KHL, NHL, Russian Prospects and Team Russia

As the KHL tries to attract viewers in Europe, Czech TV channel Nova Sport bought the rights to show KHL matches for both regular season and playoffs. Nova Sport is one of the biggest TV companies in Czech Republic and Slovakia, broadcasting important sports events like NFL, Premier League and ATP Tour. Czech site tyden.cz talked with Marek Kindernay.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation.

We will continue broadcasting the NHL, but with a little change of strategy. Broadcasts from overseas got close to zero attention in the working days. All the interest just followed Jagr, from the NHL to the KHL. And the fact that broadcast from America are in a not comfortable hour played its role too.

We'll broadcast games on monday and friday, at 18 CET. We also show some matches on saturday, around noon. We prefer broadcasting matches of Jaromir Jagr's team, but our spectators will see also other teams, for example Dinamo Moscow, where now plays Jiri Hudler" - continued Kindernay.

Darryl Dobbs, a popular The Hockey News writer, wrote on his blog about Maxim Afinogenov's very good start this year in a new scenario, opposed to the last two years' bad numbers.

The Moscow native signed this summer a one year deal with the Atlanta Thrashers worth a relative low amount of $800,000.

The shifty Russian had 134 points in 133 games for the Sabres between 2005 and 2007. In 2007-08, he was pretty much a write-off due to injury and then last campaign he got off to a slow start. In this case, Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff didn’t have a whole lot of patience. And who would? Afinogenov was coughing up the puck on a regular basis and was also snake-bitten in the scoring department.

Things are different in Atlanta. Coach John Anderson didn’t have many weapons in his arsenal and had to use what he was given.

So despite posting just three points in six games (and a minus-4) to kick off the campaign, Afinogenov was allowed to play through it. Patience – in the case of both the team and the player, it’s what low expectations buy you. That patience has made the Thrashers a multi-line threat.

Afinogenov now has 20 points in 20 games and is back to his old, productive self. He has played more than 56 games just twice in the past seven years, including 36 games during the lockout, so injuries are still a concern, but he’s a safe bet to remain close to a point per game. Pencil him in for 70 games (to play it safe) and 66 to 71 points.

On another THN feature, Brian Duff put Afinogenov as #1 amont the "one year deal wonders" of this season.

Afinogenov's early-season surge will prove to be a turning point for Thrashers GM Don Waddell, who could use a few deals/contracts to go his way.

After showing up for only the first year of his final three-year deal in Buffalo, crazy legs Max appeared destined for the Kontinental League or anywhere but the NHL after an embarrassing six-goal, 20-point season.

In the popular The Hockey News Hot List feature, Ryan Kennedy put center Alexander Burmistrov on the top of this week's list.

Like fellow Russian imports Ivan Telegin and Kirill Kabanov, Burmistrov came over to the Canadian League this year for more ice time than he would get in the Kontinental League and better competition than he would have seen on the Russian junior circuit.

“The OHL is a better league,” he said. “Fast, many hits. I like it.”

And the Colts like him. The dynamic pivot from Kazan has 20 assists and 29 points in 23 games this year, quarterbacks the second unit of Barrie’s power play and even kills penalties. He has an English tutor who comes twice a week and also watches some TV to round out the experience.

“I watch NHL games…maybe Tyra or Ellen,” he grinned.

Burmistrov is very wiry at 6-foot, 170 pounds, but difficult to knock off the puck. Above all else, though, he’s a fantastic playmaker.

“I like to pass,” Burmistrov said. “Every game I want to (set up) my partners.”

Of course, linemate Stefan Della Rovere will likely be an enemy when the world juniors roll around in a month. He’ll be suiting up for Canada while Burmistrov has a great shot at a Russian roster that will now boast Nikita Filatov. Asked if he’ll trash-talk his Colts mates should Russia prevail, Burmistrov was emphatic.

“Yeahhhhh,” he laughed. “But if Canada beats Russia, all the fun will be had on me.”

Alexander Burmistrov is eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Dmitri Orlov is a 18 years old defenseman who has been drafted by the Washington Capitals in the latest NHL Entry Draft, with the 55th overall pick. In this translated interview with Metallurg's press attache Sergei Druzhinin, he talked about his feelings about being a first team player, about his ability to play both forward and defense and about the Russian Junior National Team.

Evgeny Artyukhin in an interview with a Russian newspaper Sport-Express talked about the lack of ice time in Anaheim, said he would do his best to gain the coach's trust, stated that the other day he got an offer from the KHL but would finish this season in the NHL, and spoke about what the Olympic Games mean to him.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of this interview.

Vityaz's former head coach Sergei Gomolyako might become one of HK Vetra Vilnius staffers, according to Sport Express. The Lithuanian team is trying to enter the KHL in the 2010-11 season.
It's planned that Gomolyako will assist General Manager Alexander Kharlamov in forming team's roster.
"I have recieved an offer from Vetra some days ago, but to tell the truth I haven't said yes yet. Vilnius is a great city, but first I have to discuss with the team's management. It would be' very interesting to take part to the creation of a new KHL team.
Gomolyako, now 39, played 18 seasons in the RSL, mostly with Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Traktor Chelyabinsk.

20 years old Sergei Gaiduchenko, in a translated interview published on Russianprospects.com, said that he would like to move to another team as he doesn't get much playing time.

In some teams goalies play one game each, in some others a goalie plays six games and the second two. [Lokomotiv's head coach] Kari Heikkila uses a system in which the first goalie of the team plays 85-90% of the games.

Asked about the future:

I would like to move and I got a chance, as Florida drafted me. But first I want to stay in Russia to consolidate, play one or, better, two seasons playing a bigger quantity of games and then go there, just the same way as Semen Varlamov did.

The goalie, who is nicknamed Godzilla by his team mates because of his big size, said that he's happy about life in Yaroslavl and that he enjoys the city with his girlfriend.

During my free time from hockey often with my team mates we go to the country, eat meat, or go to the restaurants or bowling. Sportsmen don't like to stay at home! I like active life: play tennis or ride the bicycle. I also like going to the movies, it relaxes me. I adore Sylvester Stallone, especially as “Rocky”. Another thing I like to do is reading books – Paulo Coelho and Dan Brown. I like when in books there are philosophical matters.

Sergei Gaiduchenko played 12 games so far in this season, with 6 wins and 6 defeats, posting a GAA of 2.63 with a svs pct of .920.

Nikita Filatov continues to shine in the KHL.

In his second KHL game he scored 2 of 3 CSKA goals, one of them being the game-winning goal. His ice-time increased by 4 minutes in comparison with the previous game and reached 20 minutes 23 seconds (the best result in his team).

As the result Filatov was named first star of the game.

In this translated interview with Telekanal Sport by Vladimir Italyantsev, Barry Melrose, former NHL head coach and now TSN analyst, talks about Filatov's career in the NHL, about the reasons of his return in Russia and tried shading a light over Nikita's future.

"During the pause due to the Czech phase of the Euro Hockey Tour, both my sons visited me in Detroit" - told Viktor Fedorov to Sport Express.
"Fedor got some problems with his health, he played many games in Magnitogorsk with a pain in the knee. And the doctors in Detroit discovered a fracture in his knee, the one who was already operated. On the first day he could only walk with crutches, but now he can walk alone, even if the situation is far from being perfect. But probably he'll be in Magnitogorsk already on Saturday and he'll carry on the treatments there.
He wants to come back to the normality as quickly as possible in order to help their team which is going through a crisis, even if I fear that he won't be able to return before of several weeks from now".
When asked about Sergei, he replied that "once he returned back in Russia, he started suffering from back aches.
But the situation is getting right, he will restart playing in the next few days". Both Fedorov brothers aren't playing up to the expectations: Fedor scored 6 points in 19 matches, while Sergei scored 13 in 23.

Ilya Kovalchuk fought Matt Cooke after the Pens forward bumped into the Russian sniper during the 3rd period of the Penguins-Thrashers game.

Nikita Filatov had one goal and two assists in his first KHL game played against Traktor Chelyabinsk. In this interview with allhockey.ru correspondent Olesya Usova, the young player talked about the impressions felt in his debut with CSKA, about his new line mates and also about his experience with the Columbus Blue Jackets.