Canada and Russia: the hockey star revolution

In 2004, Alex Ovechkin was selected first in the NHL draft by The Washington Capitals. The NHL’s lockout occurred the season after his draft. While the Canadian Hockey League gained popularity during the NHL lockout, Sidney Crosby was the most talked about youth hockey player. Crosby led QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic to the final game of the Memorial Cup series before losing to favorites of the 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. Later, Crosby was selected first by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2005 NHL draft and became one of the best NHL players of his day. 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 really shocking philosophy on next 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 by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2012 NHL draft as was Ovechkin, and both players were unable to play the season after the next draft due to a lockout. There is this young player who has been in the headlines and his name is Nathan Mackinnon and he has uncanny similarities to Crosby. They are both from Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia, both played their junior hockey years in the QMJHL and there was talk that they would both be the first overall pick in the NHL draft the year before it happened. It is unknown at this time if Mackinnon will be selected first overall, but regardless of whether there is another phenomenal rivalry in the making between Mackinnon and Yakupov. Yakupov is 2 years older than Mackinnon as Ovechkin is 2 years older than Crosby and both Russians are older while Canadians are younger. The scenario couldn’t be more similar 8 years apart. 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 has been drafted in 2012, the 2013 draft looks better according to some NHL scouts and players on that list include Seth Jones, Sean Monahan, Hunter Shinkaruk and more. Goals scored in the NHL are expected to increase than in the previous season, that could be a trend that may continue for several years due to the more advanced physical and mental training that is available now that has not been before.