Value of the Euro comes under fire
Published Friday November 7th, 2008
Hockey Teams question increasing difficulty and cost of attracting quality import players
The days of European players in the Canadian Hockey League may not be numbered, but their numbers may be decreased.
Western League officials are complaining about the difficulty of securing European players. Some suggest reducing, or even eliminating, European players in Canadian junior hockey. Earlier in the season, the Ontario and Quebec Major Junior Leagues had similar discussions, and the players' future will be on the agenda at CHL meetings next week.
Each team is allowed to carry two imports, and the three member leagues participate in an annual draft to fill those spots.
But "it's hard to really call it a draft," Dallas Thompson, general manager of the WHL's Prince George Cougars, told the Vancouver Province, suggesting large-market teams take advantage of their relationships with certain agents.
"It's not a European draft, it's basically a free market," said Sylvain Couturier, GM of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. "Even if you pick No. 1, if you don't have the money to bring them over, they're not going to come. It's always the same teams that are going to have the best players."
One QMJHL team that's had success in recent years is Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts, who have landed European stars like Mikhail Stefanovich, Ruslan Bashkirov and Alexander Radulov. Other teams, such as Bathurst, sometimes end up with lower-quality players, or even go without filling their import slots.
"Agents have a lot to do with that," Couturier said. "They're asking for a lot of money, some teams can and some cannot afford them. It's a sad situation."
It's difficult for teams to make plans around European players. For example, the Prince Edward Island Rocket counted on Czech forward Jan Kana to be a major offensive force this season. Instead, he informed them just before training camp that he wouldn't be reporting, leaving a gaping hole in the Rocket's forward ranks.
In an interview with the Telegraph-Journal, QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau acknowledged that agents are part of the problem.
"It's getting tougher and tougher to bring good quality players over here and for sure agents are playing a big role in it," Courteau said.
"We have to look at what these players bring to our league compared to when we made the decision to have import players in the CHL (in 1992). Do we have the same quality? Is there anything we could do to improve? What would the effect be of reducing the number of import players?"
Just five Europeans playing in the CHL were drafted into the NHL in the summer. That's down from nine in 2007. The year before, it was six.
Moncton Wildcats coach and GM Danny Flynn said it seems like there's less depth, although it could just be a cyclical thing. He said Russians in particular have been difficult to woo, while Czechs and Slovakians seem more eager to come.
"If you're a high-end 18- or 19-year-old, you can play in a pro league in Europe and make significant money. If they're going to come to North America and give up pro money, you have to really convince them it's the best option for them," Flynn said. "And agents are making it expensive to get kids here."
Eliminating or reducing Europeans could water down the quality of play, said Jacques Beaulieu, coach/GM of the Saint John Sea Dogs.
"Our talent pool in our league is not deep enough for them to take two more players that usually are top-six forwards, top-four D or a top goaltender out of our lineup," said Beaulieu, whose team has had success with filling its import slots with quality players.
Their spots as premier players would likely be filled by an increase to the limit of three 20-year-olds per team. But Beaulieu said that would take away from what the CHL is supposed to accomplish.
"I think we've got to develop young kids.
"That's what our league is all about, to develop hockey players. We've got our time to develop them until they get to 20 and I think three 20-year-olds is enough," he said.
Flynn said he presented a hybrid idea to the QMJHL earlier in the season, which would introduce a "floating" slot that could be used for a second European or fourth 20-year-old.
"That would allow you, if you drafted two (Europeans) and couldn't get one to come here, or didn't like the quality (of the player after seeing him in training camp), you could go with another 20 and still maintain the standard of play for your team," Flynn said.
"There's different scenarios on the table we have to look at and get back to our respective leagues to come up with a common decision," Courteau said.
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