Canada and Russia: the revolution of hockey stars

In 2004, Alex Ovechkin was selected first overall in the NHL draft by The Washington Capitals. The NHL’s lockout occurred the season after he was selected. While the Canadian Hockey League gained popularity during the NHL lockout, Sidney Crosby was the most talked about player in junior hockey. Crosby led the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL to the final game of the Memorial Cup series before losing to the heavily favored London Knights. Crosby scored an unreal 31 points in just 13 playoff games and before the playoffs began he scored 168 points in the 2004-2005 regular season. Crosby was then drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2005 NHL draft and went on to become one of the best NHL players of his era. Ovechkin still had a great season playing for Dynamo Moscow in Russia in 2005 and the following year when they started playing in the NHL he beat Crosby for the Calder Memorial Trophy that season and it was during that season that the rivalry between Ovechkin and Crosby was first established and this intense rivalry between hockey players still exists today.

Now, here’s a truly shocking philosophy on player rivalry that has already generated a lot of buzz. Nail Yakupov is a very explosive Russian hockey player just like Ovechkin. He was selected first overall in the 2012 NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers, as was Ovechkin, and neither of these players were able to play the following post-draft season due to a lockout. There is a young player who has been in the headlines and his name is Nathan Mackinnon and he has striking similarities to Crosby. Both are from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, both played their junior hockey years in the QMJHL and there was talk of both being the first overall pick in the NHL draft the year before it happened. It is unknown at this time if Mackinnon will be drafted first overall, but regardless, there is another phenomenal rivalry in the making between Mackinnon and Yakupov. Yakupov is 2 years older than Mackinnon just as Ovechkin is 2 years older than Crosby and both the Russians are older while the Canadians are younger. The scenario could not be more similar with 8 years difference. The difference now is that there will be 2 superstar rivalries between Canada and Russia instead of just one and that makes things twice as exciting.

Once everything is in order when the lockout ends, fans could see an infusion of talent that may interest fans more than ever. With all the talent that was drafted in 2012, the 2013 draft looks better according to some NHL scouts and the players on that list include Seth Jones, Sean Monahan, Hunter Shinkaruk and more. Goals scored in the NHL are expected to increase from the previous season, which could be a trend that may continue for several years due to more advanced physical and mental training that is available now that hasn’t been before.