Five Russian Players Not Invited To Participate At Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has extended invitations to 42 of the 47 players submitted by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) for consideration for the upcoming Games. Interestingly though, the IOC did not invite the following players to participate:
D Anton Belov
D Alexei Bereglazov
D Mikhail Naumenkov
F Valeri Nichushkin
F Sergei Plotnikov
The RIHF released a statement following the decision, stating that the five players have not been banned from international competitions and are not guilty of any doping violations. Still, the reasons for the snub have not been given and the RIHF has reached out for some clarity.
These would seem to be fairly important omissions for Russia, especially on defense where the club is relatively thin. By looking at the remaining names that did receive invitations one can start to see how the team will be made up. 25 names that make up the roster will will be released on Thursday.
F Sergei Andronov
F Alexander Barabanov
F Anton Burdasov
D Vyacheslav Voynov
D Vladislav Gavrikov
F Nikita Gusev
F Mikhail Grigorenko
F Pavel Datsyuk
G Vasily Demchenko
D Artyom Zub
D Andrei Zubarev
F Sergey Kalinin
F Kirill Kaprizov
D Bogdan Kiselevich
F Ilya Kovalchuk
G Vasily Koshechkin
F Ilya Kablukov
F Evgeny Ketov
F Pavel Kraskovsky
F Yegor Korshkov
F Roman Lyubimov
D Ilya Lyubushkin
D Alexey Marchenko
F Sergei Mozyakin
D Nikita Nesterov
F Nikolai Prokhorkin
D Yegor Rykov
G Ilya Samsonov
F Andrei Svetlakov
G Ilya Sorokin
F Viktor Tikhonov
F Ivan Telegin
F Vladimir Tkachyov (unclear which one)
D Nikita Tryamkin
F Maxim Shalunov
G Alexander Sharychenkov
F Sergei Shirokov
F Vadim Shipachyov
F Sergei Shumakov
G Igor Shestyorkin
F Dinar Khafizullin
D Yegor Yakovlev
Conspicuously missing is Andrei Markov, who has had a very successful season for Ak-Bars in the KHL after leaving the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 28 points in 52 games. Why he was left off the preliminary list is unclear, though perhaps they wanted to go in a younger direction on defense.
Sergei Andronov, Bogdan Kiselevich Receiving NHL Interest
According to Sport-Express reporter Igor Eronko, two more KHL players have received offers from multiple NHL teams. After completing the World Championships in Cologne, Germany, Sergei Andronov received three different offers, while teammate Bogdan Kiselevich received two of his own. Eronko doesn’t list which teams have shown interest at this time, though Darren Dreger of TSN had a similar report a few weeks ago. Both players suited up for the bronze medal-winning Russian squad at the tournament, registering five points each.
While there may be interest from several teams, both players are currently under contract with CSKA Moscow in the KHL. Kiselevich’s deal will expire at the end of next season, while Andronov has recently signed an extension for next season with the club. That doesn’t necessarily prevent them from heading to North America, but they would need to reach a mutual termination of their contract—usually in the form of the player buying out his final year for some amount—in order to play in the NHL.
Both their cases are interesting. Andronov played two seasons in the AHL after being selected in the third round by the St. Louis Blues, while Kiselevich has developed into an excellent two-way defender in recent years. Born in Cherepovets, roughly eight hours north of Moscow, Kiselevich was developed by his hometown team before being poached by the bigger CSKA club. He’s now one of their most important defensemen, skating almost 22 minutes a night for them in the most recent playoffs. Andronov on the other hand is a heart-and-soul player for Moscow, wearing an “A” on his sweater and contributing more defensively than on the score sheet. He registered just 10 points this season but led the forward group in blocked shots (only behind Kiselevich for the team lead) and won more than 59% of his faceoffs.
While you won’t see either of them in the NHL this season, interest will remain in the pair of 27-year olds next summer to be sure. At that point, Kiselevich will be a free agent and likely sought after on the open market. With a chance at the Olympics behind them at that point, perhaps teams will come knocking once again.