by Christopher Nardella, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

POINTE CLAIRE, QC. — Russian-born players and even players of Russian descent have been susceptible to a stereotype that, at times, has put the fear of God into NHL scouts, GMs and all forms of management alike: it’s the preconceived notion of said player leaving for Russia coming to fruition barring that player making it into the NHL. Much to the chagrin of the KHL and its teams, that dark cloud hovering over its native players might be passing.

Prior to the creation of the KHL in 2008, the opportunity for European players to play professional hockey in Europe on par with that of the NHL was non-existent.

The first year Russian players had a forum to play at a high level was in 1946-’47 when the Soviet Championship League was created. The league was comprised of 12 teams which were placed into three divisions. In their second season of existence, CSKA Moscow was the league’s champion. As a part of the Armed Forces Sports Society, and therefore associated with the actual Soviet army, the team was nicknamed the “Red Army” in the West, and claimed the Soviet Cup 31 more times before the dissolution of the league in 1992 due to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In 1992, the International Hockey League was formed and was renamed the Russian Hockey League in 1996. The RHL only allowed Russian teams until 1999 when it was renamed the Russian Superleague. Once again, the league didn’t last very long; its final season was in 2008.

Then came the red-headed stepchild of Russian hockey, the Kontinental Hockey League. All kidding aside, the KHL was supposed to be Russia’s first chance at actually rivaling the NHL.

The Russian factor only began to rear its ugly head in 2005 when the Russian Hockey Federation told the IIHF they would not be signing a new transfer agreement with the NHL. As much as the lack of a transfer agreement jump-started distrust, the KHL fermented that by becoming a viable option even for North American players to play high-level hockey. From 2000 to 2009 the number of Russian born players selected in the first round of the draft dwindled from eight to a lowly one. Since the Russian Hockey Federation refused to sign a new transfer agreement in 2005 there were only six players selected in the first round between then and 2009.

In 2009, Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney, when asked about the risk of using a first round pick to select a Russian player, remarked: “These draft picks are like gold chips and nobody wants to risk picking somebody and having them sail off into the sunset never to be seen from again.” With 28 teams spanning over seven different countries, the KHL has a bright future with the proposal of expansion just over the horizon. Cue the demise of the Russian ruble.

Ironically enough, a part of the collapse of the Russian ruble was due to a lack of confidence in the Russian economy from investors, which encouraged them to sell their Russian assets. Their lack of confidence was due to the drop in oil prices and the economic sanctions placed on Russia due to their annexation of Crimea. A league that was competing with the NHL for players has potentially lost one of its largest bargaining chips, giving out inordinate amounts of money.

To leave $77 million on the table of the 17-year, $102 million contract Ilya Kovalchuk had with the Devils, you can believe that the sniper signed a pretty lucrative contract with SKA Moscow. I’d say so, since multiple sources reported that the former Thrasher captain is making between 15 and $20 million annually for the next two years. Contrary to the proclamation made by SKA Moscow Vice President Roman Rotenberg that he didn’t do it for the money, Kovalchuk is reportedly now seeking an NHL return with the collapse of the Russian ruble.

The saying ‘one man’s pain is another one’s gain’ applies perfectly to this situation since there were 17 Russians selected at this year’s draft– the most since 2004, when 18 Russians were drafted.

With the current lull in Russia’s economy weakening the KHL’s influence, the label associated with Russian players is beginning to rub off, consequentially facilitating scouts’ jobs and the interview process for Russian players.

Both ends of the spectrum lie within the Dallas Stars organization. The Stars had Valeri Nichushkin fall in their lap at 10th overall in the 2013 draft due to the Russian factor. One scout had the 6-foot-4-inch sniper as a top-3 pick. But the fact that Nichushkin had two years left on his deal with his hometown Traktor Chelyabinsk prior to the draft, along with other factors, led another scout to believe that Nichushkin might fall to a late second round, early third round pick.

Just two years later, with the KHL in shambles, the Dallas Stars used the 12th overall pick to select Denis Guryanov, a 6-foot-2-inch winger who was ranked as low as 24th by Future Considerations. A player like this is a prime example of the dip in the Russian factor because he will, most likely, go back and honour his contract with Lada Togliatti in the KHL. A player like this wouldn’t even have been considered as a first rounder a couple years ago.

Canadiens forward Nikita Scherbak was drafted third last in the WHL import draft, but nevertheless came over to Saskatoon to play junior hockey. Scherbak was an exception to the perceived rule as he truly did want to play in the NHL to the point where he came to North America with the chances of him making seeming low. In one year the effervescent playmaker skyrocketed up the scouting boards and the Canadiens used the 26th overall pick in the 2014 draft to select him.

“I wanted to come to Canada because I want to play NHL and it’s a good chance I want to play WHL […] and after I want to play NHL.” His intentions were further reinforced by him trying to learn English, proof that the KHL had little allure to him. His clear intentions and determined attitude made this pick easier to digest for the Canadiens.

But other organizations weren’t so understanding: one unnamed NHL scout said of Scherbak prior to the draft: “I doubt we take him. I heard all the time he’s not the average Russian stuff but he’s still a Russian.” Mark Edwards of HockeyProspects.com also pointed out his non-stereotypical personality: “I really like this kid and he was difficult to rank. We acted as if we were an NHL team and the Russian factor dropped him a bit for us.”

The Canadiens drafted Alexei Emelin with the 84th overall pick in 2004, and unlike Scherbak, it was a pick they thought they would never get back. It’s hard to think otherwise when Emelin spent six seasons honing his craft in Russia, but he has become a mainstay on the blueline since heading over to Montreal. Emelin was 26-years-old when he crossed the ocean.

Former NHLer and current senator in Russia’s Federal Assembly Slava Fetisov has had enough with the likes of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko leaving the homeland to go play in North America. He proposes that Russian players shouldn’t leave home until the age of 28; he left at age 31. Fetisov has pitched this to the KHL in the past with no results. Realistically, the KHL would never do this as it would mark the end of relations between Russia and North America, hockey wise. Russian players would rarely ever be drafted and the Russian factor would no longer be a perception, but a hard and fast rule.

Recently the NHL and KHL reignited talks to bring in a new transfer agreement, but in the words of NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, “Ultimately, the KHL wasn’t interested in a player transfer agreement”. Had this agreement been signed it would have permitted players with existing KHL contracts to go to North America in exchange for a transfer fee.

Throughout its years of existence, Russian professional hockey has been through a multitude of dark moments, but never one so potentially detrimental to the future of hockey in the Motherland than the current crisis. The KHL doesn’t have the marketability that the NHL does: thus, it uses money as a crutch, but it’s a crutch that’s no longer dependable.