Super League Big Losers

The Super League season is almost at the halfway point and it has been a surprisingly turbulent ride for some of the league’s strongest and better funded clubs. Òhere were also several clubs that have reached new heights atop the league rankings. Furthermore, several clubs are holding the course, fullfilling the often hefty expectations that have been placed on them by their financial backers. In this article, a few clubs from each aforementioned categories will be discussed, and the keys to their successes or failures will be detailed.

Top Dollar (or Ruble) Equals Mediocrity

Two clubs undeniably belong in this category. Both have been amongst the top four clubs in the league the past three seasons, and have dominated the landscape of Russian hockey through the late 1990s. The first club is Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, which has one the Super League championship two years in a row, while the second club is one of Lokomotiv’s chief rivals, Avangard Omsk, which is known for it’s deep oil industry pockets that have brought many veterans, and even some NHLers to the industrial city of Omsk.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Lokomotiv is a club with proud tradition, that has risen from the ashes of the collapsed Soviet hockey system by building from within and finding solid financial backing. In the past few years the club has consistently been the one to beat and over the past two seasons, no one has stood up to that challenge, as Lokomotiv has dominated the Super League winning two championships in a row.

This summer however, the winds of change have begun, and they were not blowing in Lokomotiv’s favor. First, the club’s head coach, the Czech import Vladimir Vujtek, who has coached the club to the gold during those two seasons, unexpectedly left Yaroslavl, accepting an obscene amount of money to coach Ak Bars Kazan, which has in recent years performed well during the regular season, but struggled badly in the playoffs. Besides the coach, several players left the club. Known as the club with a strong development school, Lokomotiv did lose several of it’s top young players to the NHL. Denis Grebeshkov, Alexander Suglobov, Alexander Guskov and Pavel Vorobiev all signed with their respective NHL clubs, with only Guskov returning from North America after a short preseason stint with the Blue Jackets. However, the loss of these players was more then compensated by the arrival of several talented veterans, including defensemen Alexander Ryazantsev, who is now part of the Washington Capitals system, and Dmitri Tolkunov, who due to an injury was not able to make an impression in Florida Panthers’ training camp.

So, with the core of the club’s players returning for another campaign, Lokomotiv appeared to be primed for another dominating championship run. The club dominated during the month of September, seemingly running on inertia from the previous season. However, during the beginning of October, the once-powerful club begun to run out of steam. Ironically, the club’s first trip on its’ way down the rankings came at the hands of their former head coach Vladimir Vujtek’s club, which drummed Yaroslavl 5:1. The club tripped, and while an able and established coach likely would have made the proper adjustments to lift his squad out of the tailspin, Vladimir Yurzinov, the son of the talented Russian coach Vladimir Yursinov, clearly was not up to the task, losing the confidence of his club and the patience of the management, who fired him just prior to the November break in the regular season.

While for some Super League clubs, eighth place may be an acceptable position after 22 games, it has been a disaster for Lokomotiv. However, this is not to say the season is lost for Yaroslavl, as the beginning of the season did have some bright spots, including the solid performance by former NHLer Andrei Kovalenko, new arrival David Moravec and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Vladimir Antipov, who, for the third season in a row, continues to boost his production while many observers expect his star to diminish. Òhe return of the offensively-minded defenseman Alexander Guskov from North America, and the signing of NHL defenseman Dmitri Yushkevich, boost Lokomotiv’s defensive depth and the club may very well rebound and make their way back into the contention for those precious gold medals.

Prospects in the lineup:

Vladimir Antipov (Toronto Maple Leafs):

Grade: A

Antipov continues to be one of the best forwards in Russia, increasing his point total in each of the past three seasons. The 25-year-old veteran doesn’t have much time left as a prospect, but his impact on this organization is undeniable.

Alexander Ryazantsev (Washington Capitals)

Grade: A-

After being unceremoniously discarded by the Colorado Avalanche, Ryazantsev decided to return to Russia and signed a deal with Lokomotiv. The absence of Alexander Guskov, who was in North America trying to earn a spot with the Blue Jackets, opened a spot on the top defensive pairing for Ryazantsev, who filled the role very well. He is one of Lokomotiv’s top defensemen.

Alexei Stonkus (New York Islanders)

Grade: A-/Incomplete

Stonkus had a solid training camp, outplaying his defensive partner Denis Grot for the final spot on Lokomotiv’s blue line, and skated on the third defensive pairing to start the regular season. Stonkus had a great U20 Four Nations tournament in Tyumen, where he was recognized as the competition’s top defenseman. All of this success was suddenly ended two games into the season by Czech player Ivan Khlubna’s irresponsible boarding hit on Stonkus during Lokomotiv’s game against Metallurg Magnitagorsk. As a result, Stonkus suffered a serious neck injury. Fortunately, the operations on his neck were a success, and the doctors are not discounting his return to hockey. Unfortunately, rehabilitation from such an injury will take time and at the very least, this season is a loss for the talented young defenseman.

Ivan Tkachenko (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Grade: B+

Tkachenko is having another solid season, comparable to the one he had in 2001-02, which got him drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has bulked up a bit since his draft year and isn’t as easy to knock down.

Denis Grot (Vancouver Canucks)

Grade: B

Grot started the season off as one of Lokomotiv’s reserves, but after the aforementioned injury to Alexei Stonkus, he was inserted into the lineup and performed well in his limited role. The young defenseman was expected to be loaned out of Yaroslavl during the November break, but Grot retained his spot in the lineup.

Konstantin Rudenko (Philadelphia Flyers)

Grade: B

Rudenko did not make Lokomotiv’s lineup out of training camp. He saw his first ice time after Vyacheslav Butsayev went down with an injury, and the young forward was called up to fill in for the veteran on Lokomotiv’s top line. At first he looked out of place and slow, but after several games in his new role, Rudenko played with more confidence and aggressiveness. It is rare that a single game can be pointed out as the culmination to a player’s success, but there is such a game for Rudenko. In the contest against CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv won 6:2 and Rudenko had a hand in five of Yaroslavl’s six goals (2g and 3a). While the amazing performance does not mean that Rudenko will be the next Pavel Bure, it does show a glimpse of what the young forward is capable of and secures him in Lokomotiv’s lineup for the rest of the season.

Grigori Shafigullin (Nashville Predators)

Grade: B-

Grigori Shafigullin made significant strides on the international level with the U20 squad, but his role with Lokomotiv has continued to be limited to the fourth line. This is not a bad thing for the young center, as he has been beating out some considerable competition for that spot on the deep Lokomotiv roster. Used primarily in a defensive role, Shafigullin has few points to show for his efforts, but he has definitely been one of Lokomotiv’s top young forwards.

Konstantin Glazachev (Nashville Predators)

Grade: B-

Glazachev has not been able to follow up his Super League success of last season. He has been struggling to crack Lokomotiv’s lineup, and then has not been able to produce while on the ice. He has improved since September, and has been getting sporadic duties on Lokomotiv’s third line with Tkachenko and the talented Czech import, David Moravec. The proverbial puck is in Glazachev’s end of the ice, and he now has to step up and take the full advantage of this opportunity, as there are other youngsters, including Nepriayev, Shafigullin and Ivanov. fighting for the same spots in the lineup.

Anton But (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Grade: C+

Anton But is having an average season. He started the year off slow, at times skating on the fourth line, but has slowly been regaining his last season’s form. He now skates on the club’s second line with Vladimir Antipov.

Ivan Nepriayev (Washington Capitals)

Grade: C

After deciding to remain in Russia for another season, Nepriayev was expected to have a break out year with Lokomotiv. However, the young forward was unable to crack Yaroslavl’s lineup, making his debut about 10 games into the regular season. He has shown flashes of his potential while on the ice, but that hasn’t happened much and the young center only has 1 goal to show for his efforts in just eight games. He will likely continue to fill in for injured players for the rest of the season.

Artem Kriukov (Buffalo Sabres)

Grade: Incomplete

Kriukov attended Buffalo’s training camp without a contract, hoping to salvage his first round status and earn a deal. The young, lanky center made quite an impact and the club was hoping to continue his development in the AHL, but he already had a contract with Lokomotiv, and the two sides have not come to an agreement. Kriukov has not yet skated a single game for Lokomotiv this season.

Alexei Ivanov (Chicago Blackhawks)

Grade: Incomplete

Ivanov has just returned to Lokomotiv in November after a two-month stint with Salavat Yulayev, where he went pointless in eight games on Ufa’s fourth line. The young center went to Ufa because, over the summer, Lokomotiv’s former junior team’s coach took a job as Salavat’s assistant coach. The young center is returning to an organization that has a lot of depth at the center slot and, since he doesn’t have much of a chance to break into Yaroslavl’s lineup, will likely be loaned somewhere else.