Quote:
Originally Posted by mrdonkey
I don't think the Flames have ignored them, they just haven't had a lot of luck enticing those players to come over. One of the challenges of being in a small western Canadian market.
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Prior to the last two years when they signed Yelesin and Zagidulin and drafted Zavgorodny, the last Russian in the system was Rafikov.
Burke didn’t believe in Russians.
What did Darryl say after he acquired Kipper, something like “he’s Just a placeholder until the fat Russian kid finds his passport.”
Taratukhin played a season in the AHL, and that was it.
They’ve ignored Russia. They could have invested in Russian scouting and operations to build their reputation in that country, they could’ve signed more Russian FAs and taken late round fliers on skilled players.
In the absence of all of that, one can only conclude the country hasn’t been a priority for them, or they’ve been scared. Either way, it’s good that’s no longer the case.