TRAIKOS: CHL’s proposed ban of Russian players could have ripple effect on the NHL

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The pipeline from St. Petersburg to Peterborough could be shutting off.

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According to one prominent player agent, the Canadian Hockey League is expected to announce that 16- and 17-year-old Russian — and Belarussian — players would not be eligible for the upcoming Import Draft. It is a decision that comes on the heels of the International Ice Hockey Federation banning Russia from the world juniors and world under-18s, as well as the CHL cancelling its annual Canada-Russia exhibition series.

And it is a decision that could have a ripple effect on the future of the NHL.

“This is huge,” said Ukrainian-born player agent Dan Milstein, who represents the majority of Russian players. “The development of those children is big. Hockey is supposed to be for everyone. But how is this fair? You’re punishing the wrong people.”

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What result — if any — this will have on this summer’s NHL Entry Draft is not yet known. But keep an eye on where Russian-born forwards Danila Yurov and Ivan Miroshnichenko end up in the final draft rankings.

In a normal year, both players would be considered top-10 — or even top-5 — picks in the draft. But this year is shaping up to be anything but normal.

With Russian tanks and military forces rolling into the Ukraine’s capital city, there have been calls for the NHL to stop of flow of Russians coming into the NHL. Retired goalie Dominik Hasek went one step further, tweeting that “The NHL must immediately suspend contracts for all (current) Russian players” and called their “exclusion a necessity.” Even CCM Hockey has stopped using Alex Ovechkin and other Russian players in its marketing campaigns.

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Add it all up and there’s a good chance that teams could be pressured into passing on Yurov and Miroshnichenko in the first round. Depending on how ugly the war gets, the two teenagers might not get drafted at all.

“It’s still too early to tell,” said North American Central Scouting’s Mark Seidel, “but my gut feeling is that it will impact them. If you’re an NHL team, is it politically good to take this kid? I think it’s going to have an effect.

“Some people think Yurov is the third-best player in the draft. With Miroshnichenko, we could be looking at him in five years as the best player. That’s how good he is. Then again, we might never see him.”

We could be saying that about a lot of Russians.

The CHL, which is considered the top feeder league for the NHL, has had a long history of developing Russians. Nail Yakupov spent two years playing for the Sarnia Sting before he was selected No. 1 overall in 2012. Andrei Svechnikov, who was the top pick in the 2017 CHL Import Draft, spent a year with the Barrie Colts before the Carolina Hurricanes selected him with the No. 2 overall.

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There are about 36 Russians and Belarussians currently playing in the CHL. That includes Edmonton Oilers prospect Matvey Petrov, who ranks eighth in OHL scoring with 70 points in 47 games and was the No. 1 pick (North Bay) in the 2020 CHL Import Draft, as well as Saginaw Spirit defenceman Pavel Mintyukov, who was expected to be a first-round pick in this year’s draft.

Considering there were 29 Russians selected in last year’s NHL draft — third-most of any country — the stakes are high.

“This will certainly most definitely hurt the NHL in the future,” said Milstein. “This could be irreversible. Ten years from now, I could be in someone’s living room trying to convince them to play in the NHL, and they will remember what happened this year. I know it’s horrible what’s going on in the world, but why are you punishing 16 year old kids?”

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Ultimately, you’re punishing the wrong people.

Remember: these are hockey players — not soldiers. While they are Russian, this is not their war. Ovechkin might still have a photo of Vladimir Putin on his Instagram page, but Ovechkin is not advocating for the invasion of Ukraine. Instead, he’s called for peace.

“Please, no more war,” Ovechkin said last week.

Simply put: the NHL is a better league with Russians than without.

There are 55 Russians playing in the NHL this season, but the ones who are there tend to fall into the superstar category. Three of the top-15 scorers are Russian, including Ovechkin, who is in the top-5 in goals, as well as Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov, who was last year’s Calder Trophy winner.

Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers is considered the odds-on favourite to win the Vezina Trophy. That is unless Tampa Bay’s Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy beats him out for it. Speaking of the Rangers and Lightning, former MVP  Nikita Kucherov has 26 points in 17 games this season, while Artemi Panarin is tied for 15th in scoring.

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Imagine a league without Ovechkin or Vasilevskiy. Or — and this has scouts really worried — without future superstar Matvei Michkov.

The 17-year-old forward, who has been touted as the most exciting Russian prospect since Ovechkin, is not draft eligible until 2023, where some believe he will go No. 1 overall. But that was before Russia invaded Ukraine. Now, don’t be surprised if Michkov, who is under contract to play for St. Petersburg in the KHL until 2026, remains in Russia long term.

“He was the first guy I thought of when this talk started,” said Seidel. “We will have to see how this all plays out and whether his contract changes or not. But that’s the big one. That’s the one that is going to hurt.”

mtraikos@postmedia.com

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