The Hockey Guy on Fedotov and Michkov

[Howie58]

Greetings:

 

I saw this earlier today from "The Hockey Guy" on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drX63W7NYBg

 

It's clear the KHL doesn't give a rat's ass about the IIHL or its legal mandates.  Well folks, since when did Vladimir Putin believe in the rule-of-law?

 

As long as Vladimir Putin is in charge and the West sticks Russia with heavy economic sanctions, NHL prospects will be fair game for the former KGB agent and his thugs.  This is his form of retaliation.   

 

Strangely, I don't put the blame on Putin as much as I do on Gary Bettman and the NHL.  They should have embargoed the drafting of Russian players and deprived Putin of the ability to manipulate us.  Let the Russians keep their talent and stew in their juices.  

 

I can already hear the chorus of "keep politics out of the board."  Well, I would remind you that the U.S. and 60 other countries boycotted the Russian Olympics in 1980 after they invaded Afghanistan. We should effectively boycott them again by rejecting their talent, regardless of its caliber.  I'm amazed at the naivete of some hockey fans and writers who don't get what Putin is doing or why.  I doubt we ever see Fedotov or any other Russian picks until there's a peace settlement or another Russian Revolution.  

 

[mkscrewy]

The last guy played hockey once. He had 3 hat tricks and 11 assists. Putin himself came over and shook his hand and said “good game, comrade,” which has never been done before or since. 

[hmc687]

Michkov wants to come to NHL.  He'll be here in 3 years time.  Things with Russia are fine.  Ukraine is losing and will lose the war primarily because theyre grossly outnumbered.  I'm not wishing negativity on UKR or RSA.  I'm not from the Eur-Asian area and I've seen enough conflicting information online to know that news/media from whichever country presents things in their own interest.

 

Needless to say USA and Russia havent gotten along for decades minus Trumps brief tenure and yet Ovechkin and Malkin and Kaprizov and plenty of other Russian players come to NHL simply because they want to be the best...and Ovi will go down as the best goal scorer ever - rightfully so.

 

Russians dont impede Russians from making money and NHL pays the best by a large margin.

[mkscrewy]

Pretty sure Fedotov wanted to come to the NHL too. 

[flyercanuck]

56 minutes ago, hmc687 said:

 

Russians dont impede Russians from making money as long as you kiss the right asses and NHL pays the best by a large margin.

 

[OccamsRazor]

 

I am concerned with MM not worried at all what happens to Fedotov.

 

Not sure why they are ******** with this kid but it seems they are.

[GratefulFlyers]

Yeah I saw this too. Top Russian prospect and he’s a healthy scratch for the opener and now again? Sounds like somebody’s messing with somebody. From the little I know about Michkov’s personality he may have started it, whatever “it” is exactly. Maybe it’s a good sign we’ll see him sooner than expected.

[pilldoc]

always drama with this team ....always drama ......   (sigh)

 

Not sure why the Russkies are benching him ....maybe retaliation for The International Ice Hockey Federation has ruling in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers by agreeing that Russian goaltender Ivan Fedotov had a valid NHL contract for the upcoming season when he signed with CSKA Moscow in the KHL?   Just throwing darts here .....

[Howie58]

5 hours ago, pilldoc said:

always drama with this team ....always drama ......   (sigh)

 

Not sure why the Russkies are benching him ....maybe retaliation for The International Ice Hockey Federation has ruling in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers by agreeing that Russian goaltender Ivan Fedotov had a valid NHL contract for the upcoming season when he signed with CSKA Moscow in the KHL?   Just throwing darts here .....

Dear Pilldoc:

 

I watched another YouTube on this today.  SKA's manager is a Putin fan.  There is little doubt that MM is better than many of his teammates.  His prior play in Sochi supports that view.  I'd say this is retaliation for pursuing the IIHF judgment.  That underscored what little respect Putin has for the West and its political order.  If there were Red Chinese, North Korean, or Iranian prospects with NHL connections, I suspect they would go unfettered.  Again, I won't get too angry at the Flyers Brain Trust for swinging for the fences with MM.  I think the NHL should have shown some stones and isolated Putin by not allowing him to showcase talent in North America.  

[radoran]

On 9/3/2023 at 3:11 AM, Howie58 said:

I'm amazed at the naivete of some hockey fans and writers who don't get what Putin is doing or why.  I doubt we ever see Fedotov or any other Russian picks until there's a peace settlement or another Russian Revolution.  

 

There are 62 Russians in the NHL. Are they all going home?

 

A Russian was picked before Michkov. Have we any insight into what's happening with him?

 

They WANT Ovechkin to break Gretzky's record.

 

They WANT to show they are "better."

 

Everyone knew Michkov was under contract for three years. What's happening at the start of the first year is, again, only the start.

 

 

[flyercanuck]

Well I guess the good thing is, Michkov will be used to the nepotism that Flyer management wields with impunity by the time he comes over. His coach in Russia has never been a head coach before, but he IS one of Putins best friends son. Should prove great for his development. 

 

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/01/04/new-year-museum-highlights-a75961

 

Putin Friend’s Son Named Head Coach of Richest Russian Hockey Team

 

 

Jan. 5, 2022

Roman Rotenberg (L) and former coach Valery Bragin (R).Stanislav Krasilnikov / TASS

The son of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s close ally has been named the head coach of Russia’s richest hockey team, SKA St. Petersburg, drawing criticism from sports commentators for his lack of coaching experience.

Roman Rotenberg, 40, is the son of Boris Rotenberg — who is Putin’s childhood friend, former judo sparring partner and recreational hockey teammate. Roman Rotenberg was already deputy chairman of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and its SKA St. Petersburg team, which is run by another Putin ally, Gennady Timchenko, and owned by the state-run gas giant Gazprom.

SKA said in an official announcement that Rotenberg has replaced Valery Bragin as head coach, who was also sidelined as head coach of the Russian men’s national hockey team last fall, to “improve the management of the team.” 

Bragin himself described Rotenberg’s appointment as “formalizing” his de-facto position over the course of the past month.

“Everything worked, we have achieved positive results,” Bragin said in SKA’s statement.

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Rotenberg compared his new appointment to the career of veteran football manager José Mourinho, who he said had “absorbed all his techniques” from his predecessors “and became a very successful coach.”

“There are a lot of such coaches in history,” the sports.ru news website quoted him as saying. “This is my life, it gives me the opportunity to develop and be better than yesterday.”

Sports commentators were quick to question Rotenberg’s credentials.

“In an ideal world, a coach would start with children or young men, take his hits and get valuable experience,” said sport-express.ru. “But a person of his status doesn’t have time to go through all the levels.”

“This is his first job as a head coach, he has never played at a professional level,” the Russian edition of the U.S.-funded RFE/RL news organization said in its report on Rotenberg’s appointment.

Rotenberg himself defended his expertise, telling the Match TV broadcaster last fall that he had watched 800 KHL and national team games since 2014.

Edited September 5, 2023 by flyercanuck

[yave1964]

20 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

 

This. 

[CoachX]

Im not sure Im following this correctly.......

 

SKA is the richest team in Russia. Russia wants to show dominance over the rest of the world. Putin's friend's son is the head coach of that team. They are benching their most talented player as a retaliation against the Flyers and IIHF over a ruling on a goalie who isnt on that team. They had no intention of following that ruling anyway.

 

Am I missing something?

[CoachX]

18 hours ago, GratefulFlyers said:

From the little I know about Michkov’s personality he may have started it, whatever “it” is exactly. Maybe it’s a good sign we’ll see him sooner than expected.

What is the "little" you know?

[GratefulFlyers]

The more I read about Michkov the more I wonder if it’s him and his attitude that got him benched for the opener. A couple websites say that Michkov is disrespectful in the way he refused to meet with any scouts (before the draft). Now we learn his coach is a Putin friend of a friend, and this coach says Michkov is competing with other “extras” on the squad and he may or may not crack the lineup. 
 

Edited September 5, 2023 by GratefulFlyers

[CoachX]

1 hour ago, GratefulFlyers said:

A couple websites say that Michkov is disrespectful in the way he refused to meet with any scouts (before the draft)

Thats sounds pretty opinion based to me. I thought I read that he met with our scouts on the down low. I would bet Philly sports related websites would find that a badge of honor meaning he wanted to be here.

[flyercanuck]

1 hour ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 and this coach says Michkov is competing with other “extras” on the squad and he may or may not crack the lineup. 
 

 

This coach is about as good and deserving of the job as Fletcher was at GM.

[OccamsRazor]

2 hours ago, CoachX said:

Im not sure Im following this correctly.......

 

SKA is the richest team in Russia. Russia wants to show dominance over the rest of the world. Putin's friend's son is the head coach of that team. They are benching their most talented player as a retaliation against the Flyers and IIHF over a ruling on a goalie who isnt on that team. They had no intention of following that ruling anyway.

 

Am I missing something?

 

Yes basically none of it makes sense.

 

And with him under contract for 3 years it seems like they can and will do whatever they want with him for the up coming 3 seasons.

 

So buckle up for a long amazing ride.

[JR Ewing]

I don't know if anybody is screwing Michkov over... St. Petersburg didn't have space for him last year so they loaned him to Sochi, and the KHL is a league where kids are healthy scratched a lot of the time and if they dress will get very little ice time, so this move by Fedorov isn't completely off the wall.

 

edit --- I meant to add that this is a league where kids are played so little that they created a Designated Junior rule, where the league added two roster spots that teams can use on U20s, to kind of nudge coaches towards using kids a little more often. At 18, it's not weird nor an obvious sign of a conspiracy that Michkov is having a hard time getting into games. Last year, he really only played because he was playing for a team that was desperate for talent.

Edited September 5, 2023 by JR Ewing

[GratefulFlyers]

1 hour ago, flyercanuck said:

 

This coach is about as good and deserving of the job as Fletcher was at GM.

 

Just now, JR Ewing said:

so this move by Fedorov isn't completely off the wall.

 

I think the coach is Roman Rotenburg - not sure where Fedorov is these days. 

 

In my opinion Rotenburgh dealt Michkov some real bush-league crap in the first game. If there was legit competition at forward everyone would understand but he played 3 guys (at least) who should never start ahead of a prospect like Michkov: Mikhail Vorobyov the Flyers #104 pick in 2015 played 35 NHL games; 33-year old Pavel Dedunov a career-KHLer, 72 pts in 471 games; 26-year old Vasili Glotov the Sabres 7R pick from 2016, 62pts in 156 KHL games.

 

Starting them and scratching Michkov looks to me like a deliberate FU from the coach. But hey maybe Michkov brought it on himself who knows.

 

 

 

[GrittyForever]

The "hockey Guy" seems like a decent guy and I think it would be fun to sit down with him over a beer and talk hockey, but he doesn't really know anything about anything. I've watched some of his videos and they generally just give penetrating looks into the obvious. He doesn't actually have any insider knowledge or anything more than me or you.

 

You know who the president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation is right? You know who he's friends with right? You know where Michkov said he wanted to play right?  

 

Relax, Michkov will be here. Just not yet. Just pretend he doesn't exist for a few  years and then it'll feel like we won the lottery when he gets here. 

 

 

[JR Ewing]

23 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 

 

I think the coach is Roman Rotenburg - not sure where Fedorov is these days. 

 

In my opinion Rotenburgh dealt Michkov some real bush-league crap in the first game. If there was legit competition at forward everyone would understand but he played 3 guys (at least) who should never start ahead of a prospect like Michkov: Mikhail Vorobyov the Flyers #104 pick in 2015 played 35 NHL games; 33-year old Pavel Dedunov a career-KHLer, 72 pts in 471 games; 26-year old Vasili Glotov the Sabres 7R pick from 2016, 62pts in 156 KHL games.

 

Starting them and scratching Michkov looks to me like a deliberate FU from the coach. But hey maybe Michkov brought it on himself who knows.

 

 

 

 

Right; a coach in a league where teams play kids so little that they created a rule to get them to play them a little more often, sat a kid in favour of seasoned pros. Of those three: Vorobyov is a centre and was very good for them last year. Dedunov is a physical depth winger/grinder. Glotov is a centre. So, he was sat in favour of two players who don't play his position and one who is also a winger, but who is used in a completely different role.

 

I'm not convinced.

 

[radoran]

2 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Yes basically none of it makes sense.

 

And with him under contract for 3 years it seems like they can and will do whatever they want with him for the up coming 3 seasons.

 

So buckle up for a long amazing ride.

 

Or Michkov can get on a plane and sign a contract with the Flyers since his KHL contract means squat.

[CoachX]

1 hour ago, GrittyForever said:

Relax, Michkov will be here. Just not yet. Just pretend he doesn't exist for a few  years and then it'll feel like we won the lottery when he gets here

 

who?

oh, did you hear? JVR is gone!

[OccamsRazor]

36 minutes ago, radoran said:

 

Or Michkov can get on a plane and sign a contract with the Flyers since his KHL contract means squat.

 

I like that plan.

 

Since they aren't honoring the NHL contract for Fedotov then go ahead and bring MM and start his transition to the smaller ice.

 

Fug em.