Drafting Russian
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- trevor corey
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Drafting Russian
Is it a waste of a draft choice?
"put some Preperation H on the guy and he'd disappear"
Brian Burke
Brian Burke
- Meerschaum
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Without a transfer agreement in place, drafting any Russian is a very unwise game.
With a transfer agreement in place, drafting any Russian will be . . . a very unwise game. That's because agreements mean nothing to Russians. All they respect is brute force. Russian teams have carte blanche to commit crimes vis a vis their players. Under the table payments (not just cash, but drugs and whores too), bribery of government and league officials, hostage taking, blackmail, assault and . . . even murder are everyday business practices in Russia. Canadian teams can't and don't engage in those sort of shenanigans - and so are at a disadvantage.
And yes, the 'nucks should have a slight bias from kids from the Dub. It is the best junior league on the planet. But we've had a lot of success with kids from US College Hockey, Sweden and Finland too.
With a transfer agreement in place, drafting any Russian will be . . . a very unwise game. That's because agreements mean nothing to Russians. All they respect is brute force. Russian teams have carte blanche to commit crimes vis a vis their players. Under the table payments (not just cash, but drugs and whores too), bribery of government and league officials, hostage taking, blackmail, assault and . . . even murder are everyday business practices in Russia. Canadian teams can't and don't engage in those sort of shenanigans - and so are at a disadvantage.
And yes, the 'nucks should have a slight bias from kids from the Dub. It is the best junior league on the planet. But we've had a lot of success with kids from US College Hockey, Sweden and Finland too.
Modo vincis, modo vinceris.
- levelheaded
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That is why 2 of the last 20 first overall picks have come out of the WHL. Although I agree that the WHL is fairly good at developing a wide variety of players (Not just Forwards like the OHL, or Goatlenders like the Q), it isn't the best junior league on earth. That still has to go to the OHL... It has the largest pool of players to work with, and thus the largest talent group.Meerschaum wrote:And yes, the 'nucks should have a slight bias from kids from the Dub. It is the best junior league on the planet. .
The WHL is a good junior league, but certainly not the best.
EDIT: Forgot the point of the original post.
Yes I see some value in drafting Russians. Although it may be difficult to get them to come across without the transfer agreement, it can and will happen. Look at Malkin, he was without a doubt the best player outside the NHL last year, and yet he managed to make it here and the Pens didn't have to pay ANY compensation. If Cherepanov fell to 15th or so I would be completely in favour of trading Schneider to move up and grab him.
A transfer agreement will be in place eventually, it's just a matter of time. At the very least it will stop Nonis from rushing our prospects
- Meerschaum
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And the final votes are in. The Western Hockey League led all leagues in players drafted this year with 37, followed by the OHL at 35.levelheaded wrote:That is why 2 of the last 20 first overall picks have come out of the WHL. Although I agree that the WHL is fairly good at developing a wide variety of players (Not just Forwards like the OHL, or Goatlenders like the Q), it isn't the best junior league on earth. That still has to go to the OHL... It has the largest pool of players to work with, and thus the largest talent group.:
Congratulations WHL. You are officially the Best Junior League on the planet.
Modo vincis, modo vinceris.
That's not what makes it the best league. What makes it the best league is the character & toughness demanded to play in the league. When the OHL stops producing headcases like Bertuzzi, then they might be close.Meerschaum wrote:And the final votes are in. The Western Hockey League led all leagues in players drafted this year with 37, followed by the OHL at 35.
Congratulations WHL. You are officially the Best Junior League on the planet.
Real hockey fans refuse to listen to the Idiot(tm)
- levelheaded
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Never said the O didn't produce some quality. Just that they produce a lot of crap (can anyone spell L-I-N-D-R-O-S?)Grizzly wrote:Yeah .... and also guys like Wayne Gretzky, Steve Yzerman, Ron Francis, Chris Pronger, Joe Thornton, Rick Nash and Jason Spezza ... ???!!!When the OHL stops producing headcases like Bertuzzi, then they might be close.
Grizz
But of the last 20 years the Mem Cup breaks down like this:
QMJHL - 3 champions
OHL - 5 champions
W - 12 champions
Now I don't know about how you score that, but I see it as the W winning 50% more times than the Q & O combined.
But okay, the O is the best league on the planet.
Only if you know nothing about hockey.
Real hockey fans refuse to listen to the Idiot(tm)