70seven Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Two straight Olympics help to prove that these guys have a very hard time coming together as a team. All that talent and still no dice. All due credit to Finland, but talent for talent, it should have been a win for the Ruskies. You then have the legit threat of losing your players the KHL, and they would generally play for money before the chance to win. Not to mention being rewarded with ice time at the Olympic games... Im so thankfull we have a player in Bo Horvat rather that Valeri Nichuskin. Im sure that VN will end up scoring nicer goals, but I have no doubt that Horvat will be the better team player, and be more helpful in actually winning games that matter. How many key Russian players do the SC contenders have? Chicago? Anaheim? Boston? LA? SJ? Pitts? Of those teams I count 2... yes 2. Malkin and Voynov. Interestingly enough, 4 of the 5 teams listed have won Stanley cups over the last 6 years. IM not suggesting there cant be an exception, particularly if its an elite center iceman, (Datsyuk, Malkin), but stay away from the explosive wingers with all that talent. In this era, they are non factors or solo factors when the game matters the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Tamland Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Ya, Malkin, Bure, Ovie etc are over rated. If you saw Kovalchuk in the shootout against the USA you would know why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I'll sum it up in one word. Bure. A lot of fans want a dynamic winger that makes highlight reel goals. Yet they don't understand, one player does not a team make. It's like beer goggles, but I call it "Bure Goggles". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strombone1 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 GMs avoid Russians because the KHL throws stupid money at them and it's very hard for young Russian players who are typically the providers of the family to turn down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboose Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 You then have the legit threat of losing your players the KHL, and they would generally play for money before the chance to win. So its not possible to win in the KHL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armada Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Ya, Malkin, Bure, Ovie etc are over rated. If you saw Kovalchuk in the shootout against the USA you would know why. Ya he turned out great for New Jersey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 it's because there are a lot of highly skilled russians that, when mixed with other nationalities, have proven to be very dynamic and add something that we are missing in our lineup, pure scoring talent. the problem they faced in the olympics (and most of their national programs) is that they have no support players, something that is sorely needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 the only treal russian team player we've had was larinov.....russian players use the old i'm going home to russia to get more money. bure was dynamic but was the most selfish player i've ever seen....he would try to stick handle through each team...i used to think, his own players might as well go sit on the bench because he rarely passed to them.... messier use to come back to the bench, shaking his head after a shift with bure.... keenan called him a selfish little puke.... russian players, no thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I used to shake my head after every shift by Messier when he came back to the bench and failed to do... well... anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWheeler Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Until Russia puts out a player as dynamic as Bure, Ovie, Datsyuk, and is actually available to us at a draft, I am perfectly fine with passing on every single Russian prospect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonMexico Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Right now, Canada's top players aren't doing any better than Russia's top players. Why aren't you ripping Tavares and Crosby and Perry for being selfish, not scoring and playing a me first game? Oh that's right, they are just trying hard like good ol' Canadian boys do. I would take any player, regardless of nationality, that provided skills that other players on my team weren't able to. Nationality has nothing to do with the desire to win. Right now, I can tell you that any Russian player on the Olympic team would trade their millions of dollars for a chance at the Gold medal or Stanley Cup (except for the guys that play in the KHL). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John.Tallhouse Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 GMs avoid Russians because the KHL throws stupid money at them and it's very hard for young Russian players who are typically the providers of the family to turn down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Datsyuk, Larionov, Federov, Bure, Fetisov all make my team. National pride blinds many people. Russians bad- Canadians good is kindergarden thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortorellatheboss Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Well by that logic Canada may as not have Swiss players, since they didn't win a medal. Or in 2006, the Canucks should have gotten rid of all Canadian players after Canada lost in the quarters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberz21 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 The best Red Army teams and WJC Russian team were the ones without a superstar like Malkin and Ovechkin. They had great players for sure (like Datsyuk, Kharlamov, etc.), but what made them the best a the time was team chemistry and team plays. Malkin and Ovechkin have both been owned at the WJC by Canada and now two straight Olympics with early exits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 So basically Horvat is better than Nichuskin because 1 nationality is superior to the other. If someone like Nich or Kulikov played on any of those 6 contenders it would shake the foundations of that teams chemistry and take them out of contention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabreFan1 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hey, Grigorenko will be available as an RFA in '15-'16. If MG wants a Russian that can play on the wing then he can pick one up then. His character is in question though. I think that's one of the reasons that teams are reluctant to pick up Russians. If they don't get their way, they are likely to bolt off back to Russia/KHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xbox Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Ill get a lot of hate for this I'm sure, but I'm happy we don't acquire Russian players. Radulov and similar scenarios are too risky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 does anyone have a list of all the Canadian players that couldn't cut it in the nhl and are now playing in Russia or Sweden? Quite a few I'd guess. But hey keep up with the nationalistic stereotypes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Generally speaking (other than last years Horvat vs Nisk) we don't pick high enough (picking in the 20's) to get Russian players at the talent level required for them to be NHL "sure things". As such, most more middling-talent Russians (or Eastern Europe for that matter) aren't worth the risk (KHL) compared to players from other countries (North America, Western Europe). Why possibly waste a pick on a player who may never come over when you can get a kid from North America/Western Europe with close/comparable skill levels but perhaps different skill sets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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