Will Nail Yakupov don a Russian jersey again after these comments? (Photo credit: Ted Rhodes, Calgary Herald)

On Saturday, the Russian media outlets Sports.ru, Kulichki Hockey, and SportLook posted some blockbuster quotes from the NHL’s top draft-prospect Nail Yakupov at the NHL Combine in Toronto. Yakupov downplayed his Russian image and refused to be compared to Nikolai Zherdev (a notorious NHL bust who was drafted 4th in 2003). There hasn’t been a lot of talk about this in North America yet, but I would still like to clarify some points now.

Here’s what Nail said, per James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail:

You know, every player has his [own] way. I’m Muslim, I’m not Russian. If you [ask] what happens with the Russian factor, it’s [Zherdev’s] life and I have my life. I’ve got to work. It doesn’t matter what team is going to [take me] in the draft… My new team is my first favourite team in the NHL. I’m going to play and do everything for this.

(Emphasis ours.)

Some Russian hockey fans think this quote is treasonous, leaving bombastic comments on stories: “Don’t take him to the National Team!”; “He betrayed his homeland!”; “This person does not exist for me anymore!”, etc. You get the idea.

But this probably wasn’t what Nail actually wanted to say. Let me explain. There are two words in Russian language that can be translated as Russian: one is ethnic, and the other is nationalistic. Because the concept of Russian identity is a pretty controversial topic over here, I’ll lay out the details for you.

One word for Russian is Russky (Русский), which means a person who is ethnically Russian (i.e. the East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and its neighboring countries). Another is Rossiyanin (Россиянин), which means “a citizen of Russia” and is sort of a modern replacement for the term “Soviet people”. That word is often criticized by nationalists for not being “patriotic” enough.

Here is the nationalist newspaper Russian Observer:

Our people will not accept any other name [except Russkie]. And the consequence of imposing the “Rossiyanin-ship” will be only the full rejection of the great Russian word Rossiaynin [a long-time synonym for Russky] and its full disappearance from Russian language.

Basically, you can be Russian or Ukranian or Belarusian, and so on, but if you have a Russian passport, you’re Rossiyanin.

Russia, just like the US, is a multi-national country. Nail Yakupov isn’t Russian ethnically; he is a Tatar, born and raised in Tatarstan, the region of Russia where the majority of the population are Turkic and of the Muslim faith. He has a Tatar name. Nationalists will say that Tatars are Russians. Most Tatars might disagree on that point.

Off the top of my head I can remember two other hockey players in North America with Tatar names: Nikolai Khabibulin and Stan Galiev, but neither was born in Tatarstan. National team coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov — who just recently led Russia to a World Championship — is Tatar.

So what exactly does Yakupov mean about being Muslim and not Russian? He might simply mean that he doesn’t smoke, drink, or participate in the loud parties that some Russian players are known for. Maybe he means that he doesn’t accept the national identity of Russians used by some nationalists.

Either way, it would be wise to consider the vagaries of language and complexities of Russian culture before jumping to conclusions.

Some things: they’re easy to hate. Cancer. James Mitchner novels. The Fanny Pack Family and their adorable moppets blocking the wrong side of the Metro escalators. Other things, it’s tougher. Like puppies. Or Canadians.

The Low Down: Seriously, it’s kinda hard to lay the h8 against our drunken, fur-trapping in-laws to the north, no? Geez, they’re just so gosh-darned cute, what with their doughnuts and whale-blubber lamps and huge land mass and commitment to human rights and all? Ah-DOR-able. Eh? But then there’s the Edmonton Oilers (4-2-2, 2nd in Northwest Division).  For them we’ll make an exception.

The Legacy: If you’re under the age of 25, go stand in the corner and Google “Oilers 80′s.” Of course, that was then; the era of Sather and Gretzky and the rest winning the cup five times are long gone. These days the Oilers don’t so much strike fear in the hearts of opponents as they do sadness. So far this season, Edmonton is alone at the bottom of goals per game (1.7) of all NHL teams. And, until Tuesday at least, it looked like they couldn’t win a game in their own division.  Of course, not all is bitter tears for the Oilers.

What Makes Them Hot

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “Rookie phenom” is a dumb phrase lazy sportswriters like to haul out of their trick bag, in part because it’s fun to write. But in Hopkins’ case, it’s probably apt. The 18-year-old 1st round draft pick is having a great NHL debut, already rocketing to 8th in the league in goals, with 8 points in as many games. According to the Edmonton Daily Dump or whatever, Hopkins has quickly become a fan fav; he’s also a third of the “Kiddie Line” of Taylor Hall, Hopkins, and Jordan Eberle, which has been generating a lot of pucks on net lately. Oh, and he’s kinda cute… but who isn’t at 18? When we hear “RNH,” we can’t help but think “NPH.”  We now think we have a crush on both.

Nikolai Khabibulin.  “Cute” is not a word that comes to mind when contemplating the Oilers’ 38-year-old goalie. “Talented” likely is. Khabibulin boasts a save percentage of .963, which may not be Vokoun good but it’s still pretty scary good. 35 saves against a team that was last year’s runner-up in the Cup finals? Yeah, they’ll take that.

“Reverse the Curse.” A lot of fans in a lot of cities go through a period when they think their team is cursed. A lot of fans are wrong.  But maybe not so fans of the Copper and Blue. After dominating the league in the 80′s, the Oilers have wandered in the wilderness for two decades, which sounds downright biblical. Sure, they challenged a bit back in the mid-90′s on something like a comeback, but so did the B-52s – and where is Fred Schneider these days? Still, there’s nothing like a team and a fanbase that remembers the glory days and wants to take another shot at greatness.

What Makes Them Not

Facts. Facts are stupid, aren’t they? Some argue that the Oilers are actually a better team than their current 2nd place division standing behind the Avs. Fourth overall in penalty kill? First in goals against? Not too bad, eh? As mentioned before, they clearly need to do a much better job moving the puck, but “facts” would seem to say that the Oilers are for real. So why aren’t they? It’s sort of like climate change. The facts are pointing in one direction, but Edmonton is stubbornly holding out against reality and refusing to behave like they’re real. Let’s hope this denial keeps up– at least until Friday.

Youth. Young people, ugh. Amirite? Huh? The Oilers are very much a young team, which means they’re much more likely to be flukey. The stats suggest as much so far, but as the cliché-generator reminds us, only time will tell. So young may equal inconsistent play… but on the other hand, hawt!  (Sorry. Had to.)

Canadian hockey fan

Corporations. No, we’re not getting all #OWS here, but stay with us on this. We’re really not ones to complain about corporate names on arenas, but Rexall Place? I’ll take associating my rink with phone service over dental floss and laxatives any day. But it isn’t just the name. According to no less an authority than Brooks Laich, a number of Canadian arenas are largely dead during games precisely because so many of the seats are controlled by corporate suits. As in: company robot takes prospective client to game, both spend all their time poking at their BlackBerry, nobody cares about the actual play on the ice, the end. Blech.

What To Watch For

We’ve all had a nice, long rest since the Red Wings blowout last weekend. Everyone comfy? That’s probably not the greatest thing ever. Time off is no doubt a wonderful thing for the players who get a chance to relax, recuperate, practice, carve pumpkins, or just do whatever. It just makes us a little nervous. One other factor worth considering – during Locker’s victory lap during the Red Wings post-game show, he commented on the Edmonton sheet, “They better sharpen their skates!” he boomed. Word has it that the Oilers have one of the better, slicker playing surfaces in the NHL. For those players prone to sudden losses of balance (:cough: Alexander Valerievich Semin :cough:), the sheet could prove to be another variable.

Apparently, Ovi wants you to have a new desktop wallpaper every other day now. (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

Braden Holtby smiles while holding the puck commemorating his first career shutout. (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)

Entering tonight’s game with the Edmonton Oilers, the big story on everyone’s mind was that Alex Ovechkin’s main running-mate for the past four seasons, Nicklas Backstrom, would be sidelined for the first time in his career due to a fractured left thumb he re-aggravated Monday against the Lightning. As Backstrom’s impressive consecutive games streak ended at 341, the big unknown was if it would have a negative effect on the Capitals suddenly surging offense.

Despite their impressive play of late, the Capitals’ last eight victories have been by only a one goal margin.

Uh, not anymore.

After a fast-paced first period saw the two teams combine for 22 shots on goal with no tallies, the second period opened with a frenzy. At 5:38 during the Capitals’ second powerplay of the game, Jason Arnott found Alex Ovechkin wide-open in front of the net. Ovechkin one-timed Arnott’s slap-pass home, which gave the Caps a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Eric Fehr, playing in his first game since mid-January, converted during the Capitals’ next man advantage. The Winkler, Manitoba native knocked in a pin-balling puck that found his stick after Nikolai Khabibulin couldn’t corral a booming John Carlson slap shot. Edmonton coach Tom Renney would then call timeout.

Renney’s timeout would only stop the bleeding until the third period, where Ovechkin would strike again. Ovi, clearly energized after meeting Ryan Rowlinson of the Make-A-Wish Foundation earlier today, forced a turnover in the offensive zone, played tic-tac-toe with Marcus Johansson, and then roofed home his second goal of the night, his fourth multi-goal game of the year. It was another spectacular, highlight-reel goal for Ovechkin, who has been bringing his A game for the last several weeks.

Fehr would score his second of the night after Khabibulin unwisely vacated his crease, and Alex Semin would then win the fans some wings after some pretty passing with Marco Sturm. Caps beat Oilers 5-0.

• Does it feel like 2009-10 or is it just me?
• Several players reached milestones tonight. Let’s recap them all. First up, Jason Arnott. Arnott’s assist on Ovechkin’s first goal of the night, would be his 900th career point. Despite being in DC for only 10 days, Caps fans in attendance gave Arnott a standing ovation after his achievement was put up on the Verizon Center scoreboard. Arnott, participating in his 19th NHL season, responded by smiling and waving to the crowd.
• Next, Alex Ovechkin recorded his 600th career point on Eric Fehr’s first goal of the night. The only other NHL players to register 600-plus points in their first six seasons in the league are: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Peter Stastny, Mike Bossy, Jari Kurri, Dale Hawerchuk, Bryan Trottier, Denis Savard, and Paul Coffey. Suffice to say, that’s a pretty impressive list to be included on. Ovechkin also now ranks third all-time in franchise points trailing only Peter Bondra and Mike Gartner.
• Ovechkin’s power play goal in the first also deserves a bullet by itself. Why? Because it was the first power play goal of the season he’s scored at home all year. Yes, in March.
• Dennis Wideman also registered his 200th career point on his secondary assist to Alex Semin. Wideman was once again very effective on the blue line, spending a whopping 23:34 time on ice, a game high. He also recorded three hits, seven blocked shots, and finished a plus-1.
• How about that Braden Holtby guy? Holtby, making his first start since January 24th (a shootout loss against the Rangers), stopped 22 shots in his first career NHL shutout. The Lloydminster, Saskatchewan native was impressive, full of poise, and challenged when necessary. I don’t know about you, but several more outings like this, and I don’t know how George McPhee can rationalize sending this guy back down to Hershey. Ever since Holtby was called back up for a second go of it, he has noticeably changed his game at the NHL level. In Hershey both this year and last, he’s played so aggressive that at times you could mistake him as either the team’s second enforcer or the team’s seventh defenseman on the ice. In Washington, he has found a way to calm himself down and be more subdued. As a result, he’s picked his spots better, his concentration level is at an all-time high, and he’s rarely been out of position. As for records, this was the first time ever that three different goalies all age 22 or younger have registered a shutout for the same team in the same season.
• Eric Fehr finally returned tonight and it paid instant dividends. Fehr, who was rewarded with the hard hat after the game, was at the right place at the right time all night long. He will be a first-line player someday if he can show some consistency. I’m sure he’s heard that before.
• On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mike Knuble still can’t buy a goal. Poor guy. Eventually, he will be rewarded for his hard-work or a goat must die. He finished the night with three shots, two takeaways, and a plus-1. He was inches away from a power play goal himself.
• What could possibly be better than Caps fans getting wings? The fact that they got to witness an “Alexander Semin Hat Trick.” Sasha Minor had a goal, assist, and an offensive zone penalty. Throw your borscht!
• Per Mike Vogel, tonight’s game ended a franchise record streak of 43 straight games without the Capitals scoring more than one power play goal in the same game. Wow.
• Finally, before the game, Mike Green was been placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to February 25th. He will be eligible to return beginning March 22nd against the Flyers. As long as Green returns before the playoffs, I’m cool.

Joe B.'s Suit of the Night

With the win, the Capitals leapfrog the Boston Bruins into second place in the East. They also pull within two points of the first place Philadelphia Flyers. And despite the Lightning winning in their game tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Capitals still remain two points ahead of them in the Southeast Division. That’s great news. Let’s party.

Anyways, we’ll be back here again Friday night, as the Capitals take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Until then, take care!

Bonus! Here’s Braden Holtby’s post-game interview with Al Koken.