Who is the last Russian small guy that made it? And not just as a pro, as a legit national team candidate?
beyond that - these guys take a lot longer to mature, since they not only need to bulk up, but also manage not to loose the speed and the skill, while doing it. And where's a better place to do that, than in the MHL???
Tolchinskiy
Alexeyev
Nikolishin
will most likely all evaporate from the map of hockey. There's one St. Louis example for 1000 Dikushins
I believe that the novelty will eventually wear off, and kids will realize that they have a much better chance of fully developing at home. The NHL will still be there, if that's their personal goal after fully developing in youth hockey.
Frankly and unfortunately, I can't see this happening. There are too many things involved. First of all, pretty much any non american kid aged 15-16-17 would just jump on the first plane to play/work/study in America, it's another country, it's fascinating, it's an adventure, and at that age is hard to resist. They don't know what is America, they just watched it on the TV. They don't know that going there will most likely hurt their career, if they hear about Kabanov or the other 100s of similar stories, they think "but I'm different". Add to this the pressure of their agents, who will most likely push for them to go there for economical/political reasons (players with a reputable agent like Dementiev for example most times take the correct decisions). There is a lot of a grey area here, and it's hard to understand everything if you are 15 or 16. And then, unfortunately, the usual "Russian pessimism" about the country that hits many people makes the rest.
I seriously think that we shouldn't let any player under the age of 18 to go (to the far) abroad to play hockey.
Yes I counted 60+ give or take a few transfers. Not to mention even more younger players who are playing tier 2 junior A in the US and a handful of guys playing in junior B in Canada. If all of these guys stayed in the MHL, the league would be better than any one of the CHL leagues.
BTW Goldobin reassigned to HIFK? weird, wonder if that's a jab at the KHL, why wouldn't he go to Vityaz, Im sure they would have taken him with open arms.
as for the forward group i'd go with that:Ive attached a preliminary roster of WJC hopefuls and their current status'. What do you guys think, any ommissions?
Goldobin was assigned by San Jose, it was their decision.
Goldobin was assigned by San Jose, it was their decision. Btw the MHL being better than CHL statement is laughable. The unheralded players that made NHL opening rosters who played in the CHL last year shows its depth and strength. MHL goalies and defence are faaaaaar away from the caliber of the forwards.
Well, maybe he wrote too fast, but have a look at the junior world cup results, MHL teams won most games against CHL ones, at the WJC in the latest few years Russia has had better results than Canada and most of the better players for Russia were the guys playing in Russia, not the CHL ones, therefore, while probably the CHL guys remain the top leagues, especially considering their depth, the difference is IMHO very subtle.
Ive attached a preliminary roster of WJC hopefuls and their current status'. What do you guys think, any ommissions?
I seriously think that we shouldn't let any player under the age of 18 to go (to the far) abroad to play hockey.
BTW Goldobin reassigned to HIFK? weird, wonder if that's a jab at the KHL, why wouldn't he go to Vityaz, Im sure they would have taken him with open arms.
It was theirs and Larionov decision. I have to say that I never liked his acts after he stopped playing.
Frankly and unfortunately, I can't see this happening. There are too many things involved. First of all, pretty much any non american kid aged 15-16-17 would just jump on the first plane to play/work/study in America, it's another country, it's fascinating, it's an adventure, and at that age is hard to resist. They don't know what is America, they just watched it on the TV. They don't know that going there will most likely hurt their career, if they hear about Kabanov or the other 100s of similar stories, they think "but I'm different". Add to this the pressure of their agents, who will most likely push for them to go there for economical/political reasons (players with a reputable agent like Dementiev for example most times take the correct decisions). There is a lot of a grey area here, and it's hard to understand everything if you are 15 or 16. And then, unfortunately, the usual "Russian pessimism" about the country that hits many people makes the rest.
I seriously think that we shouldn't let any player under the age of 18 to go (to the far) abroad to play hockey.
Honestly, I'm not sure if it would be good for guys like Scherbak, Svechnikov and Tkachev to stay in MHL.
3 out of 70
as for the forward group i'd go with that:
tkachev - barbashev - buchnevich
tolchinskiy - okulov - goldobin
svechnikov - kamenev - scherbak
zykov - pilipenko - penkovskiy
Imo, Leschenko is very close to a lock after his performance in those summer games (at the moment I would say that Buchnevich-Barbashev-Leschenko looks like a legit first line to me). Mamin and Sharov also looked good and are strong candidates. Strange to see Tkachev and Svechnikov listed as centers, Kamenev and Fazleyev would fit into C positions better. Also if Zadorov is available (which might actually happen), he is a lock (same for Nichushkin, but he is 100% unavailable). Glukhov looks like also very close to a lock, knowing that D is rather poor this year. Also because of that at this point I wouldn't write off Rafikov and Cherepanov.
Btw the MHL being better than CHL statement is laughable. The unheralded players that made NHL opening rosters who played in the CHL last year shows its depth and strength. MHL goalies and defence are faaaaaar away from the caliber of the forwards.
Goldobin was assigned by San Jose, it was their decision. Btw the MHL being better than CHL statement is laughable. The unheralded players that made NHL opening rosters who played in the CHL last year shows its depth and strength. MHL goalies and defence are faaaaaar away from the caliber of the forwards.
Oops, forgot about Rafikov, he is likely a lock as well. I liked Sharov but despise Mamin. I think Mamin is very poor, looks poor in his KHL outings (falls at strange times, looses pucks, unsmart plays, I hope Bragin avoids him like the plague).
Some of the guys I just lumped into positions.
No one yet speaks of the goaltending, but IMO the starter very well could be Shestyorkin. This guy is a real talent from what I have seen. Sorokin gets more fanfare because he has been in the KHL for some time now, but lets not forget Shestyorkin had some good KHL performances last season and his MHL playoff run was exceptional.
What is your basis? Look at Tolpar and a bewildered Spartak line up ran a train on a Cape Breton team which is now a powerhouse in the Q. MHL forwards were significantly more skilled than the CHL ones, and the 2 best forwards on CB were Russians to boot.
You take Bars Kazan for ex. Add Fazleyev, Nasybulin, Lazarev, Svechnikov, Valeyev and Tyanulin back to their current line up and there isn't a team in the CHL to touch them. CSKA would be even more impressive.
as for the forward group i'd go with that:
tkachev - barbashev - buchnevich
tolchinskiy - okulov - goldobin
svechnikov - kamenev - scherbak
zykov - pilipenko - penkovskiy