Michel Guest was kind enough to E-mail me back a Q&A I had sent recently, Michel has been involved with scouting NHL talent for a few European teams and has been very involved with getting NHL or AHL players such as recently departed Bulldog André Benoit the right offer to move their families to a new continent and a new hockey reality, I asked him a bit about the Emelin deal and another bunch of stuff , enjoy folks ! ( translated from french )Q - Michel, what is the difference ( playing style, players that develop out of them ) between the different Premier European Hockey leagues ?
A - They are quite different and to an extent few people realize, playing hockey in Lauzanne ( Switzerland ), Helsinki or Stockholm and playing hockey in Moscow is a world of difference, but it doesn't just stop on style and play, it also affects the player they develop and is a testament to each program as they have had Alumni's that represent them quite well.
In Finland you have very fast players who play in a style similar to north americans when it comes to offense, it is a rugged game but far from the physical play you see in North America, it gives the players a bit more breathing room and a makes them more comfortable which is great for the offensive production, but not that brilliant for some portions of NHL play, alot of players who come from Finland have a hard time finding a good balance between a reckless physical style and good offensive delivery, when the line blurs, that is when they get hurt, and you've seen this especially from players like Saku Koivu who plays hard but was never really developed to take the punishment the NHL can be known for, I think it accounts for a good portion of his injuries , even though in later years he has found a good balance.
In Russia, I believe that the physical side is not well developed in forwards and even worst, they back off too easily from physical play, alot of people saw this when Phaneuf shut down Ovechkin at the juniors a couple of years back, the good thing is that it is a flaw that is addressed early in their development and a guy like Ovechkin benefited from his team addressing that issue which made him a much more effective player, he is not intimidated by anyone and I hope that the Rangers do the same for Cherepanov as he is in the same situation Ovechkin was by many scouts assessment, but to come back to the Russian game, Russian Defencemen on the other hand are extremely gifted when it comes to on-ice vision and Physical play, this year saw alot of young defenceman such as Anton Volchenkov and Fedor Tyutin show that Russia knows how to develop solid defencemen.
As for Sweden, the Swede game is better known for the way it is complete, it packages alot of what you see in the way Finnish players play the game but is more fine tuned and less sloppy in many aspects including the development of offensive acumen and defensive responsability, this is the league were guys like Peter Forsberg, Daniel Alfredsson, Marcus Naslund and Niklas Lidstrom were develloped, these players do many things very well as opposed to the SM- Liiga were players are better developped in specific roles. There is many concern that the Swedish Elite League is not developing players as well as before, Niklas Backstrom will be a good NHLer but many people doubt he will emerge as the same kind of player you've seen from the elite Alumni of the SEL.
Q - NHL players are getting great offers from Russian teams, a trend to come ?
A - I have had the chance to watch Russian hockey alot this year as allot of Russian teams are scouting NHL players to be more competitive, the bottom line though, is that Russian hockey is a far cry from the excitement you get at the NHL level, games are often boring and do not attract many people so unless players are completely money oriented, it is often better to make 1 million and get the quality of life from north america and play in front of 20 000 people than to make 2 million and play in front of 5 000 in Moscow.
Q - the Montreal Canadiens have lost out on Emelin as he heads back to Russia, what is the noise around that deal ?
A - It isn't pretty, and I believe his NHL team is not pleased at the fact he used them to get another agent to negotiate for him in Russia, it has made alot of noise in many circles and it is said he used the offer he had in North America to sign the contract he wanted in Russia, his agents in Canada were very surprised and I think he will have to find new representation if he ever wants to negotiate with Montreal, I know his team in NHL had some Russian players involved in this bridge as well to encourage Alex to come, he has not made many friends to say the least.
Q - André Benoit has left North America to head to Europe, what solidified his choice ?
A - André is an excellent young player who will have a very important spot with Tampere, he will be playing at an excellent level in a country were quality of life, team incentives and cost of living will be a great advantage, he will also be able to play on the larger ice surfaces and be part of an elite group of Canadian players who, if his play is good, will participate in great events such as the Spengler cup and other great games, people think European Hockey is '' small '' but they are always amazed at the ambiance and thrill of many games especially around Scandinavia and central Europe, Paul Di Pietro is having the time of his life in Europe and is being treated like a legend in Switzerland for what he has accomplished on the international stage, in North America he would never had the chance to do some of the things he did
, If I had told you after Salt Lake City were Canada won the gold, that in a couple of years Paul DiPietro would beat Canada with the swiss team, it's unthinkable.
And thats the dream alot of these players find in Europe, unthinkable success against apparent failure in North America.
Q - What do you think of the possible creation of a European NHL division within the current dynamic between the NHL and IIHF ?
A - It is an excellent concept and I think that we are starting to see early signs of the NHL tiring of the un-fruitful push into the United States, I do not know how much gas Gary Bettman has left in his tank and I guess that he will be trying to push for success there to cement his legacy once he is gone, but a new comissioner will have to push that vision further and there are lessons there to be learnt fromthe way Ecclestone handled Formula 1, Hockey has the potential to be a major sport in Europe if the NHL enters carefully and well positioned strategically, there is a possibility there for ridiculous amounts of income if this is done properly, money and sponsors are everywhere in Europe and I have heard that some sponsors such as Volkswagen group ( who own Skoda ) have made it clear that they are very interested to be part of it, it's now in the NHL's hands.
Q - Wouldn't there be salary issues and talent being further diluted ?
A - If there is more hockey presence in Europe, more talent is created, more children want to play and you expand the amount of kids seeing premier talent like Crosby and Ovechkin, you expand your talent pool right there, it will give more quality NHL players down the road, it should not be an issue and, I think quite opposite, you will have a new fan base across 20 countries watching these elite NHL players play close to home, not once every 4 years, but every year, as for the dynamics of how it is to happen, I leave that to greater minds, but it is quite exciting.
