KHL, NHL, Russian Prospects and Team Russia

Young goalie Sergei Gaiduchenko, who was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, had a rocky season with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He gave an interview to Russian sport site Yarosport.ru in which he tried to analyze the situation. Let's remember that his contract with Lokomotiv ran out on April 30th and he's still yet to sign.

Sergei, do you have an explanation regarding your benching at the end of the season?

Sergei Gaiduchenko: "Honestly speaking, no. After the end of the regular season the coaches told me to get ready to play for the second team (Loko in the MHL). No one told me explanations or complains about my game."

Did you try talking about your fate with the team with the staff boards?

Sergei Gaiduchenko: "I wouldn't have been against such a discussion, but I had to focus on the playoffs, and then this argument lost sense."

How the move to MHL can affect your career?

Sergei Gaiduchenko: "From one hand I practiced with the goalie coach that followed me a lot, Sergei Kotov. But on the other hand I lacked game practice against men and interaction with experienced defensemen. I wasn't prepared to play with 91 or 92 born players."

Didn't the release of goalie coach Ilari Näckel decrease your level of play? There were rumors that no one cared about you and you had to work by youself.

Sergei Gaiduchenko: "Anyway, if this had an impact, it wasn't on me only. And about working by myself, these weren't my words."

It's understable that you played less than starting goalkeeper Georgi Gelashvili. Almost in all teams there is a starting goalie and a reserve. How did you deal with this during the practices and after the demotion to MHL?

Sergei Gaiduchenko: "I work hard in the practices. And in the games in which I played I played practically at the same level as Georgi [Gelashvili]. If you want the proof, just look at the stats."

But then how to explain the four goals you allowed in your very first KHL game?

Sergei Gaiduchenko: "Well, then how to explain the five goals allowed in two periods by [Spartak's goalie Dmitri] Kochnev in the first game of the playoff series against them? (Note, Kochnev recently signed with Lokomotiv) Of course, a goalie has to save everything. But you can't judge by one game only."

Your contract is now over. Did you change your plans according to the latest events?

Sergei Gaiduchenko: "Generally speaking I wouldn't want to burn the bridges with the team. But I also don't like to live in such state of uncertainity."

After the 5-2 win in the 2010 World Championship's quarterfinals, goalie Semyon Varlamov gave an interview to Russian sport website Sovietskiy Sport.

Semyon Varlamov: "In the first ten minutes Team Canada always plays very actively. They created some moments. But they didn't manage to score, I don't know why."

Don't be so modest!

Semyon Varlamov: "In a couple of chances they simply didn't have room. I'm not saying that they brought a bad team here. Canada can beat anyone with any roster. But this time we were better."

Did you see that in the second period Brooks Laich slashed Ovechkin from behind? And he's a Caps player too!

Semyon Varlamov: "In general Team Canada played very roughly. When the score was 3-0 [Corey] Perry slashed Sasha [Ovechkin] from behind. That was really dirty. I'm sure that Perry did want to injure him."

Why?

Semyon Varlamov: "So that he couldn't play again in the tournament."

That's mean.

Semyon Varlamov: "Agreed. But in Team Canada there are two players like that. Perry and [Steve] Downie. And the second one really confirms his surname. You know what I mean. He behaved shamefully."

As reported by Sport Express, Russian forward Evgeny Skachkov has been signed by the St. Louis Blues to an Entry Level Contract.

The 26 years old left winger had a breakout season in the KHL this year with Traktor Chelyabinsk as he scored 22 goals and 36 points in 51 regular season games. He was left pointless in the team's short post season campaign. Actually this is the third season in which he is delivering for Traktor in spite of the team's lack of success.

Skachkov is a quick left winger with very good technique and excellent skating. He skated with Team Russia in the WC preparation camp, but he didn't make the team.

Team Russia defeated team Finland 5-0 in the last Qualification Group game of the 2010 World Championship. Alexander Ovechkin ended his goal streak.

Team Finland started well the first period, putting a lot of pressure over Varlamov. But despite a long 5-on-3 chance with Alexei Emelin and Dmitry Kulikov in the penalty box, the Finns didn't manage to score. With the teams back on even strength Kulikov had a good chance getting out of the sin bin, but he was hooked down by a defenceman, thus drawing a penalty for Bykov's team. On the consequent man advantage team Russia cycled well the puck, but couldn't get it into Vehanen's net.

As the hockey season is just finished, Evgeni Dadonov of the Florida Panthers has got back to his home town Chelyabinsk to rest after his first North American season. In this interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda he talked about his debut season and about the future.

You said that your dream was to play in the NHL. And at the end of the season it happened.

Evgeni Dadonov: "Yes, it did. At the end season, when Florida had no chances to get to the playoffs. The team's sport director, Jack Birch, said that he wants to see me in the main team. He said that I looked good in Rochester and then they wanted to see me in the NHL. They called me to the Panthers as many first team players were injured. Then they gave me a jersey with the number 63. My teammates welcomed me in the team and they said that they would help me if something would be wrong."

What are the main differences between North American and Russian hockey?

Evgeni Dadonov: "It's more mobile. Rinks are smaller and there is little time to make a decision. Andrei Nazarov in Traktor trained me for such game. There is more pressure, more individual plays. They always say you to not allow the opponents to breath. Everyone fights for a NHL spot and thus they work very hard. I didn't notice many rough plays. And the games in the AHL, where I spent most of the season, are attended by 8-10.000 spectators."

Did you leave Traktor because of a conflict with the head coach? There was a rumor that he fought you during a practice.

Evgeni Dadonov: "No, nothing similar happened. Yes, with Nazarov you have no time to get bored. He bantered me, he scolded me, but he never beat me. There was no conflict. The former Traktor's GM Isaac Valitskiy said to me that I can leave to Florida when I want. That's all."

Do you want to play for Traktor in the next season?

Evgeni Dadonov: "I recently talked with one of the team's directors, Stanislav Mosharov, with general director Vladimir Krechin, with GM Igor Varitsky and head coach Andrei Sidorenko. They said that I have a valid contract with Traktor, and that they want to see me there."

And what did you reply?

Evgeni Dadonov: "I replied that I'll be training for the next season, then I'll go to the US. If Florida guarantees me a spot in the NHL, then I will remain. But if they don't give me NHL guarantees, then I'll get back to Russia and play for Traktor. During the past season, Nikita Filatov and Viktor Tikhonov returned back into the KHL."

Alexander Avtsin is going to join the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL this summer, as reported by sportbox.ru

The 19 years old wing spent the latest season with the Dynamo Moscow of the KHL, scoring nine points in 30 regular season games, before picking up a wrist injury that shut down his season in late January.

Most likely Avtsin will start the 2010-11 campaign with the Canadiens' AHL affiliates, the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Team Russia released the preliminary roster for the upcoming 2010 World Championship, that will be played in Germany from May 7th to 23rd.. Bykov and Zakharkin made some changes from the LG Hockey Games line-up. The roster is made up of 11 NHL players and 12 KHL players. The team's captain isn't decided yet. Most likely the starting goaltender duties will be shared between Eremenko and Varlamov, with Koshechkin acting as third goalie.

Goalkeepers:
Alexander Eremenko (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Vasily Koshechkin (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Semyon Varlamov (Washington Capitals)

Defencemen:
Konstantin Korneev (CSKA Moscow)
Vitaly Atyushov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Dmitriy Kalinin (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Ilya Nikulin (Ak Bars Kazan)
Alexei Emelin (Ak Bars Kazan)
Denis Grebeshkov (Nashville Predators)
Dmitry Kulikov (Florida Panthers)

Forwards:
Maxim Afinogenov (Atlanta Thrashers)
Evgeny Artyukhin (Atlanta Thrashers)
Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)
Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals)
Alexei Tereschenko (Ak Bars Kazan)
Artem Anisimov (New York Rangers)
Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey Devils)
Nikolai Kulemin (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Maxim Sushinsky (SKA St. Petersburg)
Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant Mytischi)
Sergei Fedorov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Viktor Kozlov (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Alexander Frolov (Los Angeles Kings)
Alexander Svitov (Avangard Omsk)

20-years-old, Russian defenseman Maxim Goncharov signed an Entry Level Contract with the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL. His contract with CSKA Moscow run out on April 30th.

Maxim Goncharov is an offensive defenseman with a great shot and an excellent technique. During this season he scored four goals and a career high seventeen points in 51 KHL regular season games, finished +5. In the 2008-09 campaign Goncharov amassed seven goals and as many assists.

In his junior career he won a gold medal in 2007 U18 World Junior Championship in Finland and captured a silver medal in the 2009 WJC, where he scored five goals in seven games, the tournament's best result for a blue liner.

Ilya Kovalchuk gave an interview to Russian newspaper Sovetskiy Sport where he talked about going to the World Championship without a contract in the NHL, his favorites to win the Stanley Cup, what Russian players agreed to do after failing at the Olympics.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation.

Many thought that you won't play for the national team. It is very risky as you don't have a contract for the next season in the NHL. Besides your wife gave a birth to your son in March. Was this decision hard to take?

Kovalchuk: "After failing in Vancouver all guys agreed to go to the World Championship if there is a chance. We must win and make this season end well.
My wife Nicole understood me at once, told me that the whole family would be watching games on TV and cheer for us. She and the kids stayed in Miami. I spent a week there and flew to Russia."

During an interview with portal Sport Novokuznetsk, Washington Capitals' prospect Dmitry Orlov stated that he still doesn't know where he will spend the 2010-11 season.

Dmitry Orlov: "I still don't know if I'll go to the NHL this summer. I still have two more years of contract with Metallurg Novokuznetsk. I don't really know, we'll see what will happen."

The blue liner, who did skate in last year's rookie camp with the Capitals, has just been in the roster of the MHL runners-up. The Kuznetsk Bears lost the Russian Junior League finals 3-1 to the Steel Foxes from Magnitogorsk. Playoffs' top scorer was 2010 eligible Maxim Kitsyn with 20 points in 17 games, while Dmitry Orlov was third in the standings with 19 points (9+10).

As reported by the official site of the Russian Hockey Federation, forwards Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey Devils) and Alexander Frolov (Los Angeles Kings), as well as blue liner Denis Grebeshkov (Nashville Predators) have been added to team Russia's roster for the upcoming 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany as their NHL teams were excluded from the Stanley Cup run.

This is surely a boost for team Russia, who will miss Anton Volchenkov and Igor Grigorenko due to injuries. Bykov and Zakharkin will be also without Alexei Morozov, Danis Zaripov and Sergei Zinoviev, all sidelined with injuries. Salavat Yulaev's Alexander Radulov got a mild injury too and will miss the upcoming LG Hockey games in Sweden, but will play in Germany.

During an interview with Russian popular newspaper Sovietskiy Sport, Ottawa Senators' defenseman Anton Volchenkov won't go to the upcoming 2010 World Championship in Germany. The 28 years old would be free as his Senators just lost the first round NHL playoffs series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Anton Volchenkov: "Now I'm not planning of doing the trip to Germany to play on the World Championship. I need some rehabilitation. There are some problems with my health. I will discuss about this with National Team's head coach Vyacheslav Bykov."

CSKA Moscow forward Denis Parshin has been cut from the National Team camp for the upcoming LG Hockey Games in Sweden, Euro Hockey Tour.