Can-Rus Challenge: Russian Roster Report

Ivan Kasutin - Russia's primary hope at this tournament, the young goaltender is a product of the Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) hockey school and is currently shining in the High League (Russia 2) with Dizelist (Penza). The young goalie is likely the only Russian goaltender for quite some time to receive foreign goaltending instruction, as he attends a goaltending school in Finland every summer. Kasutin is very mobile in his butterfly and also sports a very reliable glovehand. He plays the puck very well and is likely one of the best Russian goalies in that regard. Kasutin often hesitates to get out of the crease, but plays the angles well. He is also amazingly calm in net, which will likely be a must against the onslaught he is likely to receive from the CHL. The reason he ended up in the High League is because there was clearly no room in the Super League with Lokomotiv, which signed a Canadian goaltender and already had two veterans in the pipeline. No other team was willing to take a chance on an unproven goalie. View full profile on RussianProspects.com

Semen Varlamov - Varlamov was also part of the reason why Kasutin was loaned to Dizelist this summer. He is an '88-born goaltender raised in the Lokomotiv system and now skates for Lokomotiv's junior farm club that used to be backed up by Kasutin. The young goalie also plays a butterfly style and possesses a quick glove hand. Varlamov tends to stay in the net a bit too deep and is only an average puckhandler. Performed well and showed a surprisingly mature game while skated for Russia at the 2005 U18 World Junior Championships, where he got two surprising starts after Ilya Proskuryakov struggled. Will also skate for Russia's U18 squad this coming spring.

Alexei Belousov - Belousov is a smallish defenseman who is coming into his own in the Super League with Metallurg Novokuznetsk. The young blueliner is spending his second season with Metallurg, but has really come on this year, helped like many others by the departure of 12 starters from the squad. Belousov's play has not gone unnoticed by the national team coaching staff, as he was already called up to Russia's U20 squad for one tournament. He is a long shot for the U20 WJC. This young player will likely have some trouble adjusting to the faster and more physical North American game. 2005-06: Metallurg Novokuznetsk (210-2-2, 14PIM), U20 Team Russia 4 Nations (3-0-1-1)

Vitaly Anikeenko - We believe this may be the tournament where observers finally find out that all this young defenseman has is size and skating, nothing else. He was the highest-touted Russian prospect coming into the 2005 NHL Draft and, accordingly, the first Russian drafted, albeit already in the third round, 70th overall by the Ottawa Senators. This year, he likely won't make the U20 squad for the 2006 U20 WJC and has struggled to perform in the Super League. However, on the brighter side, he is getting some icetime under the U20 rule. As we have learned, Ottawa's Russian scout had Ilya Zubov ranked above this young defenseman, but management went ahead and drafted Anikeenko first. Blessed with great size and very good skating, Anikeenko lacks aggressiveness however and does not think quickly on his feet. While he may not be the best defenseman right now, he still exhibits the most NHL potential among the '87-born Russian defensemen. Don't expect him to impress here, though several years from now the story may change. View full profile on RussianProspects.com

Ivan Amakhin - The utility defenseman every team needs, Amakhin is an '86-born defenseman who was highly regarded during his draft year in 2004. However, he went unselected as that was the year when the IIHF-NHL agreement expired and a record low number of Russian players were drafted. Amakhin also suffered several untimely injuries, which forced him to miss the 2004 U18 WJC. He has developed well in Lokomotiv's farm system over the past couple of seasons, even getting some spot duty in the Super League, though primarily just accompanying the team on road trips as an injury spare. Amakhin is not very tall, but is thick and does not hesitate to get his nose dirty. His offensive upside is limited. View full profile on RussianProspects.com

Rinat Ibragimov - Another '86-born defenseman with some limited Super League experience. Ibragimov doesn't stand out in any one particular category as he not very big nor is he an exceptional skater. The young defenseman was one of the worst performers on Russia's '86-born U18 squad a couple of seasons back. Both his positioning and decision making were lacking, however, fortunately for Canadian fans, he has improved over the past couple of seasons. He had a chance to skate in the Super League this season before Biryukov beat him out for the lone available U20 spot on Metallurg. We feel his lack of size, speed and aggressiveness will be exposed at this tournament. View full profile on RussianProspects.com

2005-06 Stats: Metallurg Magnitogorsk (3GP-0G-0A-0PTS), U20 Team Russia 4Nations (3-0-0-0), Metallurg 2-Rus 3 (13-1-5-6, 14PIM)

Andrei Lange - Another defenseman with a little Super League experience. The '86-born blueliner is currently skating for Metallurg (Novokuznetsk) in Russia. A product of the Traktor Chelyabinsk hockey system, Lange signed with Metallurg this past summer. The young defenseman has benefited greatly from Novokuznetsk's recent troubles, as the club's head coach left the team for St. Petersburg over the summer, taking 11 of the team's top players with him. Thus, Novokuznetsk was forced to start virtually from scratch and are allotting a lot of icetime to younger players as a result. This is Andrey's first international tournament.

Sergei Dorofeev - Dorofeev was a marginally promising '86-born defenseman a couple of years back during his first year of eligibility. He had the misfortune of being stuck on a poor Soviet Wings club in the High League (Russia 2), however it did mean some extra icetime. While he did not impress during his draft year, Dorofeev has been solid over the past couple of seasons as a reliable stay-at-home defender. He skates well, boasts good size and is also very strong positionally. This season, he continues to skate for the Soviet Wings, consistently getting icetime as one of the club's top blueliners. His presence on the squad is impressive considering his club has enjoyed an infusion of new funding with the purpose of winning the High League (Russia 2) and possibly making it back into the Super League. View full profile on RussianProspects.com

Vyacheslav Seluyanov - Seluyanov is likely one of the more experienced players on this year's U20 Russian squad coming to Canada. The young defenseman already has over a year of Super League experience having skated in the top league all of last season and so far this season. He also represented Russia at two international tournaments in '04-5. Seluyanov is a smallish, mobile blueliner who relies on positioning and his vision of the ice to get the job done. He is surprisingly mature for his age and, at one point last year, was unofficially named as the best defenseman on his team by Ufa head coach and former U20 national coach Rafael Ishmatov. 2005-06 Stats: Soviet Wings (18-1-1-2, 32PIM)

Rafael Batyrshin - Another '86-born rearguard from the Soviet Wings, who accompanied the Russian squad to last year's Canada-Russia Challenge. A feisty, mobile blueliner, Batyrshin doesn't lack any will or aggressiveness. What he does lack is size however, which gave him plenty of trouble last year against the bigger, more physical North American forwards. Batryshin also carries the puck with confidence and has a strong slapshot. He does not hold as prominent a role in the High League with the Soviet Wings as Dorofeev does, but was still consistently in the club's lineup. 2005-06 Stats: Soviet Wings (13-0-1-1, 8PIM)

Alexander Goroshansky - This is one of the more interesting, under-the-radar type forwards on this year's entry. Goroshansky has been rising in the Soviet Wings system for the past few years and has really come on this season, getting 14 points (7+7) in the first 19 games of the season. That's good enough for a top-five spot on the strong High League squad that features former NHLer Dmitri Kvartalnov. Goroshansky possesses size as well as international experience, spending time on Russia's U20 squads this season and last. While he is a long shot for the U20 WJC, he will likely put together a solid showing at this tournament and might impress enough to warrant a shot at the U20 squad in Vancouver. 2005-06 Stats: Soviet Wings (19-7-7-14, 10PIM, +5)

Igor Makarov - Makarov will hopefully be one of Russia's top offensive threats, at least that's what management expects. This young forward was a surprising bright spot on last year's squad that competed at the U18 World Junior Championships. He possesses impressive top speed and does not hesitate to battle through traffic. His style may be quite adjustable to the North American game. In addition, the young forward showed some good chemistry with Igor Velichkin, and together the two might make something happen at this tournament. A player to watch for. 2005-06 Stats: Soviet Wings (18-4-7-11, 10PIM, +5)

Denis Kulik - Kulik is another returning member of last year's U20 squad that visited Canada for the ADT tournament. He will not be employed as one of the squad's top forwards but may succeed in a supporting role. Though he isn't big nor overly fast, Kulik does have a strong shot and good puckhandling abilities. His vision of the ice is average. His experience at this tournament last year should contribute to the team overall. 2005-06 Stats: Soviet Wings (7-2-2-4, 4PIM)

Denis Mashanov - Mashanov is another blast from the past, but this time from way back - namely as part of a less-than-mediocre Russian squad at the 2003 Re/Max Challenge. The young forward has logged some Super League experience in the interim, however it would be hard to say that his career has gone well thus far. Mashanov spent last season with Sibir, but was then loaned to Motor (Barnaul) of the High League. This season has been no different, as he skated an uneventful 10 games for Sibir before being loaned to the High League's Kazakhmys (Karaganda) team. While he does have some limited international experience, Mashanov doesn't seem to add much to this team. 2005-06 Stats: Sibir (10-0-1-1, 8PIM, -3), Kazakhmys (2-0-0-0), U20 Team Russia 4 Nations (3-0-0-0)

Sergei Salnikov - Salnikov is a product of the Salavat Yulayev (Ufa) hockey system and was relatively highly touted prior to the 2004 draft, his first year of eligibility. Unfortunately, projected to be a mid-round selection, he wound up as one of the victims when all the Russian players fell off due to the lack of an NHL agreement. Since his draft year, Salnikov has not progressed that much, as he has struggled to produce in the Super League. While last year he may have gotten some icetime, this year Salnikov has been in the doghouse and skating in very few games. However, he is still one of the most internationally experienced Russian players at this tournament, having performed at the U18 WJC and some international tournaments over the course of the past several years. 2005-06 Stats: Salavat Yulayev (6-0-0-0), Salavat Yulayev 2 (7-0-1-1, 22PIM)

Alexander Mayer - Though this young forward has no international experience, he has just started getting some icetime in the Super League with Metallurg (Novokuzentsk). However, this is largely due to the team's aforementioned struggles following the departure of head coach Solovyev to St. Petersburg in which he took the squad's core with him. 2005-06 Stats: Metallurg Novokuznetsk (2-0-1-1, 0PIM)

Igor Velichkin - Son of the Metallurg Magnitogorsk's GM. As a result, has had little problems in getting opportunities to prove himself. A long-time member of the U18 national team, Velichkin has a knack of being in the right place at the right time. Plays together with Igor Makarov, so hopefully the two can produce as they did at last year's U18 WJC. Interestingly, the young center was recently "traded" to Lada Togliatti for Ilya Vorobiev, the son of Lada's head coach Petr Vorobiev. So it was a swap of sons by two leaders. Ilya Vorobiev is a capable veteran player, and the reason the trade occurred is because of the recent financial crisis that occurred in Lada, which resulted in the departure of the club's 12 key players. Needless to say, Velichkin will get plenty of icetime in the Super League when he returns from this trip. 2005-06 Stats: Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 Rus 3 (16-7-10-17, 61PIM)

Vladimir Zhmayev - One of the more experienced young players on this team and a returnee from last year's squad. Zhmaev enjoyed a strong 2004-05 season, spending part of the time on the Super League squad in Ufa, and the rest of the time on the second team in the Russia 3 league. This season, he hasn't been as fortunate having only skated with Salavat Yulayev 2. Still, he is consistently a member of the national team at the tournaments leading up to the U20 WJC and has a fair chance of making that team. 2005-06 Stats: Salavat Yulayev 2-Rus 3 (9-4-3-7, 6PIM)

Artem Bikkinyaev - Though this is his first appearance on the national team, Bikkinyaev still brings plenty of professional experience. He spent last season in the High League, skating in 42 games for Kristal (Elektrostal), which used to be Khimik's farm club. This year, he made the big club and has consistently been getting icetime, playing in 20 games. Though he has failed to record a point, the Super League experience will inevitably aid his development. 2005-06 Stats: Khimik Vosskresensk RSL (200-0-0, 2PIM, -8)

Sergei Ogorodnikov - Sergei Ogorodnikov was one of the earlier drafted Russian players at the 2004 NHL Draft. While he impressed at that year's U18 WJC, he has since struggled to make much of an impact with CSKA over the past couple of seasons. While last year he may have earned some icetime in the Super League, this year he has been completely shut out by the more talented Sergei Shirokov and Nikolai Lemtyugov to name a few players. This tournament will likely be one of his few opportunities to show his ability before North American scouts, and specifically the New York Islanders who hold his NHL rights.

Alexander Radulov - Russia's only true scoring threat, Radulov will hopefully remain with the squad for the entire tournament, beyond just the two QJMHL games which begin the event. He has been ripping the junior league apart this season and really boost this team's potential, forcing other players to get inspired and follow his example. Chemistry is also very important and unfortunate neither of his usual linemates will be present at this tournament. Center Mikhail Yunkov was not released by Ak Bars (Kazan), while winger Roman Voloshenko continues to skate for Minnesota's AHL affiliate in Houston.