2010 has been a tough year for Russia. See here, here and here. 2010 has also been tough for Fedor. See here, here and here. Sadly this summer, Mother Nature decided to pile on. Below, Fedor describes what it’s been like to live through the heat and wildfires surrounding Moscow.

Hey guys! While you were out enjoying the #rmnbparty a few weeks ago, I was sweating profusely in front of my PC in Moscow.  Suffice to say, it’s been sweltering in my home city and it’s driving people crazy.  For example on Twitter,  some of the “trending topics” in Central Russia are heat and wildfire. Why all the hubbub?  This Boston Globe report summarizes it well:

Last month, Russia endured the hottest July ever recorded since records began 130 years ago. The intense heat and drought affecting central Russia has been drying out trees and peat marshes, which have been catching fire recently, burning forests, fields and houses across a massive region. Some 500 new fires have been reported in the last 24 hours alone, and a mobilization of hundreds of thousands of emergency workers is underway to combat them. President Dmitry Medvedev has now declared a state of emergency in seven regions. To date, over 1,500 homes have been destroyed and 40 lives have been lost as wildfires continue across over 300,000 acres.

Little Relief for Those Suffering

The heat has been terrible. In Moscow, the temperature has been over 35°C (95°F) for two months. Lately, I’ve been routinely waking up around 8 AM because it’s too hot and smoggy. I’m forced awake early even if I go to bed at 4am. Every morning, the smoke visibly creeps into my house. On bad days, it doesn’t go away at night. The smell is terrible, and a lot of people have been using gauze bandages over their mouths when going outside. However, I don’t wear them. As one doctor said, “They don’t help. The only and the best salvation is to go out to the safe regions [of the country]”. I definitely would like to go back to Zelenogradsk, where I was on vacation for the whole month of July. It’s much colder there, and there are no wildfires.

To make things worse, a lot of Russians live in block (or panel) buildings, which get hot easily and are impossible to get cold. Thankfully, I live in a brick house which keeps things slightly more insulated. Because of the condition of homes here, the heat has instigated a big jump in prices of air conditioning systems and fans. I’ve heard that fans which once cost $7 in winter are now costing $100. Like most other Russians, I have no A/C in my house, but I do have 3 fans. Unfortunately, one of them is from Soviet Russia and does not work too well. [Ed. note: In Soviet Russia, fan turns you on!] Decades ago, this fan was a famous brand called “Veterok,” which means “little wind”. It provides little relief, which makes sleep my only escape.

In this July 28, 2010 satellite image released by NASA, smoke from fires near Moscow is visible over central Russia. The small red boxes indicate fires. The city of Moscow is located near the left edge, in the lower third. (AP Photo/NASA)

Wildfires Follow Extreme Heat

Basically there are wild fires pretty much everywhere.

The wildfires have been more deadly than the heat. The AP reports that thousands of homes have burnt to the ground. To the right is a map of all the reported wildfires in Central, Western and Southern Russia, and Ukraine:

Though others are posting and writing about their own experiences in this natural disaster, the devastation is astounding for everyone here. The photos and videos say what I can’t describe of the wildfires and smoke. Also, watch these videos by the English-speaking Russian channel – Russia Today:

Images of the Devastation

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire near a burning building. (REUTERS/Mikhail Voskresensky)

Remains of a burnt building sit amongst ashes outside the town of Vyksa. (REUTERS/Mikhail Voskresensky)

A man herds goats past a line of military vehicles transporting soldiers to fight forest fires in Ryazanovka. (ARTYOM KOROTAYEV/AFP/Getty Images)

A charred car rests in front of a chimney - all that remains of a house that was burned to the ground. (AP Photo/Dmitry Chistoprudov)

At Least Ovi’s Still In Good Spirits!

Even heat and wildfires cannot stop AO from dancing! Here Ovi drives downtown where if you look out his windows, you can see how depressingly grey it looks outside right now.

According to the always reliable “sk84fun_dc” of HFBoards, two undrafted KHL players are participating in Capitals Development Camp this week.  Kristaps Sotnieks and Nauris Enkuzens are both Latvians, and both play for Dynamo Riga, one of the most hardworking teams in the KHL.  Dynamo Riga is known for their business savvy, seldom overpaying for players like other KHL teams do. Our very own goaltending coach Arturs Irbe spent several seasons with Dynamo as goalie,  which seems to imply that he’s the matchmaker here.

Sotnieks (left) lays out Evander Kane (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Kristaps Sotnieks (photo) is one of Dynamo’s top D-men. He’s a 3rd-pair defender, but he’s also been on the Latvian national team.  Looking at his stats, the 23-year-old is a stay-at-homer for sure. He has a pretty solid D, but he also sports the team’s worst +/- .  He might be a good addition to the Bears’ roster. Latvians seem to be more hungry to play in the North America than Russians are, so this might be a good match. It’s all up to GMGM.

Kristaps gave an interview which was partially posted on Latvian Sportacentr portal. We were able to translate it:

SC: What the Capitals expect from you on this camp?

KS: I don’t know. Arturs [Irbe] doesn’t know either. I asked Skrastins and Ozolins; they didn’t participate in this type of camp.  As far as I understood it, they will check on- and off-ice skills. I think the key test will be on-ice skill, so I’m training intensely now.

SC: Are you nervous?

KS: Yes, I feel some. I’ve never been in a camp abroad– only in Latvia or abroad with the team.  I’ll be alone in a new environment, and my English isn’t perfect as well. But I know there are no supermen. There are no monsters. There are players there like there are here at Dynamo. I played at the Olympics against NHLers; they aren’t supermen. Sure that wasn’t easy, but you can play against them. And now it’s camp with the prospects, not with the NHL players.

SC: How did you make the camp roster?

KS: I’m grateful to Arturs Irbe. He said a good word for me. If you’re not drafted and no one recomends you, you will never make the camp. They’re not crazy about watching undrafted players. Also I played on Olympics and World Champs, it helped me.

SC: What’s your mood?

KS: I’m ready to fight. If I’ll succeed, I’ll be happy.  If not, I’ll come back to Dynamo. This is life.

Nauris Enkuzens is a goalie.  A Latvian goalie.  Just like Arturs.   Hmm. Enkuzens is only 21-years-old, and he didn’t participate in the 2009/10 KHL season. He’s pretty unknown, but Irbe doesn’t do anything just to do it; so Nauris must have caught the goalie coach’s eye somehow.  We’ll research Enkuzens deeper, but it might not matter…

We’ll have another development camp report from Addison later.  Ian, Peter & Neil will be at KCI tomorrow as well, so come say hi if you see us.

Stanislav Galiev poses with his mom for this feature story in indy.com

On day two of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles, Capitals’ General Manager George McPhee surprised no one by drafting another Russian-born player. Pick #86 was Stanislav Galiev of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs.

We don’t know all that much about Galiev. Despite hailing from Moscow, there’s not a lot of knowledge about him in Russia, probably because he chose to play Junior Hockey in Canada instead of the KHL. But here’s what we did find:

He’s close friends with 1st-round pick Evgeny Kuznetsov, and he’s called Stas (Russian short form from Stanislav) or Stan.  Those of us working hard on coining a nickname for the guy should start from there.

Most experts projected Galiev to be drafted higher; some thought he’d be a first-rounder. Finding this unclaimed gem at #86 overall may turn out to be another master stroke by GMGM.  It’s the wink.

We’ve performed some investigative journlism (i.e. – surfing YouTube) to further our research.  Our conclusion? Galiev is one of those score-by-any-means-necessary guys.

From the rebound:

After tic-tac-toe play:

From the sharp angle:

Deflecting shots from the blue line:

From the paint scrum (3:45). Also, he even fights a little at 2:20 mark (continued on 2:32):

Ripping off the D-men:

And sometimes he doesn’t score at all (0:45) but makes amazing passes (3:08, 3:23), delaying the thrilling GTG until later (5:40):

Check out those goal celebrations.  Might we see this at the Verizon Center someday?

After all this dangerously deep YouTubing, I can say one thing for sure:  you can always find Galiev near the net when the team strikes.

He’s like Ovechkin, but not as fast and less physical.  He’s like Semin, but not quite so… European. He’s like Knuble, but not so defensive.

I think that makes him Eric Fehr!

We feel pretty good about Evgeny Kuznetsov, the Capitals’  first-round draft pick. Why?

Well, first of all, George McPhee gave us the wink.

Here’s what we know:  Evgeny Kuznetsov played with KHL club Traktor Chelyabinsk and broke onto their roster at 17 years old, notching 2G, 6A, -6 in the regular season, and 4GP, 1G, 0A, +1 in the playoffs.  His last name means “[son of] a blacksmith”.

When asked a few months before the draft, Evgeny said he wanted to be drafted by the Rangers, but his attitude since draft day has been effusively positive.  Fans call him the “Malkin of Chelyabinsk”;  scouts say he’s reminiscent of Alex Semin.  This writer sees this physical, two-way player– comfortable at both center and left wing– and thinks he may best fit Brooks Laich’s mold.

Here’s what Kuznetsov said after the draft.

On getting drafted by the Caps:

I wanted to be drafted by a good team, and I wanted it to be a team with Russians.

[…]

I want to play for the Capitals as soon as possible, but I understand that I may not been ready yet.  I wasn’t very nervous about the draft, because I knew my pick number isn’t up to me.

[…]

[When McPhee called my name I felt] tired. I was very glad I didn’t have to go the next day.

[…]

The last name on draft jerseys is velcro. It doesn’t matter that it was not my name. The main thing is that I was chosen.

[…]

I’m happy Caps choosed one more Russian! Stas is a great guy and he’s my comrade.

On his awesome photo shoot:

[The photo shoot] was very, very quick. In Russia, people usually make fun of photo shoots, but this wasn’t like that.  I could joke and, who knows, someone might not get the right idea about me.

[...]

On that photo, I was to pop out behind the curtain and show some look on my face. I did it, and it was published right away. Good photo, I’ll keep it for my whole life!

And the immediate future:

There are some options in my contract with Traktor.  Too early to say about them.

There are two years left on Kuznetsov’s contract, which means that he may have to buy out some or all of that remaining time.   In any case, it’s likely we’ll see Kuznetsov in the area before too long.

Videos

For those of you who can’t wait until Development Camp to get your first taste of “The Blacksmith,” here is video of a few of Kuznetsov’s more celebrated goals. First, check out this goal (via sportbox.ru) where Evgeny scored a GWG with his powerful slapshot. It was considered among the best goals in the KHL that week. (And yes, we totally dig the Ovechkin leap into the boards!)

Next, if you hit play on the above YouTube, you can view Evgeny’s first goal of his KHL career. Please note the nod to Alex Semin where Kuznetsov sells forehand and goes backhand on this semi-breakaway.

If you love terrible defense, then this next clip is for you. In a game against Austria in the U18 World Junior Championships, Kuznetsov uses his blazing speed to zoom past the defender and break in alone on goal. How does this man finish? The only way he knows how: Forehand. Backhand. Celebrate.

Finally, Kuznetsov shows that he has a sweet wrist shot, too. Watch above as he fires this wicked dart from no angle past that poor, poor Austrian goaltender.

The Caps Go Red

Evgeny Kuznetsov is only the latest in the Capitals long history with Russian draft picks. Since 1984, Washington has drafted 25 Russian born players.

1. 1984 (11th round-225th overall) Mikhail Tatarinov
2. 1988 (6th-120th) Dmitri Khristich*
3. 1989 (11th-229th) Andriy Sidorov*
4. 1990 (6th-114th) Andrey Kovalev
5. 1992 (1st-14th) Sergei Gonchar
6. 1994 (11th-275th) Sergey Tertyshny
7. 1994 (5th-145th) Dmitri Mekeshkin
8. 1994 (1st-15th) Alexander Kharlamov
9. 1995 (8th-199th) Vasili Turkovsky
10. 1996 (8th-206th) Oleg Orekhovsky
11. 1996 (3rd-58th) Sergey Zimakov
12. 1996 (1st-4th) Alexandre Volchkov
13. 1999 (9th-249th) Igor Schadilov
14. 1999 (8th-219th) Maxim Orlov
15. 2000 (5th-163rd) Ivan Nepryaev
16. 2001 (5th-160th) Artem Ternavsky
17. 2002 (1st-13rd) Alexander Semin
18. 2004 (2nd-62th) Mikhail Yunkov
19. 2004 (1st-1st) Alexander Ovechkin
20. 2005 (7th-209th) Viktor Dovgan
21. 2006 (1st-23rd) Semyon Varlamov
22. 2008 (2nd-58th) Dmitri Kugryshev
23. 2009 (2nd-55th) Dmitri Orlov
24. 2010 (3rd-86th) Stanislav Galiev
25. 2010 (1st-26th) Evgeny Kuznetsov

* Dmitri Khristich and Andri Sidorov are Ukrainians. They were citizens when they got drafted.

Readers, we politely remind you of our policy regarding hockey rumors from Russia:  Lie down until it goes away.

The news out of Russia today has been dissonant. The KHL club Atlant, based in the Moscow region, updated its roster with one noteworthy addition.  According to atlant-mo.ru, Atlant has signed three-time Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bear Chris Bourque to a  two-year deal.

From the press release:

American forward Chris Bourque agreed on our offer and signed a contract with our club today. Terms of this agreement are intended for two years.

Later, in an interview with Tim Leone of The Patriot-News, the playoffs MVP said he hasn’t signed a contract yet: “It’s not official. . . I’m talking to them. But nothing official, that’s for sure.”

Has Atlant jumped the gun?  Is Chris entertaining other offers?  Or is he just waiting for the right time to let us down easy.  If the news is true, we’ll be very bummed that Chris is leaving Hershey.  On the other hand, that KHL contract probably comes with a car, a condo, and a handle of excellent vodka.

What do you make of the news?

Wearing 21 in honor of his father?

Friday, June 4th the KHL held its second annual draft and Peter Bondra’s son David Bondra, was selected 21st overall by Metallurg Magnitogorsk (don’t confuse Magnitogorsk with Metallurg Novokuznetsk, where Dmitri Orlov plays). Bondra was available in last year’s draft but was never selected.

Bondra currently plays for the Washington Jr Nationals of the Atlantic Junior Hockey League (the 3rd level of US junior hockey). According to AJHL official site, current South Carolina Stingray Nikita Kashirsky (who’s also Ovi’s childhood friend) have played for the club. A few highlights of David’s season thus far include him being named an AJHL All-Star and netting a goal in the game. He finished 14th overall in scoring (22 G, 29 A in 40 GP) during the AJHL season and was named to the Slovakian U-18 National Team.

His father, the Capitals’ current franchise leader in points and goals, recently spoke about his son in an interview with the Russian newspaper «Sport Den Za Dnem» (Sports Daily):

Q: Your son David isn’t a leader of his age’s National Team.
A: He works hard, but sometimes his surname interferes with him [smiling]… And sometimes opponents give much more attention to him than to other players. But Jr. Bondra is still at an age where the most important games are still ahead of him. I believe in him and hope you’ll hear his name in the future.

Q: Will Jr. Bondra be able to break all his father’s NHL records?
A: I think if he continues to work hard, he’ll be a good player. We spend a lot of time personally with him talking about hockey, watching games together and analyzing the sport.

Special Notes: In today’s draft, Lokomotiv selected NHL Superstar John Tavares with the 184th overall pick in hopes that they could lure him to Russia. Moments after the selection, the KHL voided the pick in respect of Tavares’ pact with the New York Islanders. Uh, bizarre.

Semyon Varlamov: Canadians are always active in the first ten minutes [Ed. Note - CanadiEns, too]. They created some opportunities this time, too; but they didn’t score.  I don’t know why.

SovSport: Don’t be so modest.

SV: The Canadians missed a wide open net a couple of times, but I’m not going to say they have a weak team. Canada can win over any team with any roster, but we were better this time.

SS: You were surprised when Brooks Laich cross-checked Ovi, weren’t you? He plays for the Capitals, and Ovi is untouchable there.

SV: Canadians played very rough. Perry hit Ovechkin from behind when it was 3-0. It was very dirty. I’m sure, Perry wanted to injure him.

SS: What for?

SV: To not let Alex continue to play at Champs.

SS: It’s mean.

SV: Agreed. The Canadians have two dirty players: Perry and Downie. Last one just justifies his surname. You know what I mean. He behaved terribly.

Varly speaks!(Photo credit: SovSport)

If Varly said the same thing in D.C., we would certainly expect some people taking offense. Before that happens here, let’s try to consider the cultural context in which that comment was made.  Varly was sticking up for his friend and teammate; the passion makes sense- even if the message is icky.

SovSport says they will more interviews with the team tomorrow, so Fedor promises to keep you posted.

And if you need to tick your unsubstantiated-and-usually-spurious-hockey-rumor-from-Russia checkbox, here’s some “breaking news”*:  SovSport reports Alex Ovechkin may not play against Germany. When asked, Russian assistant coach Zakharkin did not affirm or deny this report, but he did say that, “some roster changes will come.” All this follows Ovechkin missing a shift yesterday after receiving a slash to his.. err.. negative zone.

* NOTE:  The scare quotes are intentional.  Please note that Russian Machine has a dismal record when it comes to sharing hockey rumors from Russia.  Stuff is actually LESS likely to happen if we report it.

Alex Semin smoking: THE DRAMA!!

Oh, the off-season.  While the Stanley Cup contenders whittle each other away, we Caps fans are left to look at the Russian media in confusion.  Today’s scrum over Alexander Semin smoking might set the standard for our hockey coverage  between now and September.  So, yay.

Using Fedor Fedin’s masterful translation skills and cultural insider status, we trace this thread to its beginning.  It all started when Ovie and Semin were in Russia before the World Championships.  They were dining at a restaurant when the intrepid and not-at-all-unscrupulous Russian press snapped some photos of Semin smoking a cigarette.  That’s when the insanity began.

CAVEAT: This isn’t exactly Dmitry Chesnokov-caliber journalism.  Let’s have a grain of salt and throw back this tequila shot of “news.”

LifeNews.ru:

It’s known that Ovechkin and Semin are party guys and love to hang out during leave in Russia. But it’s also known that Russian head coach Bykov is very strict about discipline.  But if the “sweet pair” from the NHL generates results in Germany, no one will blame them for the behavior violation.

Players came to the base in time– thanks to Ovechkin’s fast car. Despite the night’s adventures, Ovie and Sam [Ed. note - Somehow, "Sam" is Semin's nickname in Russia] looked vigorous and fit, showing they’re ready to revenge after Vancouver’s shaming in Canada.

But when the Russian twosome arrived in Cologne, the partying did not stop.

LifeSports.ru:

After the game against Kazakhstan, [the Russian] team went downtown to a restaurant in Cologne to celebrate Semin’s long-awaited goal. The players’ spirits were high, and some of them even allowed themselves a smoke.

Russian team left hotel in small groups to not attract attention.

[...]

Ovi didn’t smoke, but Sam took a  couple of puffs. Vitaly Atyshov and Ilya Nikulin had a smoke break as well.

And after today’s game, Russian coach Vyacheslav Bykov responded to journalists asking about Marlboro-gate:

Sports.ru:

“Those are clones. Not our guys.  They’re clones. I don’t watch it all… I don’t watch videos, I don’t read the Web. I trust our guys. They know how to prepare to the game.”

Here’s video of his press-conference.  It’s totally in Russian:

Fedor tells us that this is a big deal in Russia.  It’s not a typical thing for an athlete to smoke, and that justifies pounds of ink and megapixels of pixels.

Sitting aloof in our comfy chairs, we find this hilaaaaaarious.  Mostly because we don’t care.  Smoking is terrible for your health (don’t do it, kids!), but Sasha Minor is in awesome shape.  Mischief in moderation isn’t going to ruin his health, especially since he’s skating only 10 minutes a game.  And when even the hard-ass Slava Bykov cracks a joke, we know everything’s cool.

But seriously, clones?

Pavel Lysenkov of SovSport.ru chatted it up with Alex Ovechkin before today’s match with Kazakhstan (it’s happening right now!).   They discuss the Kazakh team’s goalie, the win over Slovakia, the Russian team’s struggles, and Russian showmanship.

By the way, for those of you not watching (which is pretty much everyone except for Fedor), Semin has a 3-point game so far (1G, 2A), and Ovechkin already has one goal.

PL: What do you know about the Kazakhstan team?
AO: I don’t know anything about this team. The only thing I know is that Vitaly Eremeyev is the goalie there. Good, reliable goalie.

PL: Soviet Sport talked to him, and he remembers that he last played against you at the Torino Olympics [Ed. note - Final score was 1-0 Russia]. And if Kazakhstan will play as firmly as there, they’ll be able to take some points.
AO: The’ll have a chance for sure. I’m not going to argue with this.

PL: Especially if Russia won’t play better in the powerplay…
AO: I wouldn’t make such an precise decision. It was our first game. The big one is ahead. We have to organize our interactions. We have some time for this. First step is to organize our game.

PL: Finns were going to organize, too, but Denmark smashed them.
AO: A lot of teams show a high level of play at the Champs. I can’t say who’s the main contender. There are five [or] six teams who fight for the medals every time. But others are coming; they may surprise and win.

PL: Anyway, were there more positives or negatives in the game against Slovakia?
AO: Positives, for sure. We won. How? No one cares.

PL: But those last minutes were pretty disturbing.
AO: We wanted to create some intrigue. Make our fans upset. It’s hockey.

PL: General Manager of the Capitals, George McPhee, said Ovechkin shouldn’t come to Germany…
AO: If you have an opportunity to play at the Champs, why shouldn’t I play for my country? Yes, the season was tiring. But I always have force– even after the playoffs. We exerted ourselves with the Caps, but five days is enough to restore myself completely. Our break will be in the summer.

Bam.  Ovie’s not tired!  Ovie’s not afraid of Kazakhstan!  Ovie’s not afraid of Bykov’s chaotic un-coaching!

For the three people in the audience watching the game legally, let us know how it’s going in the comments below.

Alex Ovechkin arrives in Germany wearing a Capitals Hat. (Photo via Sovetsky Sport. Top Photo via Soviet Sport)

(Original Story by Soviet Sport’s A. Lipkin, English translation by RMNB’s Fedor Fedin)

As of a few weeks ago, the prospects for the Russian National Team at the World Championships did not look very rosy. Injuries to Zaripov, Morozov, coupled with not very good play of the goalies in the Gagarin Cup gave Russian fans legitimate concerns. And the failure of Vancouver is far from forgotten, which will cast a negative shadow on everything regarding the Russian team.

However, the results from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs were like balm to the soul of our fans. New Jersey Devil Ilya Kovalchuk, Los Angeles Kings Alexander Frolov, and Nashville Predator Denis Grebeshkov were eliminated. And the Washington Capitals struggled against the Montreal Canadiens and ended their season, thus releasing Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Semyon Varlamov to the national team.

As it turns out, throughout the season we can root for our hockey players in the NHL, but when it’s playoffs time, we are all together in wishing them defeat.

But the real question is, what’s the mood of the NHL players who are coming to the team? Especially of those who were looking for a better result in their NHL seasons.

- The atmosphere of the team is good. We’re ready to fight. Everything has just begun. On Friday we fly to Germany (interview was published yesterday). We’ll fight for the gold. – says Alexander Ovechkin.

- Is there a desire to take revenge for the defeat of Canada at the Olympics?
- As I said, the world championship and Olympic Games – these are two very different tournaments, so we can only take revenge in Sochi. So we go to Germany to protect our title.
- Have you managed to forget the failure of Washington in the Playoffs?
- Here it is a different atmosphere, different people. I arrived back home in Russia. Of course, we can not say that we’ve already forgotten the defeat in the Playoffs, but I’ll begin to gradually readjust. If I did not want to come here, I would not come, so I have strength and desire to play for the national team.
- Will the losses of the NHL players have an affect on the team’s emotional conditions?
- No, it will not. There’ll be new emotions. Emotions are always a part of hockey.
- Waiting for Datsyuk?
- Of course, we all wish him good luck. I wish him once again to win the Stanley Cup, God willing.