Sergei Kostitsyn just gave an interesting interview to Russian Prospects where he touched on a number of different subjects, but the parts I found most interesting had to do with Alexander Radulov's defection to the KHL and what Kostitsyn thinks about its future.As it turns out, Kostitsyn and Radulov both vacationed in Turkey early in the offseason, with the two staying in adjacent hotels. According to Kostitsyn, the cat was out of the bag about Salavat's offer to Radulov well before the actual announcement came at the beginning of July.
With two years remaining on his own rookie contract, the reporter was wise to ask the 21-year old winger what he would do if confronted with the same choice:
- What would be your choice in this situation?
- Right the opposite. To leave the best league in the World?.. No, thank you.
- That means you're skeptical about the potential of KHL?
- I disagree with the statement that KHL can catch up and take the lead against the NHL in the nearest future. If it ever happens it is a matter of not few years. Also, it's too early for me to talk about "zeroes" in the contract. I'm still young, will get mine when it's due.
[...]
- Don't you feel regret that even after successful debut in the NHL you'll have to play for Montreal on the rookie contract without the right to re-negotiate it? And we're talking about Russia, where you'd been offered double of "untaxed" at least.
- I'll get over. There is time for everything.
Kostitsyn's remarks are a good reminder for those of us who have talked up the KHL's prospects -- myself included -- that professional hockey in Russia has a long way to go before it can match the NHL in terms of competitiveness. As Pavel Lysenkov of Sovetsky Sport told me last February, the real impetus behind the formation of the KHL was to raise the level of professionalism in Russian hockey and offer a valid alternate development path for home grown talent. The thinking is pretty simple: If you raise the standard of living for Russian hockey players, you might actually have a chance to retain more of the talent that's looking to play in North America.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not backing off my prediction that the rise of the KHL combined with the lack of a player transfer agreement is one of the more vexing issues facing the NHL, and one where the league is likely to have to give up something -- most likely higher transfer payments -- in order to get the pan-European transfer agreement that it wants. But we need to look at the threat as one that's over the horizon, not necessarily around the corner and coming up fast.
It's also pretty clear that Kostitsyn isn't without a sense of humor. If there's one thing I've discovered about Russian hockey players over the past few years, it's the fact that they tend to let their hair down with reporters from back home in a way they never do with North American sports writers -- something which probably led to this exchange:
- Do you remember the most original question American journalists have asked you?There's one for the notebook: Stop asking Sergei about playing with his brother.
- You should not expect originality from them. Every other time they ask the same: "How do you like to play with your brother?"
HT: Japers' Rink.
