Hockey and the Coronavirus: Updates

Below the jump, an attempt to put together a running list of hockey competitions that have been cancelled, suspended, or otherwise disrupted by the outbreak of COVID-19. The list will be updated, and heads-up notes etc. will be much appreciated! Read on, and do check back for further updates…

LATEST UPDATE: March 26th (international hockey update)

On the Move in the NHL

Sergei Bobrovsky at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. (Image Source)

Yesterday was the first day of free-agent signings in the NHL, and it involved the usual hurtling of players from old teams to new. This year, there were some well-known Russian players on the move in the North American league, so read on, as we take a look at four guys who have moved, and one who hasn’t… yet.

Zubov to the Hall!

Sergei Zubov. (Image Source)

The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its 2019 induction class today, and the list of honoured Russian players has grown by one! The 2019 list of honorees includes: NCAA coach Jerry York, NHL executive Jim Rutherford, Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser, staunch defensive forward Guy Carbonneau, and Czechoslovakian superstar Václav Nedomanský. And, it includes one Sergei Alexandrovich Zubov, longtime NHL star as a playmaking defenceman. Read on, as we take a look back at Zubov’s career and accomplishments.

The KHL Footprint at the 2019 NHL Draft

As expected, SKA St. Petersburg’s Vasily Podkolzin was the first Russian player chosen in this year’s NHL Draft. (Image Source)

The 2019 NHL Draft was a spectacular one for players from what we might call the KHL’s footprint; 28 Russians were drafted, the most since 2003, along with two Belarusians and one Latvian player, and one of the 22 Finns selected came from the youth system of Jokerit Helsinki. That makes 32 players to write about, and I have indeed hammered out a short blurb about each of them as well as a thought or two on the draft itself. Read on…

The Russian Five

There is a new Russian hockey documentary out! The Russian Five, directed by Joshua Riehl, is in some ways a sequel to Gabe Polsky’s 2015 documentary Red Army. Polsky’s film discussed the latter days of Soviet hockey through the eyes primarily of star defenceman Vyacheslav Fetisov; in Riehl’s movie, we pick up the story a few years later, with players from the Soviet Union becoming a more frequent sight in the NHL. The Russian Five, as its title implies, deals with five of those “imports” to the North American game, and with the triumphs and heartbreaks (and there were both) that they encountered on this side of the ocean. And it deals with them well — this is a film that hockey fans should most definitely see. Read on, for a review!

Twenty-Two Youngsters

Forward Andrei Svechnikov, the second-overall pick at this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft. (Image Source)

NHL teams at this past weekend’s Entry Draft starting choosing Russian players early (with the second pick overall, in fact), and they didn’t stop.  When all was said and done, 20 young Russians had been selected — the most at an NHL draft since 2004 — along with two Belarusans.  Read on, for a thought or so on each of those 22 players.

Links, and Many of Them!

You will notice a new link on the bar at the top of this page!  It’s a project I’ve been poking at for some time, and finally got finished, namely a list of links to the websites and social media accounts of various Russian hockey entities (leagues, associations, and teams)!  Some notes:

• Teams are mostly listed in the leagues in which they competed in 2017-18, but Lada, Ugra, and HK Tambov have been moved to the VHL table, as they are expected to compete in that league in 2018-19.  Other such changes will be made as we get official league rosters for next season.
• Over the summer, I will also be adding the teams from the Asia League and the amateur League of Women’s Hockey, and perhaps some other things as well (major media sites and the like).
• Links to websites are to the the “top-level” site for that team or organization, whatever language it may be in (usually but not always Russian).  Links to versions of the site in other languages are included.  Links to social media accounts are in the language indicated.
• Sites and accounts that have not posted new material since December 31st, 2017, are not included.
• I will be checking this and updating it regularly, but if you can fill any of the gaps on these tables, or spot any errors, please do let me know via the comments (here or at the page itself) or by e-mail (peterboriana@gmail.com).

This and That (Updated)

Players and staff from the Ural State Mining University celebrate winning the 2017-18 championship of the Student Hockey League.  (Image Source)

I think we will take this evening to get caught up on a few things going on in the world of Russian hockey right now!  The past few days have seen some interesting coaching news in a couple of different leagues, as well as some tidings relating to the 2018-19 KHL goaltending picture (we were just talking about that, too!).  Read on, for those stories and a few others!

Let the Off-Season Feeding Frenzy Begin!

CSKA Moscow captain Denis Denisov will be lining up for Metallurg Magnitogrosk next season. (Image Source)

Monday marked the beginning of the annual free-agent season in the KHL, as contracts expired on April 30th and players began to change teams.  The past couple of days have seen a large number of such transactions, far too many to discuss them all here (Elite Prospects is your friend in keeping track of all the moves).  But read on, for a little look at just a few of the more significant trades and signings of the last 48 hours!

 

All Over

Team Russia salutes the crowd after bowing out of the World Cup of Hockey. (Image Source)

Russia’s run at the World Cup of Hockey has come to an end, after today’s defeat by Canada in the tournament’s semi-final.  Read on, for a bit of a match report and some quick thoughts on Russia’s tournament as a whole!