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.
West Notes: Kraskovsky, Chiarot, Mitchell, Paajarvi
Jets prospect Pavel Kraskovsky told Daria Tuboltseva of Championat (link in Russian) that he has pushed talks of a possible contract extension with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL until the offseason and that he would be open to signing with Winnipeg. Kraskovsky was a fourth-round pick of the Jets (164th overall) back in 2014 and has played in all 35 games this season, recording two goals and four assists. Even if he doesn’t sign an NHL contract, Winnipeg will still retain his rights indefinitely since there is no current player transfer agreement between the NHL and the KHL.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference:
- Still with the Jets, defenseman Ben Chiarot was fined $3,763.44 for butt-ending Anaheim winger Corey Perry on Friday night, the Department of Player Safety announced (Twitter link). That represents exactly 50% of his cap hit, which is the maximum fine percentage allowable in the CBA.
- Although newly-acquired Kings center Torrey Mitchell is with the team and took part in the morning skate today, he will not be eligible to make his debut tonight against Anaheim, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. Mitchell has yet to receive his work visa and no update on that end is expected until Monday. Once he gets the green light to suit up, the 32-year-old should slide in on the fourth line for Los Angeles.
- Blues winger Magnus Paajarvi will not play tonight against Minnesota after taking a shot off his foot last night against the Predators, notes Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Head coach Mike Yeo stated that this isn’t expected to keep the 26-year-old out for long. Recently-recalled Samuel Blais will take his place which will be his first NHL game in more than a month.