Top 5 Tuesday:From Russia with Love

2009 was the year of the Swede at the NHL entry draft as 7 players from Tre Kronor country were taken, including 3 in the top 10. Contrast that with Russia and you have a very lopsided game as only Dmitri Kulikov heard his name called in round one, and he actually dropped because teams feared he might head home after the season and skate in the KHL.

This year Mother Russia should be smiling a little more as several of her native sons have a chance at going in round one.

Here's a look at who I think will be the top Russians taken this June.

Sam's Super Series Synopsis

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One of the guests that we were pleased to speak with on the program last night was an old favorite of ours, Sam Cosentino. You know him from Rogers Sportsnet where he's on both the baseball and junior hockey broadcast teams and obviously we were speaking with him about the latter.

Cosentino has a passion for junior hockey just like we do but has the advantage of covering all three CHL leagues on a first hand basis. That's why we enjoy having him on as much as we do (which is still not frequently enough for us or for him). Yesterday we were able to pick his brain about the ongoing Subway Super Series and got his scouting reports on CHL players, the Russians who made it over, the Mike Liambas suspension and what the difference is in the case of Zac Rinaldo plus... I got to throw my alternative to today's Super Series at him.

We started by asking Sam to offer up the names of some of the players that have caught his eye over the first four games of the series (QMJHL and OHL). He started with the Russians and offered some comments on a few of the imports who are actually playing in the CHL including Dmitri Kostromitin who was an invite to Oilers rookie camp in September. However, it was 2010 eligible Maxim Kitsin that scored the best praise from the TV colour analyst.

"I think he's been fantastic, probably their most consistent goal scoring threat."

Cosentino continued to comment on Pavel Lukin and Dmitri Kugryshev.

On the CHL side of things, Cosentino suggests that Taylor Hall and Nazem Kadri were two key guys for him to watch. Out of the QMJHL he made special mention of Luke Adam and Gabriel Bourque. From the WHL the guys he says he is looking forward to seeing in action include TPS Guest Player Blogger Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars, Edmonton Oil King Mark Pysyk and Jordan Eberle who wowed him earlier in the day at practice.

"[Eberle] was tearing apart the shootout portion of the practice."

Dean then brought up something he has noticed over the first few games of the series in that the CHL clubs have featured a couple of interesting lines. In the Q games we saw an all-Rimouski combination in Jordan Caron, Patrice Cormier and former Oceanic winger Philippe Cornet (#15 above). There was an all-Spitfires line in the OHL games with Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique and Greg Nemisz. Millard asked Cosentino if he felt this was something that might carry over to WJC camp.

"When you look at the chemistry that those two lines have had you can't help but look and say 'boy, if we bring these guys to the camp and they can compete in the red/white events and on an individual basis maybe it is plausible that we keep these guys together come tournament time."

That led into a question on Oilers prospect Philippe Cornet who, despite a pile of points and an impressive Super Series, both Dean and I get the impression from Hockey Canada that they might be look warm to him. Cosentino had a different perspective.

"Smart player. Really smart player and I don't necessarily think I agree with [our] assessment. I've been sneaking around with coaches and scouts and I think they were particularly happy with his game. I thought Cornet played both ends of the ice extremely well, positioned himself great, had some good back tracking and defensive plays coming back into the neutral zone. I liked his game and I think [Hockey Canada] is probably a little more than 'luke warm' based on some of the people I've talked to."

I asked Sam if there was a player he felt had earned a camp invite with the way he performed during the series and he suggested a player from the QMJHL fit the bill.

"I think Gabriel Bourque is that guy for me right now. He was awesome in the two games; great energy, has no issue at all getting involved physically, able to put up points but able to be the pain in the rear end guy."

Sam offered up a few other names as well during the first segment of our conversation.

We then directed an email question Sam's way which asked about suspended London Knight Zac Rinaldo who was somehow eligible to still partake in the Super Series. We ended the first segment with that question and when we came back from a commercial break we picked up right where we left off and asked Sam to comment on Rinaldo's history of suspensions in light of the career ending suspension handed out recently to Mike Liambas.

"I'll be perfectly honest with you guys... I think the [Liambas] suspension was too long."

Sam went on to clarify his position on that incident and what he would have liked to have seen as the penalty and made a solid explanation as to why he's taken the stance that he has.

Dean made a great point that, with just two goalies playing for the WHL in the next two games of the Super Series, it's clearly Martin Jones VS Calvin Pickard (above) for Hockey Canada in terms of a camp invite. Cosentino agreed and went on to describe how he envisions the goaltending battle shaking down in advance of the World Junior Camp.

"Jake Allen - invite. After that it kind of breaks down a bit. The next guy I have on my list is Matt Hackett of the Plymouth Whalers. The last two camp spots if they go with four goalies... is a fight between the two WHL guys, Pickard and Jones, and I would throw Louie Domngue of the Moncton Wildcats in that group based on how well he played at the Ivan Hlinka tournament."

Edmonton fans will notice that summer camp invitee Olivier Roy doesn't make the cut for Cosentino (nor for Dean or I as far as that goes) based on a weaker season than the others on the list.

"He's a guy that I really thought going into this year, would be a cinch to make one of those four spots but I'm not so certain of that now."

We then brought up the name of Kyle Beach and whether Sam was surprised that the power forward isn't playing for the WHL after finally getting that chance last year.

"Yeah a little bit, I mean, he's lighting it up right now. This is a guy that, let's face it, they are very familiar with."

Cody Eakin has been a scoring machine this year and Dean wondered if the Swift Current sniper might be this year's Jamie Benn or Brett Sonne.

"I think he can be that guy to play the role where he's needed to go out and create an opportunity or get a couple of good shots but also to play a defensive posture."

Finally, I pitched my idea to Sam about having the Russian component in the Super Series changed to a European/American squad from the CHL. Although he liked the idea in theory, Sam pointed out that in the end, it's money that dictates the structure of the event.

"To this point guys, it's selling. Would you like to see better competition if you're Hockey Canada? Yes. For Television? Yes."

Sam's point was that because the advertising around the event is sold out, there is not indication that a change is needed and that in fact, removing the Russian aspect from the Series might have a negative effect on sponsorship.

"I love the idea of the international [roster] event but it would take a huge marketing endeavor to try and sell that. Believe it or not, when you go around, Canada vs Russia still sells."

Sam's counter proposal would be to have a series that would pit the QMJHL against one of the Eastern based NCAA Conferences like the ECAC. The OHL could play the CCHA and the WHL would square off against the WCHA. I am not sure that NCAA regulations would even allow such an exhibition though.

It was a very informative and entertaining double-length interview with Sam which you can hear by clicking HERE.

USA vs Canada in WJAC Final

It's been a long week in Camrose but it will all be over on Sunday night after the gold medal game which features the United States and Canada West.

The expression is: even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Well since Dean and I both correctly predicted this match up three weeks ago that must mean we're either geniuses or just that the expression needs updating to 'two blind squirrels'.

There were three games on Saturday, let's go in order.

Russia 8 - Germany 2

Russia dominated Germany pretty much from the outset of the game but it became clear to me that it was because they weren't having to pay a physical price like they did with their North American opponents. In this game the highly skilled Russians, and there are some beauties here let me tell you, they were able to do whatever they wanted to and the final score is indicative of that.

Jerome Flaake (TOR) actually got the Germans off to an early lead but like I said, from then on it was all Russia.

Kirill Kabanov had a strong game with a goal and two assists, Stanislav Bocharov had a hat trick but those weren't the guys I'm going to remember from this game.

#15 Evgeny Kuznetsov has the hands, vision and creative instincts of a 30-year-old veteran but my 4-year-old son could teach him a thing or two about maturity. I have never seen a player smack his stick on the ice, slam the door on the bench, shake his head at teammates or generally sulk and pout like this kid does. After every whistle this guy is whining. It's a shame because he's a super talent but man... what a cry baby!

#19 Alexander Burmistrov was phenomenal today. There was one shift where he started the play from his own end, lugged it the entire length of the ice and was able to control it in Germany's zone... about a 40 second span never losing control of the puck once. He's shifty and really quick. It was by far his best game and I wonder how much of that was because of who the opponent was, but today he was terrific.

#23 Maxim Kitsin has been really hot and cold in this event, at least to me, and that continued today. He has the great combination on size, speed and skill but doesn't always use them together. At one point he took a great pass from Kuznetsov, dangled his way to the front of the net but then fired it 2 feet over the crossbar. Later he was given a penalty shot and it might have been the worst attempted deke I have seen in the last 2 years (pictured). Still, whenever I'd talk to a scout about the Russians, it wasn't long before his name came up.

I have decided that Russian head coach Vladimir Plyuschev needs anger management. At every whistle a quick glance at the Russian bench earns a person a view of Plyuschev gesturing wildly as he rips into one of his players. It doesn't matter whether the score is 1-0 or 6-0, whether Russia is winning or losing... if your shift just ended there is a 1 in 5 chance that you're going to get an earful. It's comical and embarrassing all at the same time.

Germany goes home in last place but in a sense it was mission accomplished. To understand what I mean you'll have to hear it from assistant coach Jeff Tomlinson who I spoke with after the game.

USA 5 - Canada East 1

In my opinion, Team USHL is the best squad here and they are on a roll that I don't think will end without a gold medal. They have scored 18 goals in the last 3 games and have only allowed 6 against in that span. Today it was a rematch with CAN East who they beat 5-3 in the round robin.

Danny Kristo was back in the line up and his high ankle sprain (or flu!) didn't seem to affect him much. Matt Donovan (NYI) has a pair of goals including the game winner. One guy I haven't really mentioned this week is #8 Mike Cichy but he's been very good and was again in this one today.

In net Mike Lee was again very strong. Dean asked me a couple hours ago who my tournament MVP would be to this point and Lee's name was the one that came to the front of my brain (where there is ample room for it to roll around).

Canada East was a disappointment for me. It should be mentioned that the American squad is older, bigger and more mature and I think it was a definite factor. However, the Eastern Canadians were not much of a threat in this game and I honestly can't recall a stretch where they had momentum or any kind of pressure.

I spoke with head coach Mark Grady afterwards.

From the USA side, I had postgame chats with Matt Donovan (NYI-4th) and Max NiCastro (DET-3rd) as well as coach Mark Carlson.

Canada West 4 - Belarus 1

This game was a lot closer that it should have been. Belarus was not out of this game until midway through the third despite taking a ton of penalties. I give a ton of credit to goalie Vitali Bialinski who was named player of the game for Belarus after seeing 43 shots, many of them during Canadian power plays.

The Belarussians actually had some jump and resilience in their game tonight. #12 Mikalai Susla is the only 1991 born player on the team but he was one of the best on the ice and scored his side's only goal of the night. #15 Siarhei Drozd has been dynamite but was held off the score sheet in this one.

For Canada it was a pair of players who haven't gotten much mention yet who got rave reviews tonight. #23 Brodie Reid and #21 Curtis McKenzie had a ton of chemistry going and impressed friend of The Pipeline Show Peter Loubardias who took in the festivities with me tonight.

The game started to slip away from Belarus as the second period wound on. They had just tied the game then got into penalty trouble which got momentum back behind Canada. Once the hosts struck for a 2-1 lead the Belarussians looked a bit frazzled and when Canada made it 3-1 before the end of the period, you could hear the air being let out of their tires.

I give them credit, they hung in their as best they could and halfway through looked as legit as Canada did but in the end they ran out of gas.

Sunday Night Preview

You could make a case that there is more on the line that Canadian - American bragging rights. I asked both head coaches if underneath the National flags there was also a sense of American tier I vs Canadian Tier I... some USHL vs BCHL/AJHL/SJHL...

You can hear what they said here.

I also spoke with Canadian players Justin Schultz (ANH-2nd) and Derek Grant (OTT-4th) about the tournament and some player profile type stuff.

Game time is 6 PM and can be seen on TSN 2 with a tape delay later on TSN.

No Love For Russia...This Year

A recent question from the guys at Illegal Curve is the inspiration for this blog. The fellas wanted to know about Russians for the upcoming draft. We here at The Pipeline Show pride ourselves on knowing the draft (Guy went 27-30 last year and has pegged 3 of the last 4 Oilers first round picks) so I thought I would throw my two cents out and try to answer the question.

It doesn't appear to be a good year for Russians in Montreal this June, in fact I don't think a Russian will be taken in the first round, which hasn't happened since 2005 when the first Russian, Vitali Anikeyenko was taken in the 3rd round, 70th overall by Ottawa. According ISS, which is the exclusive scouting source for TPS, there isn't a Russian ranked in the first round, which does include 7 Europeans. In fact the highest ranked Russian among the top 30 Euros is Anton Burdasov, who is rated 11th among those from across the pond. Burdasov was supposed to be in Camrose with the Russian team for the World Junior A Challenge, but an injury kept him off the team. The next highest Ruskie is D-man Dmitry Orlov, who is suiting up in Camrose. I thought Orlov, who is listed at 5.11 and 176 pounds played a decent game Tuesday night. For a small player, he is above average on the physical side, and didn't make it fun to park in front of the net for Canadian players. He's a good skater, but does paint himself into a corner sometimes when carrying the puck out of his own end, by either making one to many moves, or waiting to long to make a pass. The only other Russian ranked in the top 30 Europeans is Georgy Berkyukov, who I didn't notice at all Tuesday night.

However, keep your eye on Mother Russia for 2010 as there could be a boatload drafted in the first round. The leader of the pack is Kirill Kabanov, as guy talked about earlier this week. While he does have a wicked shot, he's also very emotional, and that could scare teams in the top 3 away. Some have compared him to Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, and yet some say he's better than those two at his age which is 16 right now. I was really impressed Tuesday night with Maxim Kitsin, who will turn 17 in December and is already 6.03 and almost 180 pounds. He played in every situation, and for me was Russia's most dangerous player. Vladamir Tarasenko is another Russian getting a lot of hype in draft circles, as Guy pointed out in an earlier post, he did score a beauty of a goal, but seem to disappear as the game wore on and Canada became more physical. In fact the only time I noticed him after the first period was when Guy pointed him out to me.

We will be running a feature this Tuesday on Team Russia where we get more in depth about the countries draft prospects for the 2009 and 2010 draft.

We would have loved to speak to some of the Russians Tuesday night but were told - at first by Hockey Canada - that we weren't allowed to. Which is kind of like Edmonton Oilers PR man JJ Hebert telling the media that after a game against Minnesota we wouldn't be allowed to talk to Wild players. After some of us (Derek Van Diest of the Edmonton Sun, Cam Tait of the Edmonton Journal and myself) raised a bit of a fuss, Hockey Canada changed it's story and said it was the Russians that didn't want to speak, which was kind of funny since Hockey Canada member Jason Larose had earlier mentioned to me that he hadn't asked the Russians about it, and that it was his decision. I have no problem with a team saying they won't talk. I don't agree with it, but it is their decision. What I had a big problem with was Hockey Canada deciding that the Russians weren't talking, after a rough game in which Team Canada West received the benefit of some brutal officiating. The Russians embarrassed themselves with childish antics and obscene gestures ( Cam Tait has more on this story in his blog as well) and I think HC was hoping to avoid negative publicity. In this case mission failed. Eventually, a women who I think was the Russian translator told us "no comment" which we accepted.

Back to the team, I am really looking forward to seeing the Russian World Junior squad at the 2010 and 2011 tournaments as there will be some extremely exciting players to watch.

WJAC Update

Last week I boldly precicted that the gold medal game at the 2008 World Junior A Challenge would feature Canada West and Team USA. In response to that prediction both teams fell flat in their opening game and were upset by far weaker opponents.

Two days after Belarus downed Canada West in a shootout it was the Americans who got caught napping and allowed Germany to overcome a 2-0 deficit and skate away with a 5-2 victory.

The Germans actually looked pretty darn good at times although it should be kept in mind that their team is almost all 18 and 19-year-olds... only one player on the roster is draft eligible for the first time this year.

Still, Germany had solid performances from three players in particular, at least in my opinion. #22, Toni Ritter, had a great goal on a nifty slap shot from the side wall that caught the American goalie a bit by surprise. Ritter has nice wheels, good size and played with a bit of a jump.

#23 Steven Rupprich stood out for me today with his tenacity, speed and playmaking. He was creative, not always successful but I like to see players who think outside the box sometimes and he did that. He had 2 helpers.

I also thought David Wolf, #11, was pretty impressive. He too has size and speed to his credit. He didn't impact the scoresheet tonight but I thought he contributed plenty.

The Americans were not all that good, perhaps 4 days of waiting around for their first game was a factor?

Seth Helgeson is a force though; at 6'5 he's easy to pick out of a crowd and he plays pretty tough. John Moore had some good moments too.

I was a bit disappointed that Mike Lee didn't get the nod in goal but assume that it was the token game for Joe Howe and that we'll see the top draft eligible USHL goalie the rest of the way.

The late game saw Canada West take on Russia and it was a wild affair. Russia completely dominated at times during the opening period, had a big lead in shots at one point and carried a 1-0 lead into the second period.

Then things got a little ugly. The scoresheet has Russia taking 10 straight penalties in the middle frame and considering Canada scored 5 power play goals on the night... well you can see where this is going right?

The Russians were completely pissed off at the officiating and in some cases I think they had a right to be. One of Russia's star players, and I assume a favorite of Barry Manilow, Kirill "Copa" Kabanov was hit from behind and left the game early in the 3rd period... no call.

It was a very undisciplined game from both sides at times but much moreso from Russia. Still, there were some standout performances from the visitors too.

#23 Maxim Kitsin was dangerous all night. He's got really good size, speed and hands. Drives to the net, plays tough, sets stuff up and can finish too. He looks really promising already for 2010.

The first goal of the game went to #10 Vladimir Terasenko who dazzled with an individual effort by beating a defenceman one-on-one before lifting the puck passed Canadian goalie Kevin Genoe. Another fast and gritty forward but doesn't have the size that Kitsin or Kabanov have.

Speaking of Kabanov... he's getting a lot of hype for 2010 already, one scout I talked to tongiht suggested he's the best bet if you're looking for someone to push Taylor Hall as the #1 overall pick in 2010. Yet, another NHL scout I checked in with gave Kabanov a big thumbs down for his undisciplined and somewhat selfish play. His brutally late interference after a whistle directly led to Canada's second goal... the eventual winner. As I mentioned, he left the game in the third due to an undisclosed injury but as Millard pointed out, he was so far in the doghouse by that point he might not have played much in the period anyway.

Canada looked awful in the first period but got it going in the second. Boris Rybalka explained how in his postgame discussion with the assembled media.

BCHL goalie Kevin Genoe, a free agent if a WHL team is looking, played very well outside of a bad second goal to Russia. However, in the first when his team needed him the most, Genoe was a wall. Millard and I spoke with him after the game too about the tournament, how he got here and where he hopes the exposure will take him.

Player of the Game for Canada though was 16-year-old Jaden Schwartz. He was drafted by the Tri-City Americans whose GM, Bob Torrey, was in the building tonight and liked what he saw. Dean and I also spoke with the Notre Dame Hound after the game.

More as the week continues...

(PHOTOS COURTESY: LA Media & Hockey Canada)