Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Team Russia

Russia Announces World Championships Roster

at CDT | by 3 Comments

With the World Hockey Championships now less than a week away, countries have started revealing their roster for the tournament.  Russia is the latest to do so, announcing a group that has a mixture of NHL experience with several key veterans from the KHL as well.  Their roster is as follows with NHL affiliations noted where applicable:

Goaltenders

Ivan Fedotov (PHI)
Alexander Samonov

Defensemen

Grigory Dronov
Vladislav Gavrikov (CBJ)
Alexey Marchenko
Nikita Nesterov (CGY)
Ivan Provorov (PHI)
Igor Ozhiganov
Rushan Rafikov (CGY)
Nikita Zadorov (CHI)
Artem Zub (OTT)

Forwards

Alexander Barabanov (SJ)
Anton Burdasov
Emil Galimov (SJ)
Mikhail Grigorenko (CBJ)
Vladislav Kamenev (COL)
Pavel Karnaukhov (CGY)
Andrey Kuzmenko
Ivan Morozov (VGK)
Konstantin Okulov
Maxim Shalunov (CHI)
Anton Slepyshev (EDM)
Artem Shvets-Rogovoy
Sergey Tolchinsky
Evgeny Timkin
Dmitry Voronkov (CBJ)

That leaves Russia two players short – one goalie and one forward.  They will have two taxi squads of sorts, one with the team and one in Riga.  Players staying in the bubble with the team including goalie Ivan Bocharov and forwards Ilya Safonov and Vasili Podkolzin (VAN) while draft-eligible blueliner Kirill Kirsanov and winger Kirill Marchenko (CBJ) will be in Riga.  Speculatively, keeping only one extra goalie in the bubble suggests that Russia may be looking to see if someone like Washington’s Ilya Samsonov was to become available if Washington is ousted quickly in the playoffs and would turn to Bucharov if that doesn’t happen.

If you follow the KHL closely, you might have noticed that most of the KHL players are from two teams.  SKA St. Petersburg has 11 players on this list while three of the top four scorers from CSKA Moscow (highlighted by Okulov who has attracted NHL interest in recent years and will again this offseason) are there as well.  That familiarity should certainly be helpful in a short tournament like this one.  Russia’s first game is set for Friday against the Czech Republic.

Vancouver Canucks Plan To Sign And Play Vasili Podkolzin Later This Season

at CDT | by 4 Comments

With top prospect Vasili Podkolzin currently impressing on the international stage as the captain of Team Russia, the Vancouver Canucks want to assure their fans that it is only a matter of time before he’s doing the same for them. Speaking with Jon Abbot of TSN 1040 in Vancouver, GM Jim Benning reveals that the club expects to sign Podkolzin during this season and plans to play him in the NHL lineup immediately. Benning reports that Podkolzin’s KHL contract expires on April 30, at which time the team will look to sign him and bring him overseas.

While late April is typically the middle of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and not exactly an ideal time to introduce a teenage prospect to the NHL, the 2020-21 season is of course an exception. The playoffs do not begin until May 11 at the earliest this year, allowing Podkolzin nearly two weeks to settle in. Travel and quarantine could come into play, but the hope is that Podkolzin could see some regular season game action before the Canucks hopefully move on to the postseason.

The 2019 tenth overall pick also has the advantage of being very pro-ready. Podkolzin is already in his third season of seeing at least some KHL action, playing almost exclusively with SKA St. Petersburg so far this year. He also has pro size at 6’4″ and over 200 lbs., not to mention a developed offensive game. Once Podkolzin arrives in Vancouver, it may not take long for him to get up to speed.

Knowing they have Podkolzin in their back pocket for later this season, the Canucks may not feel the need to make any other roster additions this season, at least up front. If Podkolzin actually joins the team on April 30, that would be just over two weeks after the Trade Deadline on April 12. Vancouver may be hesitant to give up trade capital to add a forward with reinforcements on the way not long after. In fact, Benning stated that the team is “done for now” in terms of transactions (outside of a Travis Hamonic PTO becoming a contract), so Podkolzin may very well be the next notable addition that the team makes this season.

Russia Announces WJC Selection Camp Roster

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Like the Canadians, who gathered to start their month-long selection camp earlier this week, the Russian U20 team will also begin preparations soon for the upcoming World Junior Championship. Today, the expanded selection camp roster was announced, though the coaching staff has only a handful of players to cut.

The full roster is as follows:

G Yaroslav Askarov (NSH)
G Artur Akhtyamov (TOR)
G Vsevolod Skotnikov (undrafted)

D Roman Bychkov (BOS)
D Alexander Kirpichnikov (undrafted)
D Kirill Kirsanov (2021 draft eligible)
D Yegor Shekhovtsov (undrafted)
D Yan Kuznetsov (CGY)
D Shakir Mukhamadullin (NJD)
D Ivan Rogov (undrafted)
D Nikita Sedov (undrafted)
D Daniil Chayka (2021 draft eligible)
D Semyon Chistyakov (NSH)

F Mikhail Abramov (TOR)
F Rodion Amirov (TOR)
F Danil Bashkirov (undrafted)
F Yegor Afanasyev (NSH)
F Takhir Mingachev (undrafted)
F Zakhar Bardakov (undrafted)
F Arseni Gritsyuk (NJD)
F Yegor Chinakhov (CBJ)
F Maxim Groshev (TBL)
F Vasily Podkolzin (VAN)
F Yegor Spiridonov (SJS)
F Marat Khusnutdinov (MIN)
F Vasily Ponomarev (CAR)
F Ilya Safonov (undrafted)
F Vladislav Firstov (MIN)

While NHL fans will be watching their favorite team’s prospects closely, attention should also be given to Chayka, who is expected to go in the first round of the 2021 draft. The 18-year-old defenseman already stands 6’3″ and was the seventh overall pick in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection. Chayka helped the Russian squad take home gold at the Hlinka-Gretzky and seems to win everywhere he goes.

The WJC will begin at the end of December in Edmonton, Alberta.

Grigori Denisenko Signs Entry-Level Contract

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Florida Panthers will be bringing over one of their top prospects, agreeing to terms with Grigori Denisenko on a three-year entry-level contract. The young forward spent the last two seasons in the KHL, playing for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. Panthers GM Dale Tallon released a short statement on the agreement:

Grigori is an exciting, dynamic and highly skilled young forward who has been a top player on the international stage and served as captain of Team Russia at the World Juniors. We are thrilled for his bright future with the Panthers for years to come.

There are few prospects with more upside than the 19-year old Denisenko, who recorded 12 points in 38 games this season in the KHL. The teenage forward led Russia in scoring at the World Juniors for the second consecutive year, captaining them to a silver medal in the process (they won bronze in his first go-round).

Along with his immense skill, is his willingness to engage physically when necessary, making him a well-rounded fit for several different roles at the next level. He’s not a power forward by any means—Denisenko stands just 5’11” 180-lbs—but he also isn’t just a perimeter player.

Selected 15th overall in 2018, you can bet the Panthers front office and coaching staff are excited to finally get their hands on Denisenko in order to start him on their own development program. He joins quite a talented group of prospect forwards, including other high-end talents like Owen Tippett and Henrik Borgstrom.

Top Prospects Lead Team Russia WJC Roster

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The IIHF World Junior tournament is just a few weeks away, and after Finland and Canada released their rosters yesterday, Russia has followed suit today. The hockey powerhouse routinely uses a roster of almost all 19-year olds at the tournament, but one young goaltender will have a chance to show why he’s in contention for the first-overall draft pick in 2020.

The full training camp roster is as follows:

Goaltenders:

Yaroslav Askarov (2020 eligible)
Amir Miftakhov
Daniil Isayev

Defense:

Danila Galenyuk
Mikhail Gordeyev
Danila Zhuravlyov (COL)
Yegor Zamula (PHI)
Nikita Zorkin
Anton Malyshev
Daniil Misyul (NJD)
Daniil Pylenkov
Alexander Romanov (MTL)
Sergei Telegin

Forwards:

Nikita Alexandrov (STL)
Dmitry Voronkov (CBJ)
Maxim Groshev (2020 eligible)
Grigori Denisenko (FLA)
Pavel Dorofeyev (VGK)
Kirill Marchenko (CBJ)
Ivan Morozov (VGK)
Vasili Podkolzin (VAN)
Egor Sokolov
Nikita Rtischev
Maksim Sorkin
Lev Komissarov
Ilya Kruglov
Alexander Khovanov (MIN)
Zakhar Shablovsky

Calgary Flames Sign Defenseman Alexander Yelesin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, especially when it comes to the Flames. After weeks of speculation, Calgary has officially announced that they have signed Russian defenseman Alexander Yelesin to an entry-level contract. It is a two-year, maximum ELC for the 23-year-old blue liner, who is expected to compete for a starting job immediately next season in Calgary.

Back in April, following the Flames’ unexpectedly early exit from the postseason, head coach Bill Peters spoke vaguely about several expected import players that he believed could be factors for the team in 2019-20. NHL insiders quickly identified goaltender Artyom Zagidulin and Yelesin as two of those players. While Zagidulin had already signed, Yelesin had yet to put pen to paper on a contract, fueling the anticipation of this pact. The two sides finally got that deal done today, with Yelesin being cut from Team Russia at the IIHF World Championships likely playing a role.

In Yelesin, the Flames are adding a KHL All-Star from this past season, considered one of the most reliable defensemen in the league. Yelesin is not a flashy player by any means – his offense is modest and his size is average – but he is nothing if not consistent. The 5’11”, 195-lb. defenseman was a force on the back end on a regular basis for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl this season, playing strong, safe defense and leading all defensemen in games played, while also contributing ten points. Yelesin, who is also a valued right-shot defender, hopes that he can bring that same reliable defensive game to Calgary. If there’s a knock on Yelesin though, it is that he can get into penalty trouble, which he will have to work on as he transitions to the faster, stronger NHL.

With Yelesin in the fold now, Calgary has incredible depth on the blue line already – and the off-season hasn’t even begun. If anything, expect the Flames to potentially shed a defenseman this summer rather than add. Without any further moves, Yelesin would have to compete for a roster spot with veteran Michael Stone and fellow European youngsters Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington, and Juuso Valimaki just to get play time on the bottom-pair behind a top-four of Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, and Noah Hanifin. That’s likely more competition than the Flames would like to enter camp with, although too much depth never hurt anyone.

Russia Adds Top Talent For IIHF World Championship

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Teams that lose in the first round of the NHL playoffs often represent the biggest source of talent for the IIHF World Championship, and for Team Russia that is certainly the case this season. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express tweets that Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Nikita Zaitsev have all accepted an invitation from Russia to suit up in next month’s tournament. Evgenii Dadonov from the Florida Panthers will be joining them, giving the Russians quite the powerful forward group.

It’s not just those players who are headed to Slovakia for the tournament, as the team had previously received commitments from Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Mikhail Sergachev, Kirill Kaprizov, Andrei Vasilevskiy and others.

For Ovechkin, this is just another chance to add to his incredible international resume. The Washington Capitals have been knocked out of the playoffs early many times in the past, leading to the superstar forward suiting up 12 times in the past for this tournament. While still looking for an Olympic gold—Russia won last year when the NHL did not attend—Ovechkin has won this tournament three times previously and has a total of eight medals.

The action begins on May 10th.

Russia Cuts Five From Their World Junior Roster

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Team Russia is taking a bit of a different approach to their cuts for the World Juniors.  Their federation announced five cuts but they still have two more to make to get down to the maximum 23-man roster.  Heading home are the following players:

F Ivan Chekhovich (SJ, injured)
F Artem Nikolaev (undrafted, injured)
D Danill Valitov (undrafted)
D Artem Volkov (undrafted)
F Alexander Yaremchuk (undrafted)

That means their roster currently stands as follows:

Goaltenders

Pyotr Kochetkov (undrafted)
Amir Miftakhov (undrafted)
Daniil Tarasov (CBJ)

Defensemen

Alexander Alexeyev (WSH)
Yevgeni Kalabushkin (undrafted)
Ilya Morozov (undrafted)
Saveli Olshansky (undrafted)
Alexander Romanov (MTL)
Mark Rubinchik (undrafted)
Dmitri Samorukov (EDM)
Danila Zhuravlyov (COL)

Forwards

Grigori Denisenko (FLA)
Artyom Galimov (undrafted)
Alexander Khovanov (MIN)
Klim Kostin (STL)
Nikolai Kovalenko (COL)
Vitali Kravtsov (NYR)
Kirill Marchenko (CBJ)
Ivan Morozov (VGK)
Ivan Muranov (undrafted)
Vasily Podkolzin (draft eligible in 2019)
Nikita Shashkov (undrafted)
Pavel Shen (BOS)
Kirill Slepets (undrafted)
Stepan Starkov (undrafted)

Instead of registering their full roster later today, it appears that the Russians will register a smaller group of players and decide on their final two cuts as the tournament progresses.  They’re only required to submit 15 skaters and two goaltenders at this time but it’s likely they’ll have a few more skaters than that on their initial roster.  While the tournament starts tomorrow, Russia’s first game isn’t until Thursday when they take on Denmark.

Poll: Who Will Win The 2019 World Junior Championship?

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Tonight in Kelowna, British Columbia, Russia and Sweden battle it out in the first pre-tournament game for the upcoming World Junior Championship. This tournament, made up of under-20 players from around the world, is one of the premiere international competitions in the world of hockey and brings with it plenty of intrigue. NHL fans in particular get a glimpse of the next wave of superstars, often before they’re even drafted. That’s no different this year, where the tournament will feature several exceptional talents scheduled to go in the 2019 or 2020 entry drafts.

Last year, Canada defeated Sweden in a memorable final game to secure the gold medal on Tyler Steenbergen’s first goal of the tournament. St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou led the Canadians in scoring with ten points in seven games, while Ottawa Senators prospect Drake Batherson scored a team-leading seven goals. Colorado Avalanche fans got a look at two of their own top prospects in Cale Makar and Conor Timmins, while newly minuted Philadelphia Flyers starting goaltender Carter Hart was the star in net. Amazingly, only a single player will return from that team for Canada in Max Comtois as most of the others have either aged out of the tournament, are dealing with injury or were withheld by their NHL teams.

Canada isn’t the only medal favorite though, as several other countries are bringing explosive lineups of their own. The discussion has to start with the United States, where Quinn and Jack Hughes are set to be the talk of the tournament. Quinn, the elder brother and a defenseman selected by the Vancouver Canucks seventh overall in June, is having an outstanding sophomore season at the University of Michigan and is expected to turn pro afterwards. Jack, the younger and a center, is expected to go first-overall in the 2019 draft to whoever wins the lottery.

Finland has the presumptive second-overall pick playing for their group in Kaapo Kakko, but also got some great news today when Henri Jokiharju was loaned from the Chicago Blackhawks. Jokiharju should be a difference maker for the Finnish team, who also should be strong in net with Buffalo Sabres prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Sweden doesn’t have the firepower up front of some previous years, but is an absolute powerhouse on defense even without the injured Timothy Liljegren. The five-man offensive units should be more than strong enough with the likes of Erik Brannstrom and Adam Boqvist jumping into the rush.

The Czech Republic got some great news when Filip Zadina was cleared of injury, and after getting some experience at the AHL level he should be even more dangerous this time around. Russia meanwhile will bring another strong mostly 19-year old group to Vancouver, and have some AHL experience of their own in Klim Kostin who was loaned by the St. Louis Blues.

In all, this should be another outstanding tournament filled with exceptional talents. Cast your vote below on who you think will win the whole thing, and then tune in on December 26th to see it all kick off.

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Klim Kostin Assigned To Team Russia For World Juniors

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Last night the San Antonio Rampage put up five goals against the Iowa Wild, and today they’ve lost two of the goal scorers. While Zach Sanford is on his way back up to the NHL, Klim Kostin has been assigned to Team Russia for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Kostin had been listed on the Russian roster as a player who would join the preliminary roster at a later date, which is apparently now as the tournament approaches. Pre-tournament games start tomorrow with Russia taking on Sweden in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Kostin, 19, greatly impressed in his first training camp after being selected 31st overall in 2017, but failed to crack the St. Louis roster. Instead of going back to the KHL, he joined the Rampage as a teenager and actually showed quite well in his first professional season. Though there were some consistency issues, that’s to be expected of a player so much younger than his competition. Kostin still used his big frame well and ended the 2017-18 season with 28 points in 67 games. This season he’s off to a better goal scoring pace and has 11 points in 28 games, but will really get to show off in the upcoming junior tournament.

Participating in the tournament last year for Russia as one of the rare 18-year old players selected, Kostin was a standout and ultimately led the team in scoring with eight points in five games. He’ll be looking for revenge and a medal this time around, and should play a huge part among the team’s talented forwards.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top