaneously on all 4 lines of Dinamo Riga, their expected point production rates would be A, B-x%, C-xy%, D-xz%.

It would be ill-informed to compare these hypothetical players between each other without accounting for usage and in the case of small sample sizes - also for luck and variance.

Jelisejevs D (playing on the 4th line) would have 2 points in 16 games and no one would be bringing up the national team despite him performing EXACTLY as good as he does now.

What I'm saying is that while Jelisejevs has contributed offensively, there is no reason to assume that he has improved his play based on his showing in the first 16 games of the season. It is best explained by a) usage and b) luck.

It does not logically follow that he definitely must have more assists, as goals can be scored a) without assists b) without secondary assists and c) without forwards assisting.

His expected goals scored currently stands at about 3.6-4.0 and, yes, his linemates should have scored 4-5 extra goals on average. For reference, Darzins has assists on 2 of Jelisejevs 8 goals. So if we're talking about expected production rates, it should be 3.8+2(+1 or 2) at about 7 expected points in 16 games.

That is bad and way below average for 1st line and PP1 duty.

If you would put anyone else on that 1st line (say, Zabis or Kirils Tambijevs), they would also produce goals and points.

Scoring goals doesn't mean much, it's the expected goals and production rate differentials relative to other forwards that matter.

 

[SoundAndFury]

KHL doesn't record advanced stats, there is no way of telling things like expected shots on goal with him on/off the ice and with him on the ice with other linemates. Without stats like that, it is impossible to quantitatively differentiate between him and his linemates in terms of offensive contribution, especially with such tiny sample sizes and a league where shot position and distance from the goal are not recorded.

Maybe watching a game or two would come in handy then, huh?

What I'm saying is that while Jelisejevs has contributed offensively, there is no reason to assume that he has improved his play based on his showing in the first 16 games of the season

And yet, what is the reason to assume he has not improved? How that is not even a possibility in your head? All you are saying is "nothing proves anything so my pre-conceived notion must be correct".

You basically continue to spin wheels in the same place under the assumption that Zubov is playing him in the role that he is because he's an idiot who didn't analyze stats enough.

Carry on then.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Any chance for Marenis, V.Egle and Bernhards ?

Bernhards had this to say about playing in Swedish 3rd best league:

Hi Ricards and welcome to Kiruna AIF!
You have choose to move to Sweden and Kiruna next season, why did your choice fall on AIF
?

I really liked the organization and it seemed like a new challenge for me. and i think it’s a new way to show my skills in a different country and what i’m capable off.

What do you know about the leagues in Sweden (Hockeyettan), the city of Kiruna and of course Kiruna AIF?

I knew that the level of this league is high and players are very skilled. There are also many Latvians who plays in this league and two of them are actually playing in the city of Kiruna, but in Kiruna IF, and there’s a big rivalry between those two teams.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Any chance for Marenis, V.Egle and Bernhards ?

I mean Marenis has played in the WC so like 5 injuries to players ahead of him and he'd be in

 

[Namejs]

Maybe watching a game or two would come in handy then, huh?


And yet, what is the reason to assume he has not improved? How that is not even a possibility in your head? All you are saying is "nothing proves anything so my pre-conceived notion must be correct".

You basically continue to spin wheels in the same place under the assumption that Zubov is playing him in the role that he is because he's an idiot who didn't analyze stats enough.

Carry on then.

I'm not claiming it is impossible he has improved, I'm saying that we have no reason to believe he has. Everything so far points out to usage and luck being the main drivers behind the change in production.

My response was originally made to your post claiming he is 'a lock' for the national team.

He shouldn't be a lock for the national team and it is highly likely he's still worse than a dozen or more other Latvian wingers.

Having said that, his rise is unusual and intriguing and I can't wait to see some more data and maybe even a game or two.

As for Zubov, there are literally about 3 Latvian forwards on the team with the rest of them being juniors/amateurs capable of signing in the Swedish 3rd division. So it's not like there's a huge variety of players available for him.

 

[Dofs]

Any chance for Marenis, V.Egle and Bernhards ?

Bernhards had this to say about playing in Swedish 3rd best league:

Hi Ricards and welcome to Kiruna AIF!
You have choose to move to Sweden and Kiruna next season, why did your choice fall on AIF
?

I really liked the organization and it seemed like a new challenge for me. and i think it’s a new way to show my skills in a different country and what i’m capable off.

What do you know about the leagues in Sweden (Hockeyettan), the city of Kiruna and of course Kiruna AIF?

I knew that the level of this league is high and players are very skilled. There are also many Latvians who plays in this league and two of them are actually playing in the city of Kiruna, but in Kiruna IF, and there’s a big rivalry between those two teams.

There are just way too many solid Latvian players from top European leagues for the guys from the third Swedish league to get a look at. Latvia is at its deepest in its history, to the point that a player from a top 6 in a top European league might not make the game roster which would have been insane to think about some years ago. Hence as it was mentioned, only a huge amount of injuries would give those guys a chance.

 

[Eye of Ra]

There are just way too many solid Latvian players from top European leagues for the guys from the third Swedish league to get a look at. Latvia is at its deepest in its history, to the point that a player from a top 6 in a top European league might not make the game roster which would have been insane to think about some years ago. Hence as it was mentioned, only a huge amount of injuries would give those guys a chance.

marenis made wc in may

 

[Dofs]

marenis made wc in may

There were no NHL players in the roster in May, for the Olympic roster you should add them and also a couple of guys from AHL. Then there is the same Jelisejevs that we argue about here who is having a hell of a breakout season.

Also, back in May we had a coach who first saw him in Dinamo and liked him well enough to call him again even from the 3rd Swedish league. But in fact there are even more guys playing in better leagues and we have a new coach that might look at them first before checking Marenis and others if it's going to be necessary.

 

[Namejs]

marenis made wc in may

He's a good friend of the son of the president of the Latvian Hockey Federation

 

[SoundAndFury]

He shouldn't be a lock for the national team and it is highly likely he's still worse than a dozen or more other Latvian wingers.

Like, who?? Who are these people? Darzins, Indrasis, Daugavins, Kenins, Dzierkals, Bukarts x2 - sure, I will give you that. But who else? Tralmaks, Egle, Jevpalovs, Krastenbergs? You have got to be kidding me.

Sure I guess we can agree he isn't a lock until we see how AHL guys do (towards whom you seem extremely biased, I might add) but you can get out of here with the "dozen or more" stuff.

 

[Namejs]

Like, who?? Who are these people? Darzins, Indrasis, Daugavins, Kenins, Dzierkals, Bukarts x2 - sure, I will give you that. But who else? Tralmaks, Egle, Jevpalovs, Krastenbergs? You have got to be kidding me.

Sure I guess we can agree he isn't a lock until we see how AHL guys do (towards whom you seem extremely biased, I might add) but you can get out of here with the "dozen or more" stuff.

I'm not biased in any way towards any league. AHL is one of the 4 best leagues in the world, as evidenced by point equivalency ratings. If there was any young Latvian player scoring at a 0.50 PPG rate even over a small sample size in SHL or, god forbid, KHL, now that would be a lock for the national team, wouldn't it? The only difference between Jelisejevs and Tralmaks is that Tralmaks has been very efficient in NCAA, while Jelisejevs has been mediocre in VHL, which has a similar point equivalency to NCAA.

Tralmaks has been brought up in very favorable light by people actually watching his games on NCAA/AHL on hfboards and other social media sites. We've seen his highlight reel goals and incredible hand-eye coordination. He's been scoring at a very solid rate in NCAA over the course of several seasons.

I think it's you who has at least a slight anti-North American bias.

It's these NCAA types who always fly under the radar because they have had very little pro exposure at a relatively late age up until 24/25. And when they come over to Europe or Russia, everyone's surprised at how good they are. See Jaks as a prime example. Teddy Blueger had roughly the same stats in NCAA and AHL as Tralmaks does now. Except Blueger's first 20 games in the AHL were a complete flop.

Tralmaks is at his peak right now. As a hockey player.

I'm relatively sure he's going to be one of the leading wingers of our national team after Darzins retires.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I'm not biased in any way towards any league. AHL is one of the 4 best leagues in the world, as evidenced by point equivalency ratings. If there was any young Latvian player scoring at a 0.50 PPG rate even over a small sample size in SHL or, god forbid, KHL, now that would be a lock for the national team, wouldn't it? The only difference between Jelisejevs and Tralmaks is that Tralmaks has been very efficient in NCAA, while Jelisejevs has been mediocre in VHL, which has a similar point equivalency to NCAA.

It's these NCAA types who always fly under the radar because they have had very little pro exposure at a relatively late age up until 24/25.

Tralmaks is at his peak right now. As a hockey player.

I'm relatively sure he's going to be one of the leading wingers of our national team after Darzins retires.

The bolded part is obviously very true but the fact remains NCAA scoring is dictated by players' age and usage much more than it is in the pro leagues and probably more than you would care to admit. You can see future NHL stars scoring at the same pace as future DEL2 stars. So that's how much it tells me, Tralmaks should be able to fall somewhere between NHL player and DEL2 player. Where exactly, the jury is still out.

In most recent developments, he didn't get to play a single exhibition game during the Bruins camp which, to me, says a whole lot more than his 8 AHL games last year. If he goes full season at that 0,5 PPG pace, sure I'd consider him a lock for this team as well. In the AHL preseason, he's 1+0 in 3 games so far.

Jelisejevs, meanwhile, adds yet another goal.

 

[Namejs]

The bolded part is obviously very true but the fact remains NCAA scoring is dictated by players' age and usage much more than it is in the pro leagues and probably more than you would care to admit. You can see future NHL stars scoring at the same pace as future DEL2 stars. So that's how much it tells me, Tralmaks should be able to fall somewhere between NHL player and DEL2 player. Where exactly, the jury is still out.

In most recent developments, he didn't get to play a single exhibition game during the Bruins camp which, to me, says a whole lot more than his 8 AHL games last year. If he goes full season at that 0,5 PPG pace, sure I'd consider him a lock for this team as well. In the AHL preseason, he's 1+0 in 3 games so far.

Jelisejevs, meanwhile, adds yet another goal.

I am perfectly aware of age, or rather the year of studies, being important in NCAA. Tralmaks scored 25 points as a rookie, and you sort of only underline my point with this.

And, yes, he does fall somewhere between NHL and minor pro hockey, but landing in DEL2 straight from AHL is very unlikely.

At the worst-realistic scenario, he's an average to below average AHLer like Jevpalovs, and he's likely going to play in DEL or ICEHL if he doesn't stick around in North America. Or possibly Dinamo Riga first. And the only reason Jevpalovs isn't playing for the national team is due to someone's ego. To say that he's worse than Jelisejevs is nonsense.

Realistically, Tralmaks is going to be a good to above average AHLer, and he might or might not get any NHL ice time during his career, depending on how long he's willing to grind his way out with a lower salary than in Europe. After that - one of the top European leagues or Dinamo Riga. This has been the classic scenario for most of our leading forwards over the last couple of decades now.

Jelisejevs is a mediocre VHLer, which roughly corresponds to being a mediocre ECHLer. So a tier and a half below Tralmaks.

And it's great he keeps scoring goals. Anyone willing to make that bet now?

 

[SoundAndFury]

At the worst-realistic scenario, he's an average to below average AHLer like Jevpalovs, and he's likely going to play in DEL or ICEHL if he doesn't stick around in North America. Or possibly Dinamo Riga first. And the only reason Jevpalovs isn't playing for the national team is due to someone's ego. To say that he's worse than Jelisejevs is nonsense.

Jelisejevs is a mediocre VHLer, which roughly corresponds to being a mediocre ECHLer. So a tier and a half below Tralmaks.

Jevpalovs got carried by his linemates a fair bit last year (who themselves moved to Slovakia) and is struggling to do much of anything this year. He should be on the NT over Marenis and the likes but he's not a competition for Jelisejevs.

You continue to insist he is a "mediocre VHLer" completely ignoring both the possibility that he might have improved over 2,5 years since he last played in the VHL and the fact that he was doing very well there actually, being a leader in Tsen Tou and then playing 2nd line on one of the best teams in the league (there are 3 players from that team playing fairly legit roles in the KHL this year). But from that point on seems like you are dead set on the conclusion that 2 seasons after that didn't matter for anything else but making him "semi-pro bum".

 

[Namejs]

Jevpalovs got carried by his linemates a fair bit last year (who themselves moved to Slovakia) and is struggling to do much of anything this year. He should be on the NT over Marenis and the likes but he's not a competition for Jevpalovs.

You continue to insist he is a "mediocre VHLer" completely ignoring both the possibility that he might have improved over 2,5 years since he last played in the VHL and the fact that he was doing very well there actually, being a leader in Tsen Tou and then playing 2nd line on one of the best teams in the league (there are 3 players from that team playing fairly legit roles in the KHL this year). But from that point on seems like you are dead set on the conclusion that 2 seasons after that didn't matter for anything else but making him "semi-pro bum".

VHL is actually a better league than most people give it credit for.

I haven't got anything against VHL. It's just a mediocre minor pro league.

We've got plenty of decent other minor pro guys like Pavlovs or Sevcenko. There's also the Semjonovs kid in Allsvenskan, for example. They are pretty good hockey players, but not good enough for the Latvian national team. A guy like Krastenbergs is an example of a GOOD minor pro guy and thanks to his grit and tenacity he can also play on the 4th line for our Olympic national team. Especially if we have a couple of injuries.

When I had a discussion about how good the Latvian B and C teams are, all 3 of Pablovs/Sevcenko/Jelisejevs were in, but Jelisejevs was on the C team, IIRC.

Players don't improve after a certaine age. He might have been very unlucky in previous years in terms of coaching, usage, luck, etc, sure.

I only wish him luck and continued success and it would be great if we could get another depth player, I just truly don't think this is the case.

But I hope I'm wrong.

What does get me heated and annoyed is the fact that we have some very promising overseas prospects and they have been snubbed for several years now. That is what gets me upset, because putting in Jelisejevs means not giving a chance to Tralmaks or someone else who's been overperforming like Dzierkals. We've got a good talent pool. There's no need to waste a roster spot on a guy with VHL/Latvian league experience and a low ceiling.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Players don't improve after a certaine age.

Again, much like your usage of stats, that's a complete generalization. The truth is everything you say is extremely prone to outliers and exceptions. Someone like Jeff Petry only truly emerged as a top-pairing D when he was about to turn 30. You should stop living in this black and white world where there are either no exceptions or they don't matter. It's fine when you are playing the percentages but not when you are trying to prove you are right about each and every case.

A guy like Krastenbergs is an example of a GOOD minor pro guy and thanks to his grit and tenacity he can also play on the 4th line for our Olympic national team.

This is funny since here you go with "grit and tenacity". Does data back you up on this one? I thought the guy was an average ECHLer.

low ceiling.

The guy is about to hit double digits in goals in the KHL and you continue yapping about the low ceiling. What truly gets you heated is players that are a threat to your all-encompassing magic formulas that should have everything figured out. Or at least it appears that way.

 

[Namejs]

Again, much like your usage of stats, that's a complete generalization. The truth is everything you say is extremely prone to outliers and exceptions. Someone like Jeff Petry only truly emerged as a top-pairing D when he was about to turn 30. You should stop living in this black and white world where there are either no exceptions or they don't matter. It's fine when you are playing the percentages but not when you are trying to prove you are right about each and every case.


This is funny since here you go with "grit and tenacity". Does data back you up on this one? I thought the guy was an average ECHLer.


The guy is about to hit double digits in goals in the KHL and you continue yapping about the low ceiling. What truly gets you heated is players that are a threat to your all-encompassing magic formulas that should have everything figured out. Or at least it appears that way.

You're making the mistake of confusing 2 entirely different metrics. One is performance. The other is ability.

The underlying metric inherently tied to human biology and nature is ability. VO2max, reaction time, explosiveness, speed, cognitive elasticity. These things do not improve, but only get worse after 25.

Ability and skill can only become untethered if the player has not actually invested his time and effort into trying to become a pro player.

If he doubles his time on the ice, for example. That could be a reason of marked improvement at a late age. This is completely unheard of at the pro level and everyone's bouncing around their ceiling, give or take a few percentage points. Someone might be not working hard enough during the offseason, someone might not be eating right, etc., but not practicing and not putting in the hours is pretty much impossible.

What does change based on usage and luck is performance. Someone buried on the 4th line until the age of 25 can perform MUCH better, but his underlying abilities will not have changed much.

We have seen enough of Jelisejevs to roughly estimate his abilities.

It's his performance that has changed this season.

To imply that his abilities have improved so much, that he is now an over 0.50 PPG guy in the KHL while being an under 0.50 PPG guy in the VHL is extremely unlikely. I have not heard of a single case in hockey that would equal this.

Petry was an NHL defenceman. This is nowhere near a similar case.

As for Krastenbergs: being a tough player is quantifiable as well. Girgensons is a very good example of a shutdown player. His production is shit, but the opposing team's production is very low when he's on the ice as well. It's the definition of a shutdown player - not letting the other team create offense by playing the two-way game, forechecking, hitting people, being aggressive, explosive.

Guys like Jelisejevs and Jevpalovs are soft-skilled types who don't fit into that role very well, hence they shouldn't make the team.

And, no, Krastenbergs is not a mediocre minor pro player, his production rate has been high in ECHL and ICEHL. He's better offensively than Jelisejevs as well.

 

[Dofs]

As for Zubov, there are literally about 3 Latvian forwards on the team with the rest of them being juniors/amateurs capable of signing in the Swedish 3rd division. So it's not like there's a huge variety of players available for him.

Available for what? To play on the first line? You think there is some kind of quota for Latvian players on the first line?

 

[Namejs]

Available for what? To play on the first line? You think there is some kind of quota for Latvian players on the first line?

There must be at least a couple of thousand Latvian spectators watching their games. And even though the team is only able to cover about 10% of their total expenses from ticket revenue, sponsorship deals and the like, it still is important for the team both from a business perspective, as well from the perspective of politics, which is the only reason the team exists in the first place.

Kremlin has no need for a Dinamo Riga with no Latvian players in it. Of course, they're always going to get favorable treatment. None of the players in the bottom 6 are worth a KHL contract.

 

[Dofs]

There must be at least a couple of thousand Latvian spectators watching their games. And even though the team is only able to cover about 10% of their total expenses from ticket revenue, sponsorship deals and the like, it still is important for the team both from a business perspective, as well from the perspective of politics, which is the only reason the team exists in the first place.

Kremlin has no need for a Dinamo Riga with no Latvian players in it. Of course, they're always going to get favorable treatment. None of the players in the bottom 6 are worth a KHL contract.

Ah, so you do really believe there is a quota for Latvian players on the first line . I guess this is why Dinamo signed 8 foreign forwards, right? By the way, from Latvians only Darzinsh played on the first line for the first two games until he was injured. Afterwards for almost entire month the first line consisted entirely of foreigners while Jelisejevs was bouncing from second to fourth, together with, well, almost the rest of the team as Zubovs was changing lines multiple times per game every game. Of course, you don't know that because you don't watch Dinamo games and have no idea what's happening in the team but speak like you do nonetheless.

 

[Namejs]

Ah, so you do really believe there is a quota for Latvian players on the first line . I guess this is why Dinamo signed 8 foreign forwards, right? By the way, from Latvians only Darzinsh played on the first line for the first two games until he was injured. Afterwards for almost entire month the first line consisted entirely of foreigners while Jelisejevs was bouncing from second to fourth, together with, well, almost the rest of the team as Zubovs was changing lines multiple times per game every game. Of course, you don't know that because you don't watch Dinamo games and have no idea what's happening in the team but speak like you do nonetheless.

Do you think there's a quota for drafted Asian players or a quota for Quebecois on Habs?

Dinamo signed 8 non-Latvian forwards, because no one wants to play for them and the rest of them are piss poor, and they don't want to finish dead last.

I couldn't care less what happens on that team. What is your point? You just said it yourself - Jelisejevs got randomly placed on the 1st line. If he wasn't Latvian, he wouldn't be on the team in the first place.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Namejs

I would not call Allsvenskan a minor league. Its about the same level as EBEL and Czech league. Outside of Semjonovs, there is also Georgs Golovkovs playing in Allsvenskan.

 

[Namejs]

Namejs

I would not call Allsvenskan a minor league. Its about the same level as EBEL and Czech league. Outside of Semjonovs, there is also Georgs Golovkovs playing in Allsvenskan.

It's not as good as the Czech league, and a tiny bit worse than ICEHL as well, but the difference isn't large and there's quite a bit of overlap. Allsvenskan is definitely not the worst place to be in, especially if you're young and fresh from junior hockey.