Slava Feitsov calls for law to ban young Russians from playing in NHL

[Pointman]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

I was wondering how you would spin this, but you are ultimately arguing semantics.

Stating that a RFA - someone without a contract - is not permitted to leave the KHL is exactly the same thing as what is being reported.

The are some key differenceces.

First, young Russian players may never sign a khl.contract and just go to NA or wherever. They are free to do so. Only if they sign with KHL team at the first place, they are tied to the league till they are 28. Second, this is not on political level, it is on sports level. And I do not get why people keep mentioning Putin, who has nothing to do with it. Third, it is applied to the league, not nationality, it applies to anyone who signs with KHL.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Pointman

The are some key differenceces.

First, young Russian players may never sign a khl.contract and just go to NA or wherever. They are free to do so. Only if they sign with KHL team at the first place, they are tied to the league till they are 28. Second, this is not on political level, it is on sports level. And I do not get why people keep mentioning Putin, who has nothing to do with it. Third, it is applied to the league, not nationality, it applies to anyone who signs with KHL.

The reason we are talking about it on a political level is because the article states that exactly:

Fetisov, who is now a senator in Russia, tells Russia’s R-Sport news agency that federal law should be used to stop Russian players from moving to North America before they turn 28.

[Chingas]

I couldn't disagree with the concept more. That being said this "article" is very short/vague and offers little to no details with regards to the proposal. Arguing over it with so little clarity is moot at this point IMO.

[Geeoff]

I think this would badly hurt Russia's performance in international play to only play against each other.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by Pointman

The are some key differenceces.

First, young Russian players may never sign a khl.contract and just go to NA or wherever. They are free to do so. Only if they sign with KHL team at the first place, they are tied to the league till they are 28. Second, this is not on political level, it is on sports level. And I do not get why people keep mentioning Putin, who has nothing to do with it. Third, it is applied to the league, not nationality, it applies to anyone who signs with KHL.

I'm sure the KHL would honour a similar rule in the NHL and return guys like Burmistrov who they signed as RFAs from the NHL.

And if its just a league rule it would just hurt them more. The best players would cover over here to play in the CHL as imports and never sign with the KHL. At least now some of them stay over there to play.

[CaptainYooh]

This is a classic case of good intentions turn bad. Currently, NHL is understandably a more attractive destination for a good hockey player financially and developmentally. KHL is clearly inferior to NHL on most counts - it has inferior coaching and management to NHL, inferior travel conditions, inferior entertainment and living options for players. So, young and promising talent will naturally seek to go to NHL. Plus, even if they don't work out in NHL, their KHL contracts tend to get better after they return from NHL.

Fetisov knows that he cannot change the core reasons why NHL is better then KHL: multimillion dollar star contracts are just the cherry on top. The difference starts with federal support of early child hockey development on all levels, community support and volunteer participation, equipment access etc. In Canada, Sweden, US and Finland - most children since age of 3-4 are given relatively equal access to the game until they start showing natural talents and abilities, at which point the system offers those kids even more opportunities to develop their skills further. This is a cultural phenomenon in developed hockey-loving nations and it is supported firmly by all ruling governments in those countries.

Russia is decades behind on federal support of ALL children's access to hockey. Hockey has always been somewhat accessible in metro areas only and mostly to promising kids that could eventually bring glory to CSKA. Communal approach to hockey in rural areas is practically non-existent (i.e. no such thing as the whole village in Saskatchewan getting together and working on Sunday on building/improving a local hockey arena). Equipment is simply not available in rural areas, where kids, traditionally, have more time to practice and, theoretically, better chances of becoming hockey superstars. So, throwing federal money at the problem would help only so much. Developing hockey culture and communal approach to hockey development takes a long time and requires cultural shifts.

So, Fetisov, who undoubtedly understands all of the above well, chooses the easiest approach to fixing a leak - he offers to plug a sink by calling prohibition of player movement. But it's the faucet that needs to be fixed.