Sergei Gaiduchenko traded to CSKA Moscow (Photo © khl.ru)

Florida Panthers’ prospect Sergei Gaiduchenko has been traded to CSKA Moscow prior the 2010 KHL Entry Draft in exchange of a first round pick.

Gaiduchenko, 21, spent the last year with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, playing 20 regular season games as back up of Georgi Gelashvili. His contract run out on Aprl 30st and wasn’t renewed by Lokomotiv, thus making him a RFA. As he’s going to join CSKA, most likely he won’t transfer to the Panthers this summer.

Read also:
– Sergei Gaiduchenko: “You can’t judge me by one game only”
– Sergei Gaiduchenko: I have a chance to move on as Florida drafted me

Sergei Gaiduchenko: “You can’t judge me by one game only” (Photo © Yarsport.ru)

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.”

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Evgeni Dadonov: “If Panthers don’t guarantee me a spot in the NHL, I’ll get back to Russia” (Photo © Turner.com)

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.”

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Andrei Nazarov: “Traktor holds Dadonov and Voinov’s rights” (Photo © uralpress.ru)

Andrei Nazarov, head coach of the Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, invited Vyacheslav Voinov and Evgeni Dadonov to get back to their mother club during an interview with Sport-Express.

Andrei Nazarov: “Both Evgeni Dadonov and Vyacheslav Voinov have a valid contract with Traktor and, according to KHL rules, we hold rights on them. I was really upset when they left for North America and didn’t get an NHL spot. We had the chance to get them back through the court’s decision, but we decided not to harm the players’ careers. But now there is such a scenario in which it would be better for them and for their development to get back to Traktor in the KHL.”

– Did you already talk to them?
Andrei Nazarov: “It’s all up to the players’ wish. Dadonov would be capable of scoring more than 20 goals a season in the KHL, just like our team’s top scorers Evgeny Skachkov and Oleg Kvasha. I see both Voinov and Dadonov as key members of Traktor.”

All quotes translated by RussianHockeyFans.com

Sergei Gaiduchenko: I have a chance to move on as Florida drafted me (Photo © Miklin.ru)

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.