Quote:
Originally Posted by moon
The concern can be that teams think he is a top 5 talent but needs 2-3 years to work on his all around game, now is that something he is willing to do when all his life he has been free to play the way he wants and has a 3+ million dollar deal back home?
It seems every report on Filatov was that his issue wasn't talent but an unwillingness to work on his overall game and that forcing him to play in the AHL rather than NHL.
Also, there is some talk that the Sochi Olympics and possible reprecussions of the IIHF not allowing guys who break their contracts keeping Russians in the NHL. Not sure if it is true but it could be something preventing some of the current Russians from leaving.
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This.
It's not that these players
want to play in the KHL - they all have the motivation to play in the best league in the world. And it's not that the KHL offers more money (though that is possible at times).
The issue with Russian players is that they have played an individual, pure offensive style of hockey their entire lives. Becoming a great player means working on your defensive game as well - and sometimes that means a couple years in the A, or time on the 3rd/4th lines.
Many Russian players have shown in the past, an unwillingness to work on the less sexy aspects of the game. When working at becoming a good pro isn't fun anymore, they have the easy out of running back to the KHL where they can get paid just as well and never have to play defense or do any of the less fun stuff.
That is the issue and it is an issue for ALL of them, regardless of what they say in interviews. Sure, some survive the process, but it is a risk for all of them.
I very much hope that Nichushkin gets taken in the 1st 5 picks - that would be a perfect situation for the Flames. Let another team watch how awesome he can be but turn into a complete frustration (in all likelihood)
Now if we can just get the hype-machine going for Nurse!