Ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in Russia. Thousands of spectators enthusiastically follow the battles, wondering how the passions that are happening on the site do not melt the ice. The greatest attention at all times attracted to itself hockey stars- players who demonstrate special skill during competitions. Let's find out who they are - the most famous hockey players in Russia and the world.
Photo: m.dp.ruThe Soviet Union gave the world many brilliant hockey players. One of them is Pavel Bure, nicknamed abroad for his incredible speed characteristics"Russian rocket".
Paul's glorious journey began very early. Having joined hockey at the age of 6, by his coming of age he had already won the highest award country, becoming the champion of the USSR (later he received this title twice more). A year later, he again stands on the podium, but already at the world championship.
Such a brilliant start to the career of a young talent could not go unnoticed. Always appreciated abroad Russian athletes and scientists and often poached them into their clubs and organizations. Pavel Bure was no exception - after the victorious championship, he left and began to play for the Vancouver club. It was thanks to him that Canada managed to win one of the highest hockey awards- Stanley Cup.
Photo: mos.news But after 7 years, the hockey player still returns to his homeland, and plays for his native club CSKA. And although it seemed that the peak of Bure's career had already passed, he again won a medal, though this time a silver one. But it happens on Olympic Games.
Pavel Bure is perhaps the most famous Russian hockey player abroad. Former club highly appreciated his merits: number 10, which flaunted on his uniform for 7 years, was finally assigned to the hockey player and withdrawn from use. Plus, the Guinness Book of Records also lists the name of the striker.
Photo: newyorkrangers.cz Swedish goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist, in addition to all the numerous championship titles, has a truly outstanding nickname - "King Henrik". This is not surprising: the player is considered one of the highest paid goalkeepers. At least in the NHL, he has no equal in this indicator.
The hockey player played in several clubs, but since 2000 he has remained in the same place, rejecting any proposals for a transition: a lucrative contract with the New York Rangers allows Lundqvist to provide himself with a livelihood. He is the main goalkeeper of the team and it is safe to say that the club owes prizes in the championships of various levels to him: the hit rate of 93 is no joke!
Thanks to his achievements, "King Henrik" regularly plays for the Swedish national team. And in its composition, he earned honorary awards - gold and silver of the Olympic Games, as well as a medal for first place at the 2017 World Championships.
Photo: vdvgazeta.ru Is there a person in Russia who does not know the eminent hockey player, and now the famous statesman? Physical and mental capacity of this person serve as proof that the statement “There is power - no mind is needed” is fundamentally wrong.
For my sports career Fetisov was able to win all known top hockey titles. So, he became the world champion as part of the national team as many as 7 times! And note that this number includes only gold medals, in addition to which the hockey player has 2 more silver and the same number of bronze medals of this tournament.
Photo: sportfm.ru Fetisov also participated in the Olympic Games, where he was able to win the champion title, as well as receive an award for second place. It’s not even worth talking about the main tournament of the USSR: here the hockey player turned out to be at the highest point of the podium as many as 13 (!) times.
In addition to sports medals, Vyacheslav Fetisov also has many state awards, the most significant of which are the Order of the 3rd degree "For Merit to the Fatherland" and the Peter the Great Prize, which marked his contribution to the development of the Russian state.
Photo: philly.com In hockey, as you know, not one player wins, but the whole team, and usually the coach loses. Shea Weber is a defender who just must not allow his team to leave the ice without glee in the next competition. And I must say he successfully copes with this task.
When at a young age Weber was faced with the problem of choosing a playing position, he, after some hesitation, chose the place of the defender. But here's what's interesting: a person who, in fact, should not score pucks into the opponent's goal, has one atypical feature - his shot is much more powerful than those that NHL attackers are capable of making. This fact is confirmed by the results of the Superskills competition.
A series of gold awards received for participation in various championships, Weber is almost continuous. Since the hockey player won his first World Cup, he has become the winner of many competitions, including a two-time Olympic champion.
Photo: redo.me.uk One of the most famous hockey players modernity, today one of the best forwards in the NHL - Alexander Ovechkin, a native of Russia. His entire youth career is associated with famous club Dynamo, the love for which was passed on to the hockey player from his mother, who previously played here, but only in the basketball team.
It was not immediately possible to lure Alexander abroad. He rejected the proposals of many agents, could not resist only the "Washington Capital", which is still part of it. Over the years of his brilliant performances, the team has taken one of the leading positions in the list of world hockey clubs. Ovechkin himself is the owner of many hockey awards, the most important of which can be considered a three-time world title.
The hockey player is characterized by some eccentricity. Several curious cases are associated with his name, among which the visit to the reception of the President of the Russian Federation in beach slippers was the most famous.
Photo: sport.bigmir.net The "great and terrible" goalkeeper of the era of brilliant goalkeepers. A hockey player who did not follow trends, but created them. The man who set many records on the ice, most of which have not yet been broken. All these words are about the legendary goalkeeper of Canada, who has Ukrainian roots. His name is Terry Savchuk.
"Hero of Ice" had a rather sad fate. His whole life was filled with tragedy. Some of them were related to his personal life, for example, the death of his brother, whose ammunition went to Savchuk. Others are related to their favorite sport: many injuries, including such a large one as a ruptured spinal disc, which led to the fact that the player could not fully straighten up. It’s not worth talking about small ones: one can only remember that Terry played without a mask, and instead of a hockey glove, he used a baseball one to catch pucks.
Photo: live.freep.com But Savchuk stubbornly walked towards his goal, putting his career at the forefront. And that is why he was able to achieve such amazing success: Terry set many records, two of which are most famous. The first - the number of tied games in the NHL, equal to 172 - has not been beaten so far. The second - 103 "dry" games in a row - was surpassed only after 39 years by another hockey star - Martin Brodeur.
Who knows how many records the famous goalkeeper could have set in the future if a tragic accident had not cut his life short. A fight with a flatmate led to a terrible injury - a rupture of the diaphragm, from which he did not recover.
Photo: scoopnest.com The great goalkeeper, widely known both in Russia and abroad, is the famous Vladislav Tretyak. He is a living confirmation that not all brilliant Russian athletes sooner or later switched to playing in European clubs. Even the last offer of the famous Montreal Canadiens, which contained as many as six zeros, was rejected by Tretyak.
Playing all his life in the USSR, he 12 times brought the club to the most high place podium of honor. And three times he was an Olympic champion in the national team. It is interesting that the famous goalkeeper might not fit into the frame: initially he played as a striker. The story was widely spread that he got into the gate only because of the desire to get his first form as soon as possible. Whether this is so, only Vladislav himself knows.
Photo: twitter.com In hockey, he became a true innovator. Thanks to him, the goalkeeper's mask made of wire, which is called the "cat's eye", became widespread. And the famous goalkeeper stance - "butterfly", which allows the defender of the gate to go down on the ice, was first revealed to the world by Tretiak, who refused to use the "stand-up" at the peak of popularity.
Leaving the ice, the famous hockey player never managed to get it out of his heart. He is engaged in coaching work abroad. He is also interested in other activities: now he is in the public service.
Hockey stars are the greatest players who forever inscribed their names in the history of this sport. Among them are many immigrants from Russia who have earned worldwide recognition.
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Such popularity as they had in the Soviet Union, and later in Russia, the players of the hockey team can hardly boast of other athletes.
Famous hockey players of Russia become practically national heroes, whom everyone knows - from schoolchildren to pensioners. their biographies, sports achivments, personal life is discussed in companies, covered in the press, closely followed their overseas successes. If in the USSR information about players was not particularly distributed among the population of a huge country (many hockey players were considered military personnel), then in our time it is not difficult to find out everything about your idol.
Heroes of our time
It is difficult to fit into one article all those who deserve the title of "the most famous hockey players Russia", but I would like to mention a few especially successful players separately.
One of these celebrities Russian hockey is Evgeni Malkin, who, despite a number of frankly unsuccessful seasons, nevertheless proved to be a real leader of the national team. Participation in three world championships and two in 2010) speaks of the high skill and performance of this hockey player. Evgeny began his sports career in Magnitogorsk, where his father, who himself played hockey in his youth, put his son on skates from the age of three.
Among the trophies of Evgeni Malkin there is the title of "best rookie of the season" (2004), and the Golden Helmet prize, which is awarded to the best striker, awards from the championships of Russia and the world, that's just Olympic gold did not submit. Like many other famous hockey players in Russia, Evgeny also successfully performed in the overseas hockey league.
NHL Stars
With the fall of the iron curtain Soviet hockey players appeared unique opportunity try your hand at the most titled and famous hockey league, which collected the "cream" of world hockey in its teams. Famous hockey players of the USSR and Russia showed themselves in different ways in the NHL. For some, this was the beginning of a dizzying career (Pavel Bure, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Sergey Fedorov), and someone got lost in the harsh world of the NHL, where the strongest survive (Viktor Nechaev, Sergey Mylnikov,
Famous Russian hockey players got into the clubs of the national overseas league in different ways: some simply fled the country Sergey Fedorov, others were looking for an opportunity to officially leave their native walls (Sergey Pryakhin, Sergey Starikov, Vyacheslav Fetisov). Today, for young and promising athletes, such detective stories seem unrealistic: to get into the NHL, your own talent and perseverance are enough.
Modern stars of Russian hockey in the NHL
Today, Russian hockey players have a large representation in the overseas hockey league. They successfully play in various American and Canadian clubs, earning the respect and honor of local fans. Nikita Soshnikov, Dmitry Orlov, Mikhail Grigorenko - famous Russian hockey players spend a lot of effort and energy to defend their right to play in the main teams of the NHL.
Many of the legionnaires are regularly called up to the Russian national team to participate in the European and World Championships, as well as Olympic tournaments. It is difficult to imagine the Russian national team without such NHL stars as Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Nikolai Kulemin.
NHL Hockey Hall of Fame
Our illustrious goalkeeper became the first representative in this hall, later Valery Kharlamov and Vyacheslav Fetisov joined him. Only the most prominent players from around the world. Igor Larionov was also awarded this honor for his great contribution to the development of world hockey.
There is also a coach of the USSR hockey team in this hall - Anatoly Tarasov. Despite his ambiguous and not always easy relationship with both players and party functionaries, without which no sport in the former Soviet Union could do, he was highly appreciated by overseas experts, especially after a series of matches with representatives of the NHL star team.
The future of Russian hockey
Despite a number of failures that the Russian hockey team suffered in the recent Olympic tournaments, fans do not lose hope that their idols will still manage to become the best team in the world. Such glory as the national team of the Soviet Union had, just does not get to anyone. To really become champions, star names alone are not enough. Daily hard work, loyalty and devotion to the chosen profession - these are the constant components of success.
The lists of all hockey players in Russia (famous and novice players) are replenished every year with new names that the country can rightly be proud of. Perhaps it is the new generation of hockey players who replaced the "old guard" who will be able to regain their former glory and respect, which the players of the USSR national team were rightfully proud of. And songs will also be dedicated to our contemporaries, as they did to their titled predecessors.
The main favorite of the 2018/19 season in the NHL, according to bookmakers, are the Lightning hockey players. There is nothing surprising in this: unexpectedly for everyone, Steve Yzerman, who left the post of general manager of the club a month before the start of the regular season, did a tremendous job, gathering in Florida a team consisting of young talents and already formed stars of the first magnitude.
The highest level of individual skill of the leaders - forwards Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, defenders Viktor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh and goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevsky, multiplied by a decent depth of the squad, gives Tampa Bay fans every reason to count on winning the second Stanley Cup in the history of the organization.
The Lightning were good last season, when they scored a record number of victories in the regular season (54 in 82 games), and should add more. Shot after the exchange from Montreal Russian defender Mikhail Sergachev and Canadian striker Braden Point, who scored 32 goals, for example, are still working out standard rookie contracts and have not had time to reveal their full potential.
Yes, in the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs club, which signed the most status free agent of the 2018 off-season, John Tavares, John Cooper's wards have, probably, an even more serious competitor than last year's Washington. But barring something out of the ordinary, like an injury to heavily medicaled captain Stamkos, Kucherov and company should, like they did last year, once again be first in the Eastern Conference and gain home court advantage well into the late playoffs.
However, despite the fact that most of the key players of the Tampa Bay club are still quite young and just entering the peak of their careers, the team's so-called championship window will not be open forever. The fact is that now there are enough hockey players in its composition, whose fees are much lower than their real market value.
In addition to Sergachev and Point, Vasilevsky, who earns a modest $3.5 million a year by the standards of the Vezina Trophy contender, and who completed the last regular season with the best utility indicator of +36 in the team, as well as forward Yanni Gurde with his purely symbolic salary of $1 million.
Consequently, in the near future, the successors of the Yzerman case will have to make painful decisions about parting with one of the really important or even backbone players.
It is impossible to deceive the hard salary ceiling, under which all current Lightning hockey players will not have enough space already in the 2019/20 championship. Therefore, it is better for the team from Florida to make the title ambitions come true in order not to enter the history of one of the strongest organizations, which for several years in a row was very close to the coveted trophy, but did not manage to get it.
Nikita Kucherov signs an eight-year contract extension with @TBLightning.
He is coming off a career year in which third he reached the 100-point mark for the first time (39-61-100), becoming the player in franchise history to hit the milestone. https://t.co/UB2UGWTMbB #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/HyBRne0VeY
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) July 10, 2018
“Washington”: how long will the “champion hangover” Ovechkin and Kuznetsov last?
The hackneyed expression that defending any title is much more difficult than winning it was not born out of nowhere - and the Capitals in the upcoming season have every chance to confirm the time-tested thesis. The team, which has been celebrating its historic success throughout the summer, will start the new regular season with minimal changes in the roster and will definitely experience problems with motivation at a certain stage.
The capital division, in which Washington plays, cannot be called the most competitive in the league (both teams from New York and Carolina are at different stages of restructuring and most likely will not cause big problems to the leaders), and therefore a ticket to the play- off anywhere from the "Great Eight" will not go away. But a decline in the opening or during the regular season is still inevitable, and the prerequisites for it are much more significant than the notorious “champion's hangover”.
Firstly, the Capitals enter the season with a new mentor: for the first time in a quarter of a century, the current owner of the Stanley Cup made a castling on the coaching bridge, replacing Barry Trotz, who left for the Islanders, with his former assistant Todd Reirden. The 47-year-old specialist has been working at the headquarters of the capital team since 2014, but he will still need some time to get used to the role of the main person on the bench.
Secondly, power forward Tom Wilson, one of the shadow heroes of the past playoff draw, faces a long suspension for a rough power reception in a preseason match with the St. Louis Blues - and a shock three formed during the last championship with him, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov in the composition, at least at first, will be destroyed.
Therefore, Russian fans of the team as a whole should be more than reserved about the local failures of Washington (and there will certainly be such!) Especially after a 7-0 win over the Boston Bruins. The same " Pittsburgh Penguins»Last autumn, they allowed themselves to lose individual meetings with a nightmarish score of 1:10, which did not prevent them from approaching the relegation fights in good shape. Next spring, the Capitals will again be fully armed, and what kind of hockey they will show from October to early December is the twentieth thing.
Los Angeles: Kovalchuk returned in earnest and for a long time?
Perhaps the main intrigue of the NHL regular season associated with Russian hockey players is the level of play of Ilya Kovalchuk. After all, the striker, at a very respectable age for an athlete, returned overseas for a reason, but for the only award separating him from entering the Triple Golden Club, and from the very beginning he did not hide the seriousness of his intentions to compete for the Stanley Cup.
Therefore, the requirements for him will be appropriate: the Kings, who have not even made it to the second round of the playoffs since 2014, believe that such an experienced and high-class sniper will give results from the very first official match. And he will not be forgiven for any slippage at the start.
There is not the slightest doubt - in the offseason, Kovalchuk did everything in his power to return to the strongest league on the planet in optimal condition. Otherwise, he simply would not have left SKA, which includes the forward and annually qualify for the Gagarin Cup. But Ilya went to America solely for the sake of satisfying his own ambitions and with an actual pay cut (after deducting all taxes in Los Angeles, he will earn less than in St. Petersburg). Therefore, there are no problems with dedication or motivation Olympic champion Pyeongchang should not arise.
Another thing is that Kovalchuk will actually have to get used to the NHL calendar full of matches and flights, which has not become much more favorable to the players in the five years the striker spent in Russia. For this reason, overseas experts agree that Los Angeles took a decent risk by signing an agreement with Ilya for three years at once. But if the kings bet eventually plays out, the team can actually make a breakthrough. After all, one of the main problems of the squad of John Stevens last season was the mediocre implementation of the majority, and the Russian with a great throw will definitely be able to solve it.
Another reason to get to Friday night's game early? After playing five seasons in the KHL, Ilya Kovalchuk returns to the NHL as a member of the Kings. The 35-year-old has 417-399=816 in 816 career NHL games, the eighth-most points by a Russian player in League history. pic.twitter.com/08LHHKQZRd
— LAKingsPR (@LAKingsPR) 3. Rijna 2018
"Carolina": who is Svechnikov and how good is he?
There are enough Russian performers in the NHL who simply have to take a step forward in the 2018/19 season. This is Vladimir Tarasenko, who already has a stellar status, thanks to which St. Louis is expected to return to the number of playoff participants. And Valery Nichushkin, who is still considered promising, is making a second attempt to gain a foothold in the Dallas Stars. And Bogdan Kiselevich, who stayed in Russia in the summer, signed a contract with the Florida Panthers (but, unfortunately, had already managed to get an unpleasant injury during pre-season training). Most of the attention, however, will be riveted to the person of Andrei Svechnikov, the forward selected by the Hurricanes under the overall second number of the last draft, which suggests that the 18-year-old hockey player has a truly stellar potential.
In the very first season professional career a native of Barnaul, who has been playing overseas since 2016 (and therefore almost unknown to fans who are not interested in junior tournaments half a year ago), is able to loudly declare himself and join the battle for the Calder Trophy - the prize for the best newcomer of the regular season. Svechnikov, whose elder brother, Evgeny, also plays North America in the Detroit Red Wings system, is actually very talented and also ready for the NHL in terms of his physical condition, which is quite rare at his age.
Experts in the junior leagues of the USA and Canada call Andrey's strongest quality the forward's versatility, which makes it very difficult to neutralize him right now. The Russian rookie of Carolina is both a strong sniper and an intelligent playmaker, he can benefit the team both in the implementation of the majority and in the “killing” of the penalty time. In his person, the club, which has not played in the playoffs since the distant 2009, received a real diamond, which should surely shine in the hands of a competent coach.
Finally, the Hurricanes are a great place to grow, a young, growing organization where Svechnikov is likely to be trusted from day one, without forcing him to go through the sieve of farm clubs and bite his teeth into a place on the fourth line.
Columbus: what will happen to Panarin and Bobrovsky?
The contract saga of Artemy Panarin, who scored 82 points in 81 NHL regular season games last season, seems to have come to an end. Forward before the opening of the training camp and does not intend to break the earlier promise not to negotiate with the club's general manager Jarmo Kekalainen during the season. Given that next summer, one of the leaders and top scorer of Columbus becomes an unrestricted free agent, his exchange is more and more likely every day. Some insiders even claim that it will take place even before 2019.
With his unwillingness to sign an eight-year agreement with the current club (and allegedly a desire to move to a metropolis like New York, which the overseas media wrote about more than once), Panarin puts the Columbus leadership in an extremely difficult position. Kekalainen, like any other normal functionary, does not seek to part with his main asset of his own free will, but he will still have to do this in order to prevent the striker from leaving for another team without any compensation.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that the cost of Artemy in the exchange market is falling every day. Nine months later, with a favorable set of circumstances, it will be possible to get it for free, and now the Blue Jackets will require substantial compensation in order to stay afloat after parting with the striker.
Widely covered throughout the summer of 2018 both in the domestic and in foreign press The split between Columbus and Panarin was overshadowed by the fact that the club's relations with another eminent Russian, two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, are developing in a similar way. His contract also expires at the end of the season, and so far the goalkeeper has not expressed much desire to draw up a new one.
Kekalainen, according to rumors, expects to convince the ward, and the relatively free payroll of the Blue Jackets, where the eight-figure fee desired by one of the strongest goalkeepers on the planet can easily fit in, should help him with this. But the scenario in which both Russian stars the team from Ohio will finish the regular season in other jerseys, it is quite likely. And neither the Finnish manager, nor the head coach of the team, John Tortorella, is, to put it mildly, not happy.
How is the Russian landing in the NHL
For three weeks of the 101st NHL season, the leading players and those who remained “on the hook” have already been clearly defined. But what would be the interest in this if it were not for our new stars, such as Sergachev or already familiar hockey players with Russian surnames, who “rebooted” after a not very successful season? The sports editorial staff of Realnoe Vremya talks about those Russians in the NHL who have exceeded all expectations, and about those from whom we expect more.
Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus
Let's start with the last frontier. Moreover, this year we have two names in the "frame" of NHL teams that we can be proud of. Columbus has long been known as the team of the eternal middle: neither you have big ambitions, nor trophies, but this is not such a hopeless outsider. There are few famous players here, however, they also visit Ohio. And the most important figure of the last decade for Columbus, without a doubt, is Sergei Bobrovsky. If he is not at the gate or he has a temporary recession, it means that the whole team will be unhappy.
Perhaps the only game in which Sergei did not work out was the last one - against Los Angeles. It just so happened that the Kings had all the pucks flying exactly where they needed to, so Bobrovsky's statistics in this match were spoiled great. But even after this disastrous game for the whole team, Bobrovsky has a rather impressive figure of 2.16 goals per game. And after all, even in a duel with the Kings, Bobrovsky created a local miracle that will be remembered more than all the goals he missed. Just look:
Andrei Vasilevsky, Tampa Bay
The second goalkeeper, for whom you can be happy, is the goalkeeper of the Russian NHL team Andrei Vasilevsky.
Vasilevsky on this moment- The youngest first goaltender in the NHL. Having squeezed Bishop out of Tampa, Andrey got all the cards in his hands in order to realize himself at the level of the goalkeeper of the league's favorite team. Now 23, he's the most talked about goalie in the entire NHL. Many are not yet fully convinced that "Vasya" is stable enough to defend the gates of the contender for the Stanley Cup.
But seven games out of eight! In so many matches, Vasilevsky emerged victorious along with his partners. The percentage of reflection of throws is kept at the level of 93.3%. In other words, such a gang has gathered in Tampa, against the background of which it is simply enough for Vasilevsky not to make stupid mistakes, play at a good level and sometimes "pull" if the situation is critical, as, for example, here:
Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis
Back in the summer, the Siberian striker announced this season in the NHL as decisive for him. He said that he understood what needs to be added, and began to prepare differently. Everyone believed, they expected Tarasenko to become the main Russian scorer. Moreover, Ovechkin last season did not ask at all.
But there is every reason to think that Tarasenko simply does not have partners of sufficient level to become the best in the league. Vladimir really lacks strong central forwards, capable of consistently bringing him to shock positions. The already aging Paul Stasny in his top three is no longer pulling out the level. Vladimir Sobotka, who returned to the NHL, does not look like a super-passer either.
Nevertheless, our striker is the main star of the Blues. He has a lead time of 19:43 on the ice, so Mike Yeoh seems to be trying to build the game through the winger without having a strong center.
Still, Tarasenko's 5+4 in nine matches is good, but nothing more. This is less than last year, and now Vladimir is not even second only to Ovechkin. We'll be watching to see how it goes. The playoffs are still far away.
Artemy Panarin, Columbus
“Khlebushek”, although not really scoring so far, but assists a lot and gives out “bomb” interviews, in which he refutes his “Keyne addiction”. Artemy has 1+8 (twice he scored assistant hat-tricks) in his new club, and it's time for him to score himself to prove his theory.
One of Panarin's biggest problems at Columbus could be coach John Tortorella's rather dictatorial leadership style. He does not like hockey players who work miracles only in front, he also needs horses that work out in defense. It seems that Artemy Panarin is not yet very accustomed to the new conditions. But everything is ahead.
Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay
Simply the biggest star of the entire National hockey league here and now - Nikita Kucherov, who tears absolutely everyone. Neither the Pittsburgh, which the Floridians smashed to pieces (although who doesn’t smash them now?) Stops him, neither the Rangers, nor last year’s finalist Nashville, nor the same St. Louis Vladimir Tarasenko.
Judge for yourself: the Lightning have played 9 games since the start of the season, Kucherov has already scored 16 (10 + 6) points and caught up with Ovechkin in terms of the number of goals scored. Now two Russians for a couple lead the race for the prize top scorer"Morris Richard Trophy".
AT this season 24-year-old Russian has grown to the status of a contender for the title best player leagues. What kind of Connor McDavid is there when such a fast and smart Russian guy named Nikita “fries” in the south of the USA?
The second Russian, without whom Tampa would not be where we see it today, is Vladislav Namestnikov, who scored a good 10 (3 + 7) points. If Kucherov scores more, then Namestnikov assists him and Stamkos. Yes, the attention of the second of the four Russians "Tampa" receives much less than, however, only earns the status of a hidden hero of the team, regularly "wearing the piano." But at this point it was the other way around.
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington
Whether criticism of Alexander the Great for the form at his own wedding, or his own dissatisfaction with himself spurred "our everything" to prepare for the season in a different way. Everyone remembers that last season was the most unfortunate for Ovechkin. So in the current one, he had to go according to one of two scenarios: either finally resign as the best shooter in the NHL and gradually go into the shadows, but then along the NHL - KHL route - The State Duma, or do something with yourself and get back on track with 50+ goals in the regular season and the fight for the Stanley Cup.
As expected, Alexander chose the second path. In 9 games, he has 10 goals, which means that he is still ahead of schedule! What's more, Ovechkin has resumed the tradition of breaking numerous league records. Last week, for example, he scored the game-winning goal in NHL regular season overtime for the 20th time in his career, beating the great Jaromir Jagr on this indicator.
Ovechkin scored a huge number of goals in the NHL for a reason. He throws better than anyone else in the league - admired the game of his ward Main coach"Washington" Barry Trotz. - If you give Ovechkin enough opportunities, there will definitely be goals.
Nail Yakupov, Colorado
Yakupov's game in the NHL, according to the old tradition, cannot be called unambiguous. Colorado got off to a pretty strong start, winning four games out of five and narrowly missed jumping into the top three. Nail scored three goals and seemed to find chemistry with Curfoot and Matt Duchenne, making everyone nervous on defense. The team breathed new after last year's disgrace, looked fresh and light. And Yakupov himself said that everything in the new team suits him. It would seem, what else is needed to finally gain a foothold in the NHL?
However, soon Yakupov took up the old ways and simply stopped playing. In a lost match with St. Louis, Colorado head coach Jared Bednar put Nail on the bench in the second period and did not let him out again.
“Today we had “passengers” in our line-up, and Yakupov was one of them,” Bednar said. - When you play against best team division, you can't act so stupid. A few mistakes that we weren't allowed to make cost us the game."
That's all you need to know about Yakupov's career overseas. There is still time for correction, but with each new season it becomes less and less.
Alexander Burmistrov, Vancouver
The Kazan hockey player is doing no better in the NHL. According to statistics, everything is sad (1 + 3), and Alexander earned his first assistant points only last week, and his only goal was scored by not the brightest Ottawa. In the same game, Burmese also earned an assistant point for an assist to Brock Boser, earning him the title of third star of the match.
But for a player who has such a chance "thanks" to the injuries of forwards Erickson and Sutter, Alexander would need to act a lot more actively in order to get a stable place at least in the third line. After all, with the game that he shows today, the returning leaders can put him on the bench for a long time or send him to the AHL.
Alexander Radulov, Dallas
Alexander Radulov still looks unimportant in his new Dallas Stars team. His start in Texas turned out to be much worse than last year in Montreal. Only on October 18, Radulov scored his first and so far the only goal for Dallas. His statistics - 4 (1+3) points - will upset even his most ardent fans.
Alexander does not do without effective mistakes. For example, in a recent game against Nashville (1:4), his loss turned into the third missed puck, and the striker himself eventually earned -2 utility. With the longest time on the ice of any forward, he landed just one shot. This is clearly not what is expected of a player who is given an average of 19 minutes of playing time.
The only thing that can be called mitigating detailed is the fact that the whole Stars was moping for a long time. Only in the last four games, the Texans managed to turn the tide. We hold our fists so that Alex finds himself in the green team.
Eric Dobrolyubov
The Russians in the camps of the NHL clubs. Who will start the season at the start?
Only five teams avoid Russians.
Capital Division
Washington Capitals: Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Dmitry Zaitsev.
Carolina Hurricanes: Valentin Zykov, Sergei Tolchinsky.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Sergei Bobrovsky, Vitaly Abramov, Artemy Panarin.
New Jersey Devils: Nikita Popugaev, Yaroslav Dyblenko.
New York Islanders: Nikolai Kulemin.
New York Rangers: Pavel Buchnevich, Alexei Bereglazov, Sergei Zborovsky, Alexander Georgiev.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Evgeni Malkin.
Philadelphia Flyers: Ivan Provorov, Radel Fazleev, German Rubtsov, Mikhail Vorobyov, Ivan Kosorenkov.
To Malkin or Shipachev? Five NHL teams for Danis Zaripov
“Chicago” is also considering whether to take another Russian striker.
Every club in the Capital Division has at least one Russian player, and most of them have a spot at the start. Of course, Buchnevich, Bereglazov and Kulemin will play for teams from New York. In Washington, Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Orlov will take to the ice. Chances Dmitry Zaitsev get into the base small. In Pittsburgh, no doubt, Evgeni Malkin will continue to light, in Columbus - Sergey Bobrovsky and newcomer Artemy Panarin.
One of the main intrigues is whether he can get into main team Blue Jackets forward Vitaly Abramov. According to him, he is already ready to play in. Philadelphia now has five young Russian hockey players, and if Ivan Provorov is an iron core player, then nothing is guaranteed to the rest.
One of the main intrigues is whether striker Vitaly Abramov will be able to get into the main team of the Blue Jackets. According to him, he is already ready to play in.
The most difficult thing for the Russians will be in New Jersey and Carolina. Chances Nikita Popugaeva start playing in the next season is not very big, but Yaroslav Dyblenko most likely will start the championship in the AHL and will wait for the chance to play for the base. Tolchinsky and Zykov have been trying to get their chance at Carolina for many years, and the new season could be a turning point for them.
Atlantic Division
Buffalo Sabers: Vasily Glotov, Victor Antipin.
Boston Bruins: Anton Khudobin.
Detroit Red Wings: Evgeny Svechnikov.
Montreal Canadiens: Nikita Shcherbak.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Mikhail Sergachev, Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Andrey Vasilevsky, Alexey Lipanov, Alexander Volkov, Oleg Sosunov.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Nikita Zaitsev, Nikita Soshnikov, Rinat Valiev.
Florida Panthers: Evgeny Dadonov, Maxim Mamin, Nikolai Belov.
the two most Russian teams The Atlantic Division are "Tampa" and "Toronto". southerners in their training camp invited seven Russian hockey players, of which three are base players, and one more is Mikhail Sergachev- has a great chance to become the main defender of the team. Alexander Volkov and Oleg Sosunov with a high degree of probability will play in the AHL or a league lower, but Alexey Lipanov will have to go to the Barry Colts OHL club.
In Toronto, five hockey players began training, but Vladimir Bobylev and Nikita Korostelev have already gone to the location of the AHL team. Zaitsev and Soshnikov will play for the base, and Valiev, as in previous seasons, will balance between the AHL. Vasily Glotov is unlikely to play for the Buffalo team, unlike rookie Viktor Antipin. Anton Khudobin will continue to play the role of Tuukka Rask's replacement, and Shcherbak will be able to play for Montreal from time to time, which has already ceased to be Russian.
Antipin: follow the path of Malkin? For starters, I just want to play in the NHL
The decision to leave for the NHL, wishes from Znark, the Zaripov case and a career in Metallurg - in an interview with defender Viktor Antipin.
Main question whether Evgeny Svechnikov can start the season in Detroit. Or after winning the Calder Cup, he still needs to play in the AHL? It will be interesting to watch how the forward will adapt again Evgeny Dadonov And how will the adaptation Maksim Mamin. Both players will play in the new season for Florida.
Central Division
Winnipeg Jets: Dmitry Kulikov.
Dallas Stars: Alexander Radulov, Denis Guryanov.
Colorado Avalanche: Andrey Mironov, Semyon Varlamov, Nail Yakupov, Nikita Zadorov, Sergey Boykov.
Minnesota Wild: Dmitry Sokolov.
Nashville Predators: Alexey Emelin, Pavel Koltygin, Yakov Trenin.
"St. Louis Blues": Alexey Toropchenko, Dmitry Sergeev, Vladimir Tarasenko, Ivan Barbashev, Klim Kostin.
Chicago Blackhawks: Artyom Anisimov.
Only in Minnesota there will be no Russians. "Savages" invited to the meeting of the striker Dmitry Sokolov, but he was already sent to the junior league. In Chicago and Winnipeg, there is only one Russian hockey player each, from whom they will expect a confident and reliable game. Four Russians can start in Colorado at once, it will be interesting to see how they adapt to this hockey Andrey Mironov, but Sergey Boykov will probably play in the AHL.
All attention in Dallas will be on star rookie Alexander Radulov, but Denis Guryanov also has a good chance of playing a dozen games in the coming season.
All eyes in Dallas will be on star rookie Alexander Radulov, but Denis Guryanov there is a good chance to play a dozen matches in the coming season. in Nashville and Yakov Trenin will make another attempt to get into the main team. There are five Russian hockey players in the St. Louis training camp at once. Vladimir Tarasenko and Ivan Barbashev will play for the first team, and the future Klima Kostina determined in the coming weeks.