Russian Prospects Review Part V
Perezhogin
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Drafted by the Montreal Canadiens 25th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry
Draft.
002-03: This has been Alexander Perezhogin's season. He did almost everything
right. A season earlier, he delivered a dominating performance in the Upper
League a season earlier, but was unable to stick with his Super League club
after a call up. This season, the young forward finally earned a roster spot
during the preseason. He fought his way to Avangard's second line, where he
skated with former NHLer Alexander Kharitonov and the club's veteran leader,
Alexander Prokopiev. He then earned a spot on Russia's senior national squad,
skating at every EuroTour tournament, and just missing the cut for Team Russia's
World Championships roster. He one of Russia's top forwards at the U20 WJC,
which was held in Canada, front and center in front of Montreal's scouts.
Outlook: Montreal Canadiens scouts and management were impressed enough
with Perezhogin, that the NHL club signed the forward to a rookie contract and
brought him over to North America. Perezhogin did not make Montreal's roster
out of training camp, and will start the 2003-04 season in Hamilton, with Montreal's
AHL affiliate, the Bulldogs.
Platonov
Draft by the Nashville Predators in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
2002-03: Denis Platonov delivered a solid season with Ak Bars Kazan, making
his first Super League campaign a success. The young forward already had a couple
of seasons under his belt of skating in Russia's Upper League prior to 2002-03
season, and he did not miss a step in the transition. Beyond his success in
the Super League, he earned a couple of invitations to Russia's national team,
defending his country in two EuroTour tournaments. Albeit, his role on the national
team was limited, the invitation itself meant a lot.
Outlook: Denis Platonov signed a contract with the Nashville Predators
during the summer of '03. He arrived in training camp and impressed the management
with his skill and size. The young forward started the regular season with the
Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL. However, Platonov struggled to learn the language
and has trouble adjusting to the AHL, and after a month decided to return to
Russia. At just 21, Platonov is by no means a bust, but the inability to adjust
to North America has hurt his prospects. He will likely return next summer for
another training camp, but he better be more prepared and not suffer the same
culture shock the second time around.
Polushin
Drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning 47th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
2002-03: Alexander Polushin was unable to build on his success during
the 2001-02 season, struggling to adjust to the Super League level of play.
This does not, however, mean that he had a bad year, as the young forward still
managed to shine in his final season on Russia's U20 national squad, and received
plenty of ice time in the Super League. What the season did show, is that Polushin
still had room to grow and develop in Russia.
Outlook: CSKA's coach, Viktor Tikhonov, continued to regard the young
forward as one of his best young players, and has used Polushin on CSKA's second
line during the preseason. The young forward has developed physically over the
summer and has looked more confident on the ice. Tampa Bay made the right decision
by not bringing him over during the summer of '03, as the young forward will
be significantly better prepared to make an impact at the Lightning's training
camp next summer.
Posnov
Drafted by the New Jersey Devils 128th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft
2002-03: During the summer of '02, Andrei Posnov arrived in North America
to get acquainted for the first time with the NHL club that drafted him. There
were no plans in place to keep him with the Devils or for him to sign a contract,
so after the training camp, the young forward returned back to Russia. Prior
to his visit, Posnov signed a deal with Spartak Moscow, leaving the Soviet Wings
after many years with that club. At a first glance, considering the significant
decline in his goal production from 12 to four goals between the 2001-02 and
2002-03 seasons, Posnov's first season with Spartak may be considered a bust.
However, this was the young forwards first season without Alexander Frolov streaking
on the other wing of his line, as has been the case for the previous two campaigns.
Considering this misfortune of having one of the Super League's most talented
forwards leaving, Posnov managed quite well on the club that ended up being
a sinking ship, being relegated out of the Super League after just two seasons.
Also, Posnov missed 10 games early in the season with a leg injury. ?owards
the end of the season Andrei Posnov did evolve as one of the club's top scoring
threats. "He was able to score important goals for Spartak" recollected
Russian journalist Alexander Malyshev "I remember in a decisive game at
the end of the season, when Spartak was on the verge of being relegated, the
club played against the league champion Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. The game ended
in a 1:1 tie, and Posnov was the one to score the very important goal for his
club".
Outlook: Posnov has another year left on his contract with Spartak,
and unlike the Soviet Wings, which have seemingly completely disintegrated,
Spartak has a solid financial backing and will likely be back in the Super League
for the 2004-05 season. The young forward started the year on the club's third
line, but has at times been fielded on the first line. In order to succeed Posnov
will need to learn to play his aggressive style of hockey without being called
on all the penalties. Last season it seemed when the young winger scaled down
his aggressiveness, his point production declined along with his penalty minutes.
Rozakov
Drafted by the Calgary Flames 106th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft
2002-03: After starting the season off with Lada Togliatti, Rail Rozakov
was loaned to Severstal Cherpovets during the November transfer period and spent
the rest of the season with the Cherpovets club. The young, hard hitting blue
liner primarily skated on Severstal's fourth defensive pairing, competing with
Alexander Shinin for the final spot on the club's blue line. Rozakov did not
deliver a spectacular season, but for the first time in his career, he spent
the entire season with a Super League club that has a great system and is full
of veterans from whom he could learn. The experience was invaluable and seems
to have gotten his career back on track after a couple of seasons of uncertainty.
Outlook: During the off season Rozakov signed a rookie deal with the
Calgary Flames, coming over to North America. The young defenseman looked good
in camp, and Calgary's management liked his aggressive, hard hitting style.
He started the 2003-04 season on Calgary's AHL affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters.
There was an incident early on in the season, when he allegedly refused to arrive
at Lowell's training camp after being sent down. On the contrary, what really
happened was that his mother fell ill, and the young defenseman left suddenly
to attend this personal matter. The issue was resolved and the young player
returned into the lineup to start his first AHL season.
Rudenko
Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers 160th overall during the 1999 NHL Entry
Draft
2002-03: Konstantin Rudenko took another step forward in his career,
beating out a group of talented youngsters for the fourth line duty and injury
fill-in spots. He logged 19 games with the big club, but that does not tell
the entire story, as he consistently practiced with the Lokomotiv, even when
he wasn't getting the call to dress for games. Also, this was Rudenko's first
season without any serious injuries to slow him down, and it showed on the ice.
Outlook: Rudenko remained with Lokomotiv for another season. The young
forward has once again been slated to man the fourth line, or fill in for injured
players. He has been given a chance to step up, but has not yet been able to
develop enough mentally to take full advantage of the given opportunities. This
season will be an important one for Rudenko, as the team is going through some
changes, and a key performance from him could mean a quick ascension through
the ranks.
Drafted by the Colorado Avalanche 167th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft
2002-03: After a seemingly promising start to the Colorado Avalanche's
2002-03 training camp, Alexander Ryazantsev spent the entire season in the AHL.
The young defenseman's season was marred by a series of controversies. To begin
with, the young defenseman was allegedly told by Colorado's management some
time prior to the start of the 2002-03 regular season, that he was no longer
part of the club's plans. He was then allegedly treated with discriminatory
tendencies by the head coach of Colorado's AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.
Ryazantsev was mentally exhausted towards the end of the season, when he was
finally traded out of the Colorado organization to Nashville. After a short
stay in Nashville's AHL affiliate in Milwaukee until the end of the regular
season, Ryazantsev returned to Russia and signed a deal with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
In his absence, he was once again traded, this time to Washington, a club that
had serious intentions of bringing the young blue liner into the fold within
a season.
Outlook: Ryazantsev decided not to return to North America just yet,
and remained with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, where he has established himself as the
club's top offensive defenseman. Playing out the season in a leading role and
in comfortable surroundings will be key to reviving Ryazantsev's high level
of confidence and mental stability. This season is helping immensely to get
the young defenseman's NHL career back on track.
Rybin
Drafted by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 141st during the 1999 NHL Entry Draft
2002-03: During the summer of 2002, Maxim Rybin signed a deal with Severstal
Cherpovets, but after just 3 games with that club, he was loaned to Spartak
Moscow, where Rybin was an instant hit. The young, former Super League rookie
of the year proved his worth not only with his goal scoring ability, but also
with his huge heart. On one occasion he fought a player five inches taller and
50 pounds heavier then him to defend a hurt teammate. He finished the season
with 10 goals, establishing himself as one of Spartak's leaders.
Outlook: This season Severstal brought the talented forward back into
the fold and he has responded well to the increased ice time, registering 10
points in the first 17 games, good enough to rank second on the talent filled
club.
Schadilov
Drafted by the Washington Capitals 242nd overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft
2002-03: Schadilov entered his second season with Severstal Cherpovets
and his role was somewhat reduced in the 2002-03 campaign, as the club had a
very deep defensive line. It was fairly clear that the club did not set forth
any significant goals for the defenseman during the regular season, trying to
keep him healthy and prepared for the lengthy playoff run. Still, the young
blue liner, who is known for his strong slapshot, managed to be one of Severstal's
top defenseman and also merited several invitations to Russia's national team.
Though he was usually on Team Russia's third defensive pairing, Schaidlov's
presence in its ranks was a solid indicator of his value and status.
Outlook: During the summer of '03, Schadilov made his return to Dynamo
Moscow, the club in which ranks he grew up. This season will be an important
one for the young defenseman, as he will now be given the opportunity to become
a long haul regular on the club's top two defensive pairings.
Sedov
Drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning 161st overall during the 2000 NHL Entry
Draft
2002-03: The lanky forward spent most of the 2002-03 season on Khimik's
fourth line with another Tampa Bay prospect Alexei Glukhov. He had a quiet season,
and saw very limited action on the Upper League club.
Outlook: This season Sedov is one of four young forwards competing
for two roster spots on Khimik's fourth line. He did not have a successful preseason,
but did manage to earn some ice time early in the season. He will likely spend
the 2003-04 season on Khimik's fourth line, receiving some injure replacement
duties if a veteran goes down.