Saturday 29 July 2017

Off Season, Off Target

This is not here


Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse...

First, there was the one win in the calendar year 2017. Then, the draft lottery that didn't quite go as expected. But still, the Moncton Wildcats had a number of tools in the toolbox with which to continue along on their scorched earth rebuild. Plenty of draft picks, various trades options in conjunction with those picks and, of course, the CHL Euro Draft.

That last one might become a prime example of the old adage, "Let the buyer beware".

Russian forward Alexander Khovanov was selected second overall by the Cats in that draft. Days later, he was appearing at Moncton GM Roger Shannon's V-Reds Hockey Camp donning the Wildcats sweater. All was well... so well, you could almost hear the PR wheels turning from the team offices within the Coliseum.

Except there's a rather large question mark hanging out there regarding the status of the aforementioned Mr. Khovanov. Will he be calling the Coliseum home during that building's historical (and humid) final season as the home of the Cats? Or will he be staying put where he plied his trade last season, over 7000 kilometers away in Kazan, Russia, home of the KHL club Ak Bars Kazan? One thing that is certain, as per Khovanov's Instagram, is that he has signed a three year deal with the KHL team. Conspiracy theories abound. Is Kazan looking for a transfer fee? Is Khovanov looking to go on loan to the CHL? Is the player going for the money... money that's right in his own backyard?

Any way you slice it, this is at best an unwanted distraction for Wildcats hockey ops. At worst it torpedos their attempt at accelerating a massive rebuild. Based on the lack of news coming from the team, one can't help but feel it's more the latter than the former.

Now to be fair, the Wildcats have historically had more success stories than busts when it comes to the Euro Draft. One of their two QMJHL playoff MVP's hailed from overseas (Latvian product Martins Karsums in 2006). Guys like Alexi Tezikov, Marek Hrivik, Ivan Barbashev and Dimitri Jaskin were all impact players during their time in Moncton. Goaltender Roman Will practically clinched a playoff spot for the 2011-12 team all by himself. Several others put in serviceable stints in key supporting roles. By a longshot, it hasn't been all that bad for the Cats.

But as Bony M warned us back in the day... Oh, those Russians!

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not going all Don Cherry on all you kids out dere. As well, Roger Shannon has always been accommodating to any crew I've been on during my broadcasting time in Moncton. Assistant GM Ritchie Thebeau is a great guy with a solid background. I'd also like to think no organization at any level in a situation like Moncton's would purposefully take a guy with such a valuable pick on an absolute whim. However, in an off-season where the Wildcats made it a point to stop the practice of swinging for the fences in the QMJHL Draft by taking long shot Americans and trading down and altogether out of any number of prime selection slots, the Cats ended up dipping into the most unpredictable talent pool to try and feed their most immediate need. That need being the most talented, league ready player possible at any position.

Simply put, every time a Russian gets selected to play junior hockey in Canada, there is going to be some rolling of the dice. The Wildcats know this as well as any team in the CHL. There's been flat out no shows (Sergei Konkov), guys who brought more baggage than what was merely in their suitcases when they finally did arrive in North America (Alexi Shotov, who ended up being traded for Cody Doucette who, to his credit, assisted on the goal that sent the Cats to the 2004 Final), players who literally disappeared at the drop of a hat (Tezikov, who worked a loophole in the CHL/NHL agreement to bolt to the AHL midway through the 1998-99 season) and guys who flat out just didn't work out (Vladimir Tkatchev, who would go to Quebec and help eliminate Moncton from the playoff in 2015).

I left Karill Kabanov for last, since he could constitute an entire blog post of his own. Also, Slava Voyonov made the AHL before ever making it to Moncton, which is more of a cautionary tale regarding taking players that are already NHL drafted, though from a moral standpoint, that one probably worked out for the best. Also, Alpines (remember them, Robert?) draft pick Mikael Kazakavich ended up flying to Fredericton airport instead of Moncton when coming over but that's more of a cautionary tale about flying Air Canada.

It's easy in hindsight to say that the Wildcats should've selected someone else last month. However, it's just as easy in foresight to see this selection had more inherent risk attached to it than what it may have seemed. Jersey pic notwithstanding.

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I wonder what other opportunities Danny Flynn will be pursuing now that he's out of the picture in Saint John. For those who may have forgotten, he's pretty decent at that whole general managing thing. Maybe he gets to do that again somewhere. Also, when is the last time all four Memorial Cup coaches are no longer with their respective organizations within two months of the tournament? That might be the new record.

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Sad news in the QMJHL today with the passing of former Quebec Remparts (the old, not as Patrick Roy-ish Remparts) coach and GM Maurice Fillion. Of course, a whole other generation of Q fans and personnel know him as the long time disciplinary prefect of the league. He held the post from 1992-2005, which means for a time in the mid-late 90's, he held a position that was akin to being Jerry Springer without the TV show. For those who may not remember, the Q of 20 years ago was, to put it sort of mildly, a gongshow. Those were the slow nights. The crazier nights were akin to Resevoir Dogs on skates. And Maurice Fillion was the man with the task before him of doling out disciplinary rulings through it all. No wonder they named a trophy after the guy. And in the era when kookiness was at its height, before everyone had email or texting capabilities and submitting tapes meant literally sending a physical VHS cassette to the league office, I can only assume the Q had one hell of a long distance plan and a sweet deal with any number of courier companies. A true legend who as a GM did a job very few could do and in his second incarnation did one hardly anyone would ever want to do, he will be missed. And now, he truly is unavailable for further comment.

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