Kirill Kabanov News and Interviews

Today it was announced that Kirill Kabanov signed a try-out contract with top Elitserien team Farjestad BK. The 19-years-old Russian winger was among the last cuts of the New York Islanders.

To shed some light on this unexpected event, RHF talked with EliteProspect's admin Johan Nillson, a Swedish hockey expert.

What is Kirill Kabanov's reputation in Sweden? You know that in Russia and in North America he had some problems, how is all this in a "neutral" country like Sweden?

Kabanov is not overly known in Sweden, but for those that have indeed heard about him, I think they believe he is somewhat of a "problem child" with some diva tendencies.

As we know Kabanov has a contract up to November 6th. What do you think, does he have a chance to stay in Sweden for the whole year?

I honestly have no clue how well he will fair. He will for sure have to do his very best to be able to grab a spot on Färjestad's roster. It will be easy to get rid of him if they find his attitude or work ethic in question...

Can you talk us about Farjestad? Is the team a contender for the Elitserien title?

Färjestad has really started the season lousy are currently placed last. On paper, the team is good enough to be top 4-5 in Elitserien, but they are really underachieving at the moment.

What kind of role Kabanov can get on the team? Could he potentially compete for a top 6 spot?

Färjestad's needs scoring and offense, so if they are bringing in someone now, they want him to contribute offensively rather than having a limited role. I think Kabanov will get the chance to see quality ice-time, and some time on the pp unit.

Last question. Considering Kabanov's history, do you think a move to Sweden is potentially good for his career? Better than spending another season in the juniors?

Not knowing the exact current status of Kabanov, but looking at his history, it might be good for him to be playing in a men's league. In a professional organization with many high quality players and where he will not be thought of as the obvious star/key player. It ought to get some pressure of his shoulders and maybe that could have a positive affect on his game.

With the 65th overall pick, the New York Islanders picked Kirill Kabanov. He's the fourth Russian player to get picked in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft round after Alexander Burmistrov, Vladimir Tarasenko and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Kirill Kabanov, once thought to be one of the prime candidates for the 2010 Entry Draft #1 overall pick, has experienced a serious downhill fall after his departure to Canada this fall.

According to agent Ilya Moliver, Kabanov's problems are caused by his father.

Many pages have been inked about the once thought to be one of the prime candidates for the 2010 Entry Draft #1 overall pick, Russian Kirill Kabanov, as he has experienced a serious downhill fall after his departure to Canada this fall.

During the 2008-09 season the talented winger got the first taste of pro hockey experience skating in a bunch of regular season and playoff games (and getting knocked out by a hit from former NHL defenseman Vitaly Vishnevsky) with Spartak Moscow, then scored eleven points in the 2009 U18 WJC, being thus outscored by Vladimir Tarasenko and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

We have started a new site dedicated to Russian prospects, RussianProspect.com.

We have compiled a list of Top Russians for the upcoming draft along with players' profiles (History, Talent Analysis and Future).

1. Kirill Kabanov, 9D
2. Vladimir Tarasenko, 8.5B
3. Evgeny Kuznetsov, 8.5B
4. Alexander Burmistrov, 8.5C
5. Stanislav Galiev, 8B
6. Ivan Telegin, 8C
7. Alexei Marchenko, 7.5B
8. Nikita Zaytsev, 7.5C
9. Maxim Kitsyn, 7C
10. Sergei Barbashev, 7C
11. Nikita Gusev, 7D

For now the site has profiles for the top Russian players available for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but during the summer the site will be upgraded and it will have profiles of older and younger players, news, interviews and more scout reports, to give our readers the best coverage of Russian prospects available on the internet. The "Prospects" section of Russian Hockey Fans will be shut down.

As widely reported in the latest few days, Kirill Kabanov and his agent JP Barry parted ways. "I wish Kirill all the best" - Barry told The Hockey News. "It just wasn’t a fit. We advised him to seek other representation."

The collaboration between Kabanov and Barry (whose agency works with, for example, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar) lasted a few months only. They helped Kabanov in the preparation toward the upcoming NHL Draft and the NHL Draft Combine. But they refused to work with him any longer.

So far Don Meehan (and his Russian representative Sergei Isakov), Jay Grossman and Scott Greenspun (Alexei Kovalev's agent) parted ways with Kabanov.

Russian popular newspaper Sovietskiy Sport had an interview with Russian agent Ilya Moliver, who works for Jay Grossman's agency. Some of his clients are Ilya Kovalchuk, Nikolai Khabibulin and Pekka Rinne.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation.

The International Scouting Services announced its final rankings for the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Vladimir Tarasenko, playing for Sibir of the KHL, is the highest ranked European, having the 4th spot in the rankings.

There are three more Russian prospects in the Top 30, they are:

14. Alexander Burmistrov (OHL, Barrie Colts)
19. Evgeny Kuznetsov (KHL, Traktor Chelyabinsk)
24. Stanislav Galiev (QJMHL, Saint John Sea Dogs)

The notorious Kirill Kabanov has fallen out of the Top 30.