NHL Players Overseas In Other leagues Discussion Thread

DewsSox79 · Oct 21, 2012

All the guys that are not on AHL teams but are in other leagues...discuss right here.

whitesoxman77 · Oct 22, 2012

I find it kind of funny that only 1 former NHL player (not counting Radulov) is in the top 5 of any stat category in the KHL http://en.khl.ru/stat/leaders/222/

DewsSox79 · Oct 22, 2012

I think if they knew that the NHL was going to go away and that the KHL was their new home their numbers would be better. There is a lot going on with the players in the KHL, they arent settling in, they are just using the time to stay in game shape.

HawkWriter · Oct 23, 2012

Saw that Anton Volchenkov (Devils Dman) broke his foot over in the KHL.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2012/10/22/anton-volchenkov-injury/1650395/

Would hate to have the NHL lose a player for the year that way. Luckily his injury doesn't look like it will keep him out real long but you never know.

DewsSox79 · Oct 23, 2012

Both sides want to play games thats the risk players and the teams will take with locking out.

HawkWriter · Oct 23, 2012

Have to think that the potential for injury increases when these big named NHL players go overseas. I know a couple of guys that have played against Giroux/Briere in the German League and believe me, I'm told plenty of guys wanted to run them. I'm sure these players in Europe would love to say, "I played against Giroux and I flattened him on the blueline". I'm sure these NHL players know and keep their head up a little more because of it. Also, I have to believe that these NHL players are just sort of going through the motions overseas, and that alone increases the possibility of injury.

nwfisch · Oct 23, 2012

HawkWriter said:
Have to think that the potential for injury increases when these big named NHL players go overseas. I know a couple of guys that have played against Giroux/Briere in the German League and believe me, I'm told plenty of guys wanted to run them. I'm sure these players in Europe would love to say, "I played against Giroux and I flattened him on the blueline". I'm sure these NHL players know and keep their head up a little more because of it. Also, I have to believe that these NHL players are just sort of going through the motions overseas, and that alone increases the possibility of injury.

I agreed with your post, but the bolded I'm confused on. So what your saying is that if they're not paying attention and that'll increase their chances they get run into the boards?

HawkWriter · Oct 23, 2012

nwfisch said:
I agreed with your post, but the bolded I'm confused on. So what your saying is that if they're not paying attention and that'll increase their chances they get run into the boards?

I'm saying that they are just going through the motions. They probably aren't playing as hard as they would be in the NHL, and by doing that they could be letting their guard down and putting themselves in positions that they normally wouldn't be in.

I bet overseas just feels like a prolonged pre-season for most of the players.

I watched Ovechkin on ESPN2 and he looked even lazier than normal.

Just a recipe for disaster.

icehogfan08 · Oct 26, 2012

Corey Crawford

has been practicing with his teammates and players who live in the Chicago area. Crawford returned to Chicago last week after spending the off-season in his hometown of Montreal. He did not have a good season in 2011-12 as he slumped despite a 30-17-7 record as he has a 2.72 GAA and a .907 save percentage. "I feel good right now," Crawford said. "There are always those small adjustments to games. It really depends on how quick you can adjust to how fast the games are. I played in a couple of charity games in Montreal. It's not the same as a regular NHL game but the speed was there." Look for the netminder to return to his form of 2010-11 in which he was 33-18-6 with a 2.30 GAA and a.917 save percentage.

Patrick Kane

is happy to be playing in Switzerland during the lockout. "It's a good league for me," he said. "It's a pretty fast league. It's on big [international] ice. From what I've seen, a lot of NHL players have gone over there so I'm excited about it. It will be nice to play some games and try to work on my skills a little bit over there. There were a few teams, but this is the one that really came out in the end and really showed their interest in me. I'm really fortunate for that." Kane will get a chance to play with the Boston Bruins' Tyler Seguin.

Viktor Stalberg

has five points in four Swedish Elite League games thus far. Stalberg is playing alongside Fabian Brunnstrom and the Avs Matt Duchene for Frolunda in the top league in Sweden. "It's good for me," Stalberg said of playing in Sweden during the lockout. "Hopefully when we get started (with the NHL) it's going to be a little bit of an advantage. At some point you need to start playing hockey - I got sick and tired of just working out and practicing by myself." Stalberg is looking at unrestricted free agency at the end of this season if he doesn't re-sign with Chicago but with 22 goals and 43 points last season, it is unlikely the Blackhawks would just let him go.