Russia: Searching for a Nyetminder

As the 2007 World Championships approach, tournament host – Team Russia, continues to examine who should stand between the pipes and defend their country's honor at this prestigious homecoming. McKeen's correspondent Eugene Belashchenko evaluates several likely goaltending candidates including Nikolai Khabibulin of the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals prospect - Semen Varlamov.

Help from overseas…

While Evgeny Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks and Ilya Bryzgalov of the Anaheim Ducks will be busy defending their teams in the playoffs, Nikolai Khabibulin's services will be available. Team management however, will first have to convince the well-known veteran to represent his country for the first time since the 2004 Olympics in Turin, Italy. Beyond simply attaining Khabibulin's agreement to participate, team management and the coaching staff will need to make sure that the talented, but at times temperamental goalie joins the team with serious intentions and complete focus on winning the gold. He has at times excelled for the Chicago Blackhawks, especially after returning from injury two months ago. However, Khabibulin's last tenure within Russian boarders with the Super League (Russia 1) club - HC Ak Bars during the lockout, would be difficult to call a smashing success. He often struggled and eventually replaced by a perennial NHL backup Fred Brathwaite, after several lackluster playoff games. Regardless of any doubts, if the "Bulin Wall" brings his "A" game to Moscow, Russia will be hard to crack. Several names come to mind as to who will backup Nikolai Khabibulin, or for that matter, compete for the starting job if the NHL veteran fails to reach an agreement with national team management. Surprisingly, few of the names would sound familiar to someone who would have remembered the Russian goaltenders from last year's international competition.

On the outside looking in…

First, let us get the "fallen" out of the way. No longer is the Russian mainstay - veteran Maxim Sokolov, considered a favorite to represent his country. The aging goaltender has struggled to find his game this season with new club - HC SKA (St. Petersburgh). His struggles can even be traced back a couple of seasons with HC Avangard (Omsk), where he was often relegated to backup duty behind former NHLer - Norm Maracle. At that time however, his reliability on the international stage left him as a reliable backup and at times, the starter for the national team.

Former Edmonton Oilers goaltending prospect Alexander Fomichev, is still officially in the mix, but will not likely represent his country after a sub par season with HC Avangard. He arrived with the club after departing from Moscow's CSKA to fill a vacant starting spot. However, after not being able to deliver the expected consistency, he was supplemented by Norm Maracle. He has not received much icetime with the national squad, and may not be invited to training camp.

A starter or a backup…

Whether to start or to backup Khabibulin, the two favorite Super League goalies are Vasily Koshechkin and Washington Capitals' prospect - Semen Varlamov. The job however is Vasily Koshechkin's to lose.

With a towering 6-foot-7 frame, Koshechkin seemingly came out of nowhere last season when he took over in net for the financially strapped HC Lada, and often single handedly carried his team to victory. To those who follow Russian hockey however, the 24-year-old is not a surprise. Before the starting job fell on his lap, he was consistently a reliable backup for HC Lada during the last three seasons, on a club that preferred foreign netminders, such as NHL backups Mike Fountain and Jussi Markkanen. Koshechkin is surprisingly quick for someone his size and his butterfly blocks the entire bottom of the net. Still, despite blocking most of the net, he does need to improve upon his quickness, especially against NHL-caliber players. The young netminder has proven quite effective at the international level, consistently starting for Team Russia at every EuroTour competition with the exception of the latest Sweden Games, when he personally asked the coaching staff to miss due to "mental and physical exhaustion". While this may sound like a weak excuse, know matter how well he played before or while defending his country's honor, Koshechkin has consistently struggled each time he returned to his Super League club. As a result, the team was forced to re-sign Mike Fountain to have a capable option in case Koshechkin falters. The competition invigorated the Russian netminder, but his consistency remains a concern. Still, Russia's goaltending spot behind Nikolai Khabibulin is Koshechkin's to lose and he will have the valuable first several weeks of training camp to regain form, while his competitors compete in the Russian Super League playoffs.

Semen Varlamov may also compete for Russia's goaltending spot behind the NHL veteran Khabibulin. However, the young netminder will have a mountain to climb to take away the spot from the incumbent Vasily Koshechkin. The talented Washington Capitals' prospect had a chance to make an impression during the Sweden Games, but fell ill and missed the tournament. He did however, enjoy a strong performance during his first Super League campaign that has been worthy of Rookie of the Year consideration, though that honor will likely be taken by highly touted 17-year-old - Alexei Cherepanov. Varlamov will however be given a chance to skate at the training camp, and if he shines, he will either back up Koshechkin in Khabibulin's absence, or will take the third-string role to gain experience for Team Russia, for future competition.

The third string…

The only familiar name still in the mix is HC Ak Bars goaltender - Alexander Eremenko, who continues to be a reliable national team-caliber backup, though is not likely to develop into a starter. In some ways, he took over the reigns from Yegor Podomatsky as a perennial second goaltender on Team Russia's depth chart. He enjoys great success in the Super League, but usually struggles to shine at the World Championships, against NHL-caliber competition. Still, Eremenko is a talented hybrid-goaltender who has consistently skated for Team Russia during the past two seasons and will definitely get an invitation to training camp. Still, barring injury, the highest he can hope for at the World Championships (excluding Khabibulin's absence), would be a warm seat in the stands as the third-string goalie.

Another netminder who may fill the third-string position is St. Louis Blues prospect - Konstantin Barulin. Barulin has enjoyed a strong sophomore Super League campaign with HC Khimik after delivering a strong performance as the starter for the now defunct - Spartak (Moscow) last year. With HC Khimik, he had to share the goaltending duties with former Colorado Avalanche Kazakh goalie - Vitaly Kolesnik. While mostly a backup to Kolesnik, Barulin still managed to start in 16 contests, which is a respectable amount when considering that the Super League season is just 59 games long. He looked strong whenever called upon by the club's coaching staff. Still, despite his Super League success, Barulin had only limited exposure on the international scene, skating with mixed success at the Sweden Cup, as an emergency call-up after Russia's top three netminders were plagued by injuries and poor health. Barulin's time on Russia's national team will likely be next season, if he does not make the jump to the AHL to continue his development.

Finally, 1986 born - Ivan Kasutin, rounds up the listing of likely netminders to compete for a spot in training camp. A capable backup and starter for HC CSKA, the talented goalie has put together a strong campaign for his club. Kasutin was forced to take on a heavy load after the incumbent starter and former Vancouver Canuck - Peter Skudra faltered, and shared the starting duties with Ukrainian national team goalie, Konstantin Simchuk. At first glance, it was a surprise that CSKA and Team Russia coach and hockey legend - Vyacheslav Bykov, picked Konstantin Barulin over Kasutin as an emergency call up. However, the picture becomes much clearer considering Bykov also depends on Kasutin for CSKA's planned, deep playoff run and does not want to see his young goalie possibly injured in international competition. Kasutin has a great chance to get some valuable experience at training camp, but unfortunately, he will not likely make it to the tournament, unless he buys his own ticket. Still, the young goalie will definitely be in the mix to represent Russia next season.