The Puck Stops Here
Russian Prospects Head Back To Russia
by PuckStopsHere on 11/29/09 at 01:15 PM ET
Comments (0)
The NHL has been slowly losing talented players to the KHL. The top eight scorers in the KHL are all ex-NHL players. All of them (Maxim Sushinsky, Alexei Yashin, Alexander Radulov, Sergei Zinovjev, Marcel Hossa, Mattias Weindhandl, Patrick Thoresen and Aleksey Morozov) are players who easily hold down NHL jobs. For the KHL to experience future growth, they must be able to attract top prospects to play in their league (and not the NHL) and they are doing this. Russian prospects who have not had instant success in the NHL are returning to the KHL. So far this season, Nikita Filatov of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Viktor Tikhonov of the Phoenix Coyotes have returned to play with CSKA Moscow. Both of these deals are officially player loans. These are unhappy NHL players who are missing their homeland and not making as fast progress in the league get a chance to go home. It is unclear when if ever these players will be returning to the NHL.
Presumably, Filatov or Tikhonov would want to have essentially guaranteed spots on the top couple lines of their NHL teams before heading back. Can that ever be guaranteed? Is this the last we will see of these players in North America? Some players who have returned to play in Russia (Alexander Semin and Enver Lisin are examples) have returned and now hold down NHL jobs, but many have returned to Russia never to return. There is a leaky pipeline bringing Russian talent to the NHL and adding further links to it with players being loaned back to Russia only serves to make it leakier.
The KHL will benefit from the talents of their new arrivals in Nikita Filatov and Viktor Tikhonov. The NHL may not miss them much today, but both are likely to make significant improvements in the next few years. They are both former first round draft picks and both are expected to become significant NHL players. When they continue to emerge as hockey talents that the NHL could use, it is not clear that the NHL will have a chance.
Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
Tags: Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Nikita+Filatov, Phoenix+Coyotes, Viktor+Tikhonov,
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
New Jersey Devils Make The Finals
Los Angeles Kings Make The Stanley Cup Finals
Another Potentially Important Signing
World Hockey Championships: Medal Round
About The Puck Stops Here
The Puck Stops Here was founded during the 2004/05 lockout as a place to rant about hockey. The original site contains over 1000 posts, some of which were also published on FoxSports.com.
Who am I?
A diehard hockey fan.
Why am I blogging?
I want to.
Why are you reading it?
???
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Donate to Kukla’s Korner