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The Leafs have the best Russian born player on a Canadian team. You might not call him a star (yet) but you want him on your team and you want him badly!
Yes the last Russian star signed with the great Canadian team of New Jersey. Probably went there to ***** slap snooki.
The Leafs have the best Russian born player on a Canadian team. You might not call him a star (yet) but you want him on your team and you want him badly!
It's the city. Russians are most likely drawn to these cities:
New York
Boston
Detroit
Philly
Los Angeles
Washington
Chicago
Those cities are a lot better than Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, etc.. (no offense to anyone)
It's not Canada vs. US, it's the city.
You obviously know nothing about Vancouver. How many movie stars and professional athletes not playing in Vancouver have homes in Vancouver? Guess they love blowing millions on houses in in cities not quite as appealing as American cities. lol
You find me another city in the world where you can both golf and ski so many days out of the year.
Well, I think there are a few things we can say for certain:
1) The fact Russian players have a professional league back home gives them an alternative to the NHL if things don't work out, which always presents SOME risk, which varies with players.
2) Teams that have had a bad past experience with a Russian player or two in the past may be a little more cautious when drafting another Russian, at least more than a team without said experience. For example, teams like Ottawa, Columbus, Nashville, etc.
3) Teams with one or more Russians already on the current roster tend to probably be of the belief that if a Russian the BPA at the draft, they might as well take him because they will a lot more comfortable with a fellow Russian player being able to help them out. This alone would probably cause a concentration of Russian players in some cities and not others.
All in all, I think some Russian players probably migrate to bigger cities or cities with more Russian citizens/players, but I don't think it's really a Russian thing. Canadians and Americans want to play for teams like New York and Detroit as well. Some of them play for a team because they are an elite team with a chance to win every year (i.e. Detroit) and some players might want to go to one of the biggest cities in the world to have basically everything they could hope to want in one city.
As an Oiler fan, I think we may avoid Russians when drafting, but I am hoping that will change next year. There are quite a few very good Russian prospects next year, so hopefully we get away from this trend.
Just coincidence. Canucks haven't been avoiding Russians by any means. Shirokov has done well and it was rumored last summer they were trying to land Filatov.
You have to realize there's a small fraction of Russian players in the NHL and then look a the country makeup. Canada has 6/30 teams so they get a fraction of that fraction of Russian players available.
It's the city. Russians are most likely drawn to these cities:
New York
Boston
Detroit
Philly
Los Angeles
Washington
Chicago
Those cities are a lot better than Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, etc.. (no offense to anyone)
It's not Canada vs. US, it's the city.
Without hesitation, Calgary > Detroit. Give me a freaking break... it's a very highly rated city on global lists, very mild winters by Canadian standards, similar to Denver I'd say, probably a lot warmer though in Chinook season. Over 1 Million people.. tons of entertainment. and being a star on that team means being a star almost anywhere in that city... (which is good and bad I guess)
Edmonton and Detroit... I'd probably pick Detroit, just because it's got milder winters, close to so many other awesome cities, the canadian border, and it's not nearly as bad as it's made out to be in the media... a lot more going on in the Detroit Metro area than there is in Calgary or Edmonton, by far.
Have you ever been to Vancouver??? Montreal??? Toronto even for that matter...
unless your definition of a good city means "NFL team + MLB team + NBA team... you have no idea what you are talking about.
Vancouver is consistently rated as one of the best cities in the world to live.
Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto are all world class cities, and I'd say both out class Detroit, and Washington. and are all very comparable to Philly and Boston as desirably places to live if you make lots of money.
nothing to say about Chicago, LA and NYC though... pretty much impossible to beat those three cities if we aren't going outside North America.
Basically, I think the only cities he doesn't want to live in are Minneapolis, Montreal, Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton... anywhere cold. I don't think the "not enough Russian people" is going to be much of a factor... but there are some areas with considerably more Russians like others.
I find it funny a Russian guy is so against living in a cold place, but I was born and raised in Winnipeg, and have no problem saying I would never chose to the live there if I could make millions of dollars, even hundreds of thousands in more "desirable" places
Detroit isn't even close to making that list, and NYC would be about as cold as I would want it to get in the winter. can't play outdoor hockey on real ice... but really who cares.
I guess Zhamnov and Khabbi must have been tricked into believing Winnipeg was some sort of Tropical Russian commune of awesomeness or something... why else would they have played for the Jets.
This is a myth. The reason most of the Russians in the NHL are on American teams is because they are playing for the team which drafted them. The last 2 Russian "stars" to reach UFA status signed with Canadian teams.
Without hesitation, Calgary > Detroit. Give me a freaking break... it's a very highly rated city on global lists, very mild winters by Canadian standards, similar to Denver I'd say, probably a lot warmer though in Chinook season. Over 1 Million people.. tons of entertainment. and being a star on that team means being a star almost anywhere in that city... (which is good and bad I guess)
Edmonton and Detroit... I'd probably pick Detroit, just because it's got milder winters, close to so many other awesome cities, the canadian border, and it's not nearly as bad as it's made out to be in the media... a lot more going on in the Detroit Metro area than there is in Calgary or Edmonton, by far.
Have you ever been to Vancouver??? Montreal??? Toronto even for that matter...
unless your definition of a good city means "NFL team + MLB team + NBA team... you have no idea what you are talking about.
Vancouver is consistently rated as one of the best cities in the world to live.
Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto are all world class cities, and I'd say both out class Detroit, and Washington. and are all very comparable to Philly and Boston as desirably places to live if you make lots of money.
nothing to say about Chicago, LA and NYC though... pretty much impossible to beat those three cities if we aren't going outside North America.
Basically, I think the only cities he doesn't want to live in are Minneapolis, Montreal, Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton... anywhere cold. I don't think the "not enough Russian people" is going to be much of a factor... but there are some areas with considerably more Russians like others.
I find it funny a Russian guy is so against living in a cold place, but I was born and raised in Winnipeg, and have no problem saying I would never chose to the live there if I could make millions of dollars, even hundreds of thousands in more "desirable" places
Detroit isn't even close to making that list, and NYC would be about as cold as I would want it to get in the winter. can't play outdoor hockey on real ice... but really who cares.
I guess Zhamnov and Khabbi must have been tricked into believing Winnipeg was some sort of Tropical Russian commune of awesomeness or something... why else would they have played for the Jets.
He means that if he had to play in a similar climate in Russia or Winnipeg, he rather play in Russia. I'm from Russia and I still hate the cold lol. I much rather live in a warm climate.
Taxes and agents telling players how much less they'd make in Canada is a big deal.. That and the hoopla associated with big American cities..
One thing comparing Vancouver to Edmonton or Calgary is ridiculous.. Vancouver is a world class city and one of the best places you could possibly live on the planet.. Everybody loves Van City..
even though i hate the cancuks, i can't let someone bash Vancouver as a city. It is generally listed as one of the best places in the world to live, not just NA.
Mercer's list's Vancouver as #4, The Economist at #1. Note not a single American city in either top 10 list. I'm not trying to bash US cities, as I hope to have the chance to live south of the border my self at some point, but merely pointed out the stupidity of the OP.
I think Bryz was referencing the face he does not want to live in Winnipeg, not all of Canada.
i know the flames/darryl sutter admittedly stayed away from russians during the draft, just because of the possibilty of them taking off or not coming across
i know the flames/darryl sutter admittedly stayed away from russians during the draft, just because of the possibilty of them taking off or not coming across
Yeah, it is a safer choice to draft a Canadian or American because the chances of them playing for you are much higher. I would still like to see a few more Russians come play for Canadian teams. They are usually very entertaining to watch.
I know New York has a huge Russian community and I'm sure other cities do too, but not all have one like NY down in Brooklyn. I have friends who are Russian and there are areas where people only speak Russian. If you've ever visited somewhere that speaks a foreign language or moved somewhere far away from home where they do things differently, you know what kind of culture shock these guys, kids some of them, can go through. Cities with large communities of well established Russians would have a huge advantage with helping players adjust. I have friends that will not move outside of Brighton Beach Brooklyn even though it means a longer commute for them and their family and more expensive housing.
The Reason guys like Kovy and Volchenkov went to NJ, is not only because of winning tradition. The New York/New Jersey area has a large population of Slavic People, including many Russians. So maybe it feels like home to them.
I find their aren't many russian stars on Canadian Teams.
What gives these guys may be a hit or miss but if they are bpa at draft, or solid free agent, they may succeed in a hockey environment.
ex: Filatov to ......
Semin as free agent in 2012 or trade
26 teams passing on Evgeny Kuznetsov
Thoughts???????
Why bring up Kuznetsov as an example? If 26 teams passed on him and there are 6 Canadian teams I don't think it's Canadian teams avoiding Russians it's all teams. Semin didn't hit free agency as he signed a 1 year contract extension. Filatov was drafted right were he was rumoured to go. None of your post makes sense come to think of it. The leafs have Kulemin who isn't a super star but is a real nice player. The Canucks have two swedes that keep them in pretty good standing. The Senators have Gonchar.
As an FYI
Of the top 60 point getters in the nhl this year 2 were Russian. How many of these so called superstars are we missing out on exactly? Semin did not fall into the top 60 although he did miss 17 games and likely would have had he played them all. Either way there simply isn't that much elite talent from Russia in the nhl today.
Of the top 60 point getters in the nhl this year 2 were Russian. How many of these so called superstars are we missing out on exactly? Semin did not fall into the top 60 although he did miss 17 games and likely would have had he played them all. Either way there simply isn't that much elite talent from Russia in the nhl today.
This season was a fluke. Only two seasons ago, all three Hart finalists were Russian, and last season, three of the top seven goal scorers were Russian. To say that there isn't much elite talent from Russia is utterly absurd.
This season was a fluke. Only two seasons ago, all three Hart finalists were Russian, and last season, three of the top seven goal scorers were Russian. To say that there isn't much elite talent from Russia is utterly absurd.
and how much elite talent is canadian?
canadian teams won't draft russians unless they have to. hell a russian prospect by the leafs recently refused to come to NA unless he was promised decent ice time. prima donna
Like Ilya bryzcalov(wrong) said the other day about Winnipeg they want to go where there's other russians and some kind of Russian culture. I don't think there's much of that in Canada. Kinda like a Canadian would be out of place in say brazil
Yes the last Russian star signed with the great Canadian team of New Jersey. Probably went there to ***** slap snooki.
The Leafs have the best Russian born player on a Canadian team. You might not call him a star (yet) but you want him on your team and you want him badly!
