Hockey Night in Russia

Cheerleaders at players' eye level that change outfits between periods.
Ray Emery talking about adjusting to life away from North America.
Designers mocking the Stanley Cup's design.

Here is a sample or two:

Vladimir Mayzel, a 46-year-old artist with lineage and hubris, leads a team of craftsmen who are building the Kontinental Hockey League's championship trophy: the Gagarin Cup.

Named in honour of former Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, the trophy's designers have set what many would consider a lofty goal. They want a trophy that will put the NHL's Stanley Cup to shame.

As it is, Mayzel and his chief artisan don't have much to say about the NHL's well-known trophy. "It doesn't have artistic value," Mayzel said matter-of-factly. "They just add on new rings to have the players' names and that testifies to history and is valuable. But the cup itself is pretty plain."

Plain? Maybe. But our Cup rules all.

Excerpt 2: Mike Krushelnyski, who coaches Vityaz, knows not to ask too many questions about ownership.

For instance, what's the name of his employer, his team's owner?

"Nikolai," he said, sipping a coffee before a recent morning practice.

Nikolai who?

"Just Nikolai," Krushelnyski said.

For more on the KHL, including video footage, check out Rick Westhead's article in the Toronto Star.

T Tags: KHL+life cheerleaders Ray+Emery+update new+trophy

Marcus Nilson heading to Russia

According Nilson's agent Claes Elefalk, the Flames are going to release Nilson so that he can sign in the KHL.
It's no secret that Nilson wanted out of Calgary.

T Tags: Marcus+Nilson+to+KHL Flames

KHL shouldn't solely be blackballed

Thank you Ken Campbell of The Hockey News for saying this:

When Alexander Semin returned to the NHL in 2006-07, he should have been forced to comply with the final year of his entry-level contract because he never fulfilled it and was suspended by the team for the two seasons he was in Russia. But somehow, that final season was ignored and the Capitals, knowing Semin wouldn’t have returned for entry-level money, managed to sign him to a new two-year deal despite the fact he had not fulfilled the terms of his first contract.

When you see things like that happening, can you blame Radulov – who was contractually in exactly the same boat as Semin – for bolting back home at the first opportunity? If the NHL isn’t going to respect its own contracts, how can it expect anyone else to do the same?

And this is the kind of attitude both the leaders of the NHL and IIHF find themselves up against these days. NHL owners talk a good game, but are happy to circumvent their own rules and try to do business on their own terms if it means they can get a star player. The KHL, meanwhile, seems to want to play by its own set of rules and has little regard for the IIHF. Other European federations see what’s happening and are starting to stand up for their own interests, as well.

This war has 2 sides. We have been stealing Russian players who were under contract with Russian teams for a while now. Our bullying tactics have finally caught up to us because the KHL is gaining power and putting the issue into the spotlight.
It's amazing how the KHL changed their tone last week regarding those several players who were signed by NHL teams that could have been under contract in Russia. That looks like a positive humble step in the right direction, perhaps. Now will the all so powerful NHL return the favor?
Tip of the hat to Paul Kukla for finding the story, of course.

T Tags: NHL+signing+players+under+contracts+in+Russia KHL

Chris Simon and Darcy Verot raising hell in the KHL

I think it's fair to say that the Russian hockey fans like Chris Simon. Simon, who was basically exiled from the NHL, now plays for Moskvalaget HK MVD. Recently, in what was Simon's KHL debut I believe, a brawl broke out and Simon pounded on Mikhail Fedosejev, leaving him bleeding and retreating. That fight can be seen below:



There were several fights in that game. Over 160 minutes in penalties were handed out. Did you hear the fans cheer Simon? Did you see his teammates tapping their sticks on the ice as he left?

Simon did state that he's not in Russia to fight, but to play hockey. But I don't think his brawler side can always be contained for all that long. Apparently, Fedosejev considers himself a tough guy and went after Simon to prove himself. Well that was a mistake.
I know that more fans are going to these games, according to the reporter in the Simon story, but the KHL is threatening suspensions to Simon and any other player for continued brawls. Apparently, there is no such thing as "suspended without pay" in the KHL, correct me if I'm wrong. So what do the fighters have to lose?
Either way, I love old-school brawls. Seeing Simon pound that guy amuses me.
Link to the Simon story.

Darcy Verot, who played for the Capitals for about a third of a season about 5 years ago, is in his 2nd season in Russia. He has 29 penalty minutes in 3 games with Chekhov Vityaz so far. Last season for the same team he scored 2 goals in 43 games and amassed 511 penalty minutes! Goon city! From the same game as the Simon incident, here is Verot putting a beating on Alexey Krovopuskov.




VEROT TUBE

- How about a Darcy Verot tribute/compilation from his rugged butt-kicking 2007-08 season.

- Verot wouldn't get away with this shit in the NHL. But it sure as hell is entertaining. Listen to the hundreds.......and hundreds of the Vityaz fans chanting Darcy's name.

-Tootoo vs Verot 1

- Tootoo vs Perot 2. Not so tough now, are ya Darcy? Owned twice in the same game by the same guy.

T Tags: Chris+Simon+fights+Mikhail+Fedosejev Darcy+Verot+fights+Alexey+Krovopuskov KHL Goons brawls blood videos YouTube

KHL does a 180

Remember when the IIHF suspended the NHL contracts of 6 players in July due to possible current contracts with Russian teams? Well a lot has happened since then. Radulov was one of those 6. So was Jason Krog, acquired by the Canucks. According to The Hockey News:

In a stunning turn of events, the Kontinental Hockey League and International Ice Hockey Federation appear to have extended an olive branch to the NHL, which may ultimately lead to a thaw in the frigid relations between the KHL and the NHL.
“We have gone with an open hand to the NHL,” KHL president Alexander Medvedev told thn.com in a telephone interview Saturday. “We are hoping to get a positive reaction from the NHL.”

The KHL has withdrawn its disputes with the aforementioned affected contracts of Krog, Tikhonov, Filatov, etc, and has agreed that the Radulov situation needs to be settled in court or through binding arbitration.
When a Russian holds out his hand you don't shake it. You cut it off! OK, I'm kidding. But is this the beginning of the end of the NHL-KHL cold war? I would have reservations about that. In fact, I really doubt it is because there is ongoing theft of players from both sides. If the KHL remains on the rise, the battle and bidding for players will continue. Check out the THN article for a more in-depth look.

Jason Krog contract 'suspended'

So Krog is not a Canuck yet, technically. The IIHF has suspended the contracts of Krog, Alex Radulov, newly drafted Nikita Filatov and Viktor Tikhonov, Tomas Mojzis and Fedor Fedorov pending reviews of their deals with their respective clubs. All 6 players are transfering between the Russian Continental Hockey League and the NHL, within which there is no tranfer deal done yet.
Radulov really got the ball rolling on this one when he reportedly signed a deal with a team in the Russian League but he was still under contract with the Nashville Predators.
Apparently Jason Krog was signed by the Vancouver Canucks after he reportedly agreed to a deal to play in the KHL Russian League. I was unaware of that.
So the battle begins.

T Tags: IIHF+suspends+contracts KHL NHL NHLPA Radulaov Jason+Krog