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Originally Posted by Parallex
How many of them played in the NHL?
The vast majority of the folk who come from the old soviet republics (because a lot of the guys that you're identifying as Russian aren't actually Russian) come over to play in the NHL.
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I realize that, but they were drafted out of Russia and speak a mutually intelligible language. There are also a lot of people in Belarus that even want union with Russia. I have no problem lumping them together for the sake of this discussion as the KHL would have an equal pull.
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Some of them effectively bust and go back but who cares about the ones that bust? The guys that are really good (Malkin, Ovie, Gonchar, etc. etc.) stick around. Hell, a lot of guys that are just average stick around for a good long while.
I mean really... Ivan Vishnevskiy? He of all of 5 NHL games? Viktor Tikhonov? The guy who barely got 0.50PPG in the AHL? Hardly a deterent IMO.
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That's part of the issue though. Even if Nichushkin (or any Russian 1st rounder) doesn't develop into an elite talent, you still want them to be with the team as an asset. Teams still need 20 goal/50 point players and those are the ones that will be most tempted by the KHL. It's important to stay grounded and remember that not all of these top 5 prospects are absolutely going to live up to expectations.
Guys like Vishnevskiy and Tikhonov were late firsts and like most late 1sts, were long shots to make the NHL anyway, so I agree that they don't matter that much. They still left at the conclusion of their ELCs though and a lot of late firsts don't sniff the NHL until that point. Leaving at the age of 22 or 23 is still cutting and running IMO.