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June and July 2008 have been two busy months for Russian prospects. Many skated in North Americans development camps, some have changed teams, being or not at the centre of a controversial move, others are “simply” training hard for the upcoming season. Many players belong to the first group. As written earlier in our website, Dmitri Kosmachev (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Maxim Mayorov (Columbus Blue Jackets) skated with Columbus Blue Jackets, Maxim Goncharov (Phoenix Coyotes) and Viktor Tikhonov (Phoenix Coyotes) with the Phoenix Coyotes, Nikolai Lemtyugov (St. Louis Blues) with St. Louis, Igor Makarov (Chicago Blackhawks) with the Chicago Blackhawks, Ruslan Bashkirov (Ottawa Senators), Ilya Zubov (Ottawa Senators) and Alexander Nikulin (Ottawa Senators) with Ottawa, Evgeni Grachev (New York Rangers) and Artem Anisimov (New York Rangers) with the New York Rangers, Semen Varlamov (Washington Capitals) and Nikita Kashirsky – a Russian player who spent the last seasons playing USA College hockey - in Washington, with Kugryshev in the stands, Fedor Fedorov (New Jersey Devils) with the New Jersey Devils, Nikolai Kulemin (Toronto Maple Leafs) with Toronto, Anton Khudobin (Minnesota Wild) with the Minnesota Wild, Vyacheslav Voinov (Los Angeles Kings) and Andrei Loktionov (Los Angeles Kings) with Los Angeles. The list might even grow as Montreal Canadiens are yet to release their rosters. (Exclusive article by Alessandro Seren Rosso for RussianProspects.com) READ MORE

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OTTAWA – 2007 draftee Ruslan Bashkirov (Ottawa Senators) is skating with his NHL team in the annual Development Camp. After a rocky season that seen him jumping from Kristall Saratov to Khimik Mytischi and its farm team the talented winger has been drafted in the CHL import draft by OHL’s Petersburgh Petes. His presence in NA seems to be a sign of his will to report there. He seemed to please Ottawa’s staff with his above average puck skills and his good motivation. Alexander Nikulin (Ottawa Senators) and Ilya Zubov (Ottawa Senators) also reported to camp, but thus far they reportedly looked out of shape.

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Ruslan Bashkirov (Ottawa Senators)'s game worn Khimik (Mytische) jersey has been added to RussianProspects.com. Please click the Read More link to view the jersey. READ MORE

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Super League -  MYTISCHI – After a hard-fought battle against CSKA – 2 lead by Nikita Filatov and Dmitry Kugryshev , won in 4 matches with a very good performance by 2008 eligibles Chernov and Lazarev, Khimik – 2 went to the first league’s finals against HK Lipetsk. The roster of the farm club has been strengthened with some of the main team’s players like Nesterov and Kulik, while goalkeeper Konstantin Barulin (St. Louis Blues) was already a player of the farm after some discussion with the staff.

In the first game Khimik has triumphed over Lipetsk in a sell-out Zvezdni Arena with a 2-9 score (6 goals in the second period), with a double by Nesterov and goals from Kagarlitsky, Pavel Chernov , Glukhov, Ruslan Bashkirov (Ottawa Senators), Voroshnin and Anton Lazarev .

The second match was more equilibrated, despite the fact that Khimik was leading 3 – 0 after 48 minutes thanks to the goals by Glukhov, Kagarlitsky and Ruslan Bashkirov (Ottawa Senators). In the last minutes Lipetsk rallied twice, but couldn’t score the tying goal.

Also the third match was a good battle. After the usual suspect Glukhov scored the first goal of the game, Lipetsk managed to score three goals to get a surprising 1 – 3 lead. The music changes in the third period: with four unanswered goals by Nesterov, Blokhin, Lazarev and Kulik, Khimik skates past Lipets 5 – 3, gaining thus the victory. The award for the Best player of the final match has been presented to Aleksandr Blokhin.

“Goalkeeper Konstantin Barulin (St. Louis Blues) has really helped us” – declared head coach Sergei Borisov to Soccer + Hockey journal. “In facts, he didn’t play for the main team since the New Year, it was better to play with us rather than sit on the bench”.

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U20 4 Nations Tournament -  U20 Team Russia's coaching staff anounced the preliminary roster for the upcoming 4 Nations Tournament.

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GOALIES: : Sergei Bobrovsky Metallurg Novokuznetsk Alexey Zhigarev Krylia Sovetov Semen Varlamov (Washington Capitals) Lokomotiv Yaroslavl  

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DEFENSE: Yuri Alexandrov (Boston Bruins) Severstal Cherepovets Pavel Doronin Salavat Yulaev Ufa Alexey Grishin Vityaz Podolsk Chekhov Valery Zhukov Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod Alexey Ishmametev HK MVD Balashikha Marat Kalimulin Lada Togliatti Evgeni Kurbatov Avangard Omsk Ivan Maximkin Dynamo Moscow Jacob Seleznev Neftyanik Almetievsk Vasily Tokranov Ak Bars Kazan  

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FORWARDS: Egor Averin Avangard Omsk Alexei Cherepanov (New York Rangers) Avangard Omsk Ruslan Bashkirov (Ottawa Senators) Khimik Mytischy Anton Lazarev Khimik Mytischy Evgeni Bodrov Lada Togliatti Alexander Vasyunov (New Jersey Devils) Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Alexander Ryabev Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Vadim Golubtsov Amur Khabarovsk Artem Gordeyev Salavat Yulaev Ufa Evgeni Dadonov (Florida Panthers) Traktor Chelyabinsk Andrei Popov (Philadelphia Flyers) Traktor Chelyabinsk Ilya Kablukov (Vancouver Canucks) CSKA Moscow Nikita Klyukin Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Sergei Korostin (Dallas Stars) Dynamo Moscow Alexander Polukhin Dynamo Moscow Maxim Mamin Metallurg Magnitogorsk Dmitry Sayustov Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod Viktor Tikhonov Severstal Cherepovets Marat Fakhrutdinov Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk

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Sergei Nemchinov announced that Team Russia called up three players to replace inured Egor Averin and Alexei Cherepanov (New York Rangers). The three players are Kirill Tulupov (New Jersey Devils), Ruslan Bashkirov (Ottawa Senators) and Viktor Tikhonov . Tikhonov and Tulupov were in the original training camp, while Bashkirov was not on the initial list. Tikhonov is the grandson of legendary Soviet and Red Army coach with the same first name. The next contest takes place today in Omsk at the brand new hockey arena built this summer for the local Super League club.

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Russian Super League -  The contracts between HC Ak Bars and brothers Roman and Ruslan Bashkirov (Ottawa Senators) have been annulled with consent of all involved parties. The two brothers spent the past season in the QMJHL, skating for the Quebec Ramparts. Ruslan was drafted in the third round by the Ottawa Senators, while Roman was overlooked. Despite the expectations of the two brothers to remain in North America for the 2007-08 season, the two returned to Russia in June and signed deals with HC Ak Bars. It is unclear why the pair has now left the club, but they would have had a hard time getting ice time on the stocked lineup of one of the best and wealthiest clubs in the Super League.

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Russian Super League -  Roman and Ruslan Bashkirov (Ottawa Senators) twin brothers signed five year deals with HC Ak Bars. In an interview with the Soviet Sport newspaper, HC Ak bars president Shavalev stated that “These are great guys and are forwards with a lot of potential. They proved it with their play in Canada and are currently practicing with our main squad. I hope that this season they will prove themselves in the Super League.” Roman and Ruslan both enjoyed great success in the QMJHL last season, with first scoring 74 points (38g+36a), while the latter scoring 71 points (31g + 40a).

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The Ottawa Senators weren't terribly busy in this year's NHL entry draft, selecting only four players, but they're hoping a risk they took in the second round will pay dividends. The risk with Russian winger Ruslan Bashkirov , taken 60th overall, isn't with his skill. He's got loads of talent. The risk is wondering whether they'll get him in a Senators uniform given Russia's absence from the NHL-IIHF player transfer agreement. (By Pierre Lebrun - Canadian Press) READ MORE

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COLUMBUS, OHIO -- The demise of the Russian assembly line of talented hockey players is just a rumour. It continues to produce some of the brightest and best prospects in the world. But there was not a bear market for Russian-bred players at the 2007 National Hockey League entry draft. Only two Russian juniors were selected in the first two rounds and only nine in total. That's quite a drop from the high of 44 in 2000, and it's the smallest total since 1988. Some want to attribute the decrease to the lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and the threat that a hotshot Russian player will stay at home and play for a tax-free contract worth more than the $850,000 (all currency U.S.) cap on entry-level contracts in the NHL. (Tim Wharnsby - Globe and Mail) READ MORE

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Russian Super League -  Bashkirov brothers Roman and Ruslan are reportedly back in Russia, with their agent in the midst of negotiations to sign them with one of the Super League clubs. The two brothers have spent the 2006-07 season in the QJMHL under, coached by an NHL Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy on the Quebec Remparts. The two brothers were highly touted prior to the season and ended rated fairly high in most ratings, with Ruslan being ranked ahead of his twin brother. Ruslan Bashkirov ended up being selected by the Ottawa Senators with the 60th overall pick, but his brother went unselected. A club favored to pick up the two youngsters is the HC Ak Bars (Kazan), which was close to signing the two prior to their departure for the Canadian junior leagues.

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Russian Super League -  As the NHL Entry Draft has passed, shockingly only 9 Russians were selected this year. The trend is at least in part due to the lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and Russia, but may also have to do with the Russian players’ unwillingness to often cross the ocean and tendency to remain in Russia where the pay is very competitive when compared to the lower NHL pay grades. Here are the nine Russian players selected in this year’s draft:

17. NY Rangers – RW – Alexey Cherepanov (Avangard)
60. Ottawa – LW - Ruslan Bashkirov (Quebec)
64. Dallas – RW - Sergei Korostin (Dynamo-2)
71. Florida – RW - Evgeny Dadonov (Traktor)
94. Columbus – LW - Maxim Mayorov (Neftyanik Leninogorsk)
106. NY Islanders – LW - Maxim Grachev (Rimuski)
123. Phoenix- D - Maxim Goncharov (CSKA)
146. Vancouver – LW - Ilya Kablukov (CSKA)
202. Florida – G - Sergei Gaiduchenko (Lokomotiv-2)

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U18 World Junior Championships -  Scouting evaluations of the players who played for Team Russia at the U18 World Junior Championships. Written by Jante Abrahamsson. Courtesy of McKeen's Hockey publication. READ MORE

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U18 4 Nations Tournament (88 born) -  Russian Player Performance Evaluations Part 6: Vadim Golubtsov, Sergei Zachupeyko, Ruslan Bashkirov READ MORE