Quote:
Originally Posted by kehatch
I don't think anyone was saying that there isn't a Russian Factor. Just that it shouldn't' preclude you from drafting Russian's anymore then: the Kyle Turris situation should stop you from drafting guys from New Westminster; or the Justin Schultz situation should prevent you from college; or the Tim Erixon situation should prevent you from drafting players from Sweden; or the Lindros situation should prevent you from drafting players from London ONT, etc, etc, etc
Lots of players jump ship or refuse to sign. When it is a Russian it is a big deal. The vast majority of Russian players that are drafted and have the skill to play in the NHL play in the NHL.
But that won't change anyone's opinion that likes to get caught up in the controversy of a single situation rather then look at the whole objectively.
That said, this horse has been beaten to death so back to our regularly scheduled program ..... sucks to be NJ right now. And Cammalleri is available.
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To the first bold: those are one-offs and are simply not comparable. If this were the first, or even the second or third, Russian to bolt, then your point would be valid. However, the fact that the Russian factor comes into play on an almost monthly basis, illustrates that this is not a one-off event.
To the second bolt: are you kidding? There are what - less than 30 Russians playing in the NHL right now (I didn't look it up, but I believe the number is in that range)? There are over 300 Canadians. Are you suggesting that Canada's talent pool is 10 times as deep as the Russians'?
There are not as many NHL-ready players in Russia as there are in Canada, that is almost certainly true. However, if you are suggesting that there are only about 30, when the WJ tournament shows us several very talented players each year, then I think you need to take another look.
I find it absolutely amazing that, every single time the Russian factor comes into play - and again, that seems to be monthly, if not more - people attempt to argue that it doesn't exist.
No one is claiming that Russians have a bad attitude or are lazy or anything like that. But it is just a simple, irrefutable fact that drafting Russians is extremely risky and your chances of getting full value are very low.