Nikita Filatov update

[puckhead]

sent to the KHL minors.

 

[dash]

I guess that's better than being sent to the KHL mines...

/Million dollar talent, 10 cent effort

 

[pixburgher66]

Wow...

 

[PhillyPhaithful48]

What a waste

 

[KennyBanyeah]

It turns out he's got a nagging injury and the parent club wants to save some change for a few days.

Still, the kid needs to grow up and play some hockey.

 

[forty_three]

It turns out he's got a nagging injury

"A bruise on the leg is a hell of a long way from the heart".

I couldn't resist.

Such a shame, really. How can he not realize the opportunity he has? All he has to do is just PLAY. Ten years worth of effort and a lifetime of retirement better off than 99% of the rest of the world.

 

[puckhead]

sent to the KHL minors.

and now a healthy scratch in the KHL minors.
what's the next stop

CSKA junior team coach scratched Filatov for the second Russian Junior League playoff game of their series.

 

[higgyfan4]

dchesnokov
"If u took a spot from young guys who played in regular season, u have 2..get a result...and not just skate around." coach on Filatov. Ouch

 

[flyersfan4706]

Sounds like Zherdev has great work ethic

 

[puckhead]

Sounds like Zherdev has great work ethic

@dchesnokov 1h
#KHL's Atlant officially terminated Nik Zherdev's contract today. Any takers?

 

[Nasty_Magician]

I know this is a blanketed, Don Cherryesque statement, but what is with these guys? Not every Russian player is like this but there are enough examples to send up the red flags. Is it something in the Russian development programs? Are they just not held accountable as they work their way up? It's this lazy, sense of entitlement that seems to be much more frequent out the Russian players. I dunno.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

I'd take Zherdev on a one-year, prove yourself, contract.

The guy has proven NHL scoring skills. He just seems to lose focus after a year or so, even in the all-wonderful KHL.

 

[flyersfan4706]

@dchesnokov 1h
#KHL's Atlant officially terminated Nik Zherdev's contract today. Any takers?

Nicely executed bump

 

[forty_three]

I know this is a blanketed, Don Cherryesque statement, but what is with these guys? Not every Russian player is like this but there are enough examples to send up the red flags. Is it something in the Russian development programs? Are they just not held accountable as they work their way up? It's this lazy, sense of entitlement that seems to be much more frequent out the Russian players. I dunno.

In the case of both guys they were both just immature. They came here, got handed money (and women) like they couldn't ever imagine and forgot what got them there. I guess once you cross over to the lazy part, you never can cross back.

Not just Russians though. Alex Daigle and Stefan Legein had similar problems.




Of course, only one team was dumb enough to draft three of the four.

 

[mooger_35]

Nom nom nom

 

[DragonfromTO]

Nom nom nom

Krutov's situation seems a little different though. He wasn't just leaving home for the first time, he was living free of the yoke of communism for the first time. It's why I cut the Cubans in baseball a little slack too, it's gotta be a big culture shock just being free to make choices.

 

[elocomotive]

I know this is a blanketed, Don Cherryesque statement, but what is with these guys? Not every Russian player is like this but there are enough examples to send up the red flags. Is it something in the Russian development programs? Are they just not held accountable as they work their way up? It's this lazy, sense of entitlement that seems to be much more frequent out the Russian players. I dunno.

It's a good set of questions. To be fair, there are plenty of examples of hard-working Russians and disappointing players from Canada and the U.S. as well.

In their defense, I will say this... transitioning to a country where you are 1,000s of miles from home, don't speak the language, etc. at the age these guys often come over must be challenging. I'm sure we all know people who did poorly or dropped out of college that had plenty of smarts because they were suddenly on their own and/or out of their element. Makes me think a little bit of Crosby - think how much Mario did for him as an almost parental figure in the early going. Even though Crosby seems wise beyond his years and stays out of trouble from all appearances, this probably helped him develop and focus on hockey. I'm sure not every team handles their young talent this well. And I imagine some of the foreign players feel a sense of isolation and loneliness off the ice that can certainly impact how well they perform on the ice. I don't know - just a thought. I wonder what the typical NHL team does to help these players and how that factors into their success.