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Mar152010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

Video: Salavat’s goalie Vitaly Kolesnik assaulted by a fan during a game

Video: Salavat's goalie Vitaly Kolesnik assaulted by a fan during a game (Photo © hcsalavat.ru) During the first period of the KHL playoff game between Avtomobilist Ekaterinburg and Salavat Yulaev Ufa, a drunk fan broke in the guests' bench and swung a stick on Vitaly Kolesnik's head. The goalie left the arena bleeding and has been sent to Ekaterinburg's hospital, where a concussion has been diagnosed. Igor Zakharkin declared to Sport-Express that "this was the most terrible match in my life. At first we didn't understand, then we seen that a fan climbed over the glasses and with a stick hit Vitaly Kolesnik's head. Only a miracle saved him. I don't want to think if that person would hit him in the temple. This was a shock for everyone in the arena." All quotes translated by RussianHockeyFa...

Mar152010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

Viktor Tikhonov recalled by the Phoenix Coyotes

Russian Players In NHL

Viktor Tikhonov recalled by the Phoenix Coyotes (Photo © AP Photo) Viktor Tikhonov has been recalled by the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL. Tikhonov, 21, has been sent to the KHL on November 28th and scored 14 games and 1 assist in 15 games with Severstal Cherepovets. The grandson of the legendary Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov is at his second year in North America. After being drafted in the first round of 2008 NHL Entry Draft, he played 61 games in his NHL rookie campaign, with eight goals and as many assist. After this year's training camp he has been assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL, but he decided to bolt back to Russia and was assigned to Severstal Cherepovets.

Mar92010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

Washington Capitals sign Dmitry Kugryshev

Russian Players In NHL

Washington Capitals sign Dmitry Kugryshev (Photo © Steve Deschênes, Le Soleil) The Washington Capitals of the NHL signed Russian winger Dmitry Kugryshev to an entry level rookie contract. He has been drafted by the Capitals during the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, with the 58th overall pick. Kugryshev, who turned 20 in January, has spent the latest two seasons with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, scoring respectively 74 and 81 points. The Moscow, Russia, native won a gold medal with Team Russia U18 back in 2007, with a silver and bronze medal at the WJC stage. He has been included in this year's WJC long roster, but he has been cut during the preparation camp. Kugryshev also skated with the Capitals in the training camp on September and during other rookie camps.

Mar72010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

Evgeni Malkin: “We lost to Canada because we didn’t play like a team”

Russian Players In NHL

Evgeni Malkin: "We lost to Canada because we didn't play like a team" (Photo © Shaun Best, Reuters) Russian star Evgeni Malkin gave an interview to Vasili Osipov of Sport-Express after the game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers at the Madison Square Garden. In this interview Evgeni talked about the reasons of Team Russia's defeat to Canada at the latest Olympic Tournament, examined the differences between the management of the two national teams and tried to suggest some changes to get the revenge in Sochi. RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of the interview. "Believe me, I still can't understand what's happened at the Olympics, it was a big disappointment. In Vancouver there was an extraordinary atmosphere and the organization was top notch. But everythi...

Mar32010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

2010 Olympics: Team Russia aftermath

Russian National Hockey Team News

2010 Olympics: Team Russia aftermath (Photo © sovsport.ru) The 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament has probably been the biggest disappointing ever for Team Russia. The early quarterfinal elimination against Team Canada was the worst result ever. As soon as the tournament was over for Russia, we published the Top 5 reasons for this fail, now RussianHockeyFans.com judged all the players on the roster. Goalkeepers Ilya Bryzgalov: B+ He played a good game against Slovakia, but he got a L and thus he got benched in the following matches. He should have get more chances. Evgeny Nabokov: D In the first match against Latvia he didn't look too good, but it was an easy game. Against the Czechs he did his job, but in the quarterfinals he had just a terrible night. He should have been benched earlier. He ...

Mar22010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

Evgeny Artyukhin traded to the Atlanta Thrashers

Russian Players In NHL

Evgeny Artyukhin traded to the Atlanta Thrashers (Photo © Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) Another Russian player joined the Atlanta Thrashers as they got Evgeny Artyukhin from the Anaheim Ducks. Ilya Kovalchuk's former team features in their lineup also Maxim Afinogenov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Nikolai Antropov. Evgeny Artyukhin this season scored four goals and nine points in 37 regular season games. The Ducks obtained defenseman Nathan Oystrick and a 2011 conditional draft pick. Artyukhin's first match with the Thrashers will be played tonight against the Florida Panthers. Let's remember that in February Atlanta got the young defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy from the Dallas Stars.

Mar22010 by Gary LawsNo Comments

Denis Grebeshkov traded to the Nashville Predators

Russian Players In NHL

Denis Grebeshkov traded to the Nashville Predators (Photo © Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images) Russian defenseman Denis Grebeshkov has been traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Nashville Predators as the trade deadline is approching. The Oilers got a second round pick for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. In the 2009-10 regular season Grebeshkov scored 19 points (6 goals and 13 assists) in 47 games. His contract with the Predators will run out on June 2010 and he'll thus be a free agent at the end of the season. He will play his first match as a Predator tonight, against his old team, the Edmonton Oilers.

Feb252010 by Gary Laws18 Comments

Top 5 reasons why Russia failed at the Olympics

Russian National Hockey Team News

Top 5 reasons why Russia failed at the Olympics (Photo © Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) With the early quarterfinals exit, Team Russia set a new negative record as this was the worse Olympic outcome in their history. Since the first participation, 1956 Olympics in Cortina, Italy, Russia never had such a poor result. Team Russia's roster was, on paper, the tournament's finest, but they couldn't live up to the expectations, even in the round robin, which Bykov's team ended with two wins and one loss, which determined the pairing with Canada. RussianHockeyFans.com offers you top five reasons why Russia failed at 2010 Olympics. Reason 5: Underestimation of the opponents If someone remembers well, we used this reason also for the WJC failure article. While this was not the case in the quarterfin...

Feb252010 by Gary Laws3 Comments

Vyacheslav Bykov: “Yeah, let’s bring gibbets and kill Team Russia on the Red Square”

Russian National Hockey Team News

Vyacheslav Bykov: "Yeah, let's bring gibbets and kill Team Russia on the Red Square" (Photo © sportbox.ru) Team Russia coach, Vyacheslav Bykov, gave an interview to Sovetskiy Sport where he talked about the quarterfinal game between Russia and Canada. RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation. Bykov: "I would like to congratulate Canada with this victory. Unfortunately, the Olympic Games are over for us. I would like apologize to our fans. Today we faced a very strong team. We couldn't get out of their pressure since the very beginning. It was really hard. We tried different variants to change the game and move it to the opponent's zone, but we failed. Canada demonstrated very interesting hockey. It was a pleasure to watch them, and I can't say the same about our team." - Maybe the re...

Feb242010 by Gary Laws6 Comments

Canada defeats Russia 7-3

Russian National Hockey Team News

Canada defeats Russia 7-3 (Photo © Alex Livesey/Getty Images) Team Russia lost 7-3 to Team Canada in the 2010 Olympic Tournament's quarterfinal. A goal by Ryan Getzlaf gave the Canadians an early lead. Team Russia didn't use a powerplay chance and Dan Boyle made it a 2-0 game at the twelfth. Rick Nash scored the 3-0 goal some seconds later with a quick counterattack. But the Russians didn't give up and with a blue line shot by Dmitriy Kalinin cut down Canada's lead after fourteen minutes. After a good scoring chance wasted by Ilya Kovalchuk, Brendan Morrow restore Team Canada's three-goal lead with less than two minutes to go in the first period. In the second period Canada scored two quick goals with Corey Perry and Shea Weber, and Bykov decided to bench Nabokov in favor of Ilya Bryzgalov...