Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - The Athletic: Absent for over a decade, the Russians are coming (again) to Calgary

sureLoss · 05-28-2019, 09:16 PM

https://theathletic.com/984499/2019/...in-to-calgary/

Some highlights for those without a subscription:

Craig Button thinks the Flames failed Andrei Taratukhin. Says Taratukhin came willing to play in the minors while his wife and newborn twins stayed in Russia because of Visa issues. Played all 80 games and was tied for the team lead in points and only returned to Russia after a year because he felt that the Flames would never give him an opportunity.

Treliving says that Rafikov kept saying that he wanted to stay in Russia for another year and never really seemed engaged in coming over. Says his development has stagnated.

All 3 Russians (Zav, Yel, Zag) will be at development camp in July.

Likes Yelesin's attitude - real upbeat kid.
Decent first pass. Hard defender. Rugged. Bomb of a shot. Not a puck distributor but supports the play.

Zagidulin is raw and needs physical development.
Looks like they expect him to start in the AHL with Parsons.

05-28-2019, 09:16 PM	#1
sureLoss Some kinda newsbreaker! Join Date: May 2004 Location: Learning Phaneufs skating style Exp:	The Athletic: Absent for over a decade, the Russians are coming (again) to Calgary https://theathletic.com/984499/2019/...in-to-calgary/ Some highlights for those without a subscription: Craig Button thinks the Flames failed Andrei Taratukhin. Says Taratukhin came willing to play in the minors while his wife and newborn twins stayed in Russia because of Visa issues. Played all 80 games and was tied for the team lead in points and only returned to Russia after a year because he felt that the Flames would never give him an opportunity. Treliving says that Rafikov kept saying that he wanted to stay in Russia for another year and never really seemed engaged in coming over. Says his development has stagnated. All 3 Russians (Zav, Yel, Zag) will be at development camp in July. Likes Yelesin's attitude - real upbeat kid. Decent first pass. Hard defender. Rugged. Bomb of a shot. Not a puck distributor but supports the play. Zagidulin is raw and needs physical development. Looks like they expect him to start in the AHL with Parsons. Last edited by sureLoss; 05-29-2019 at 02:59 PM.