The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features. Subscribe now to view the full THN Archives here [https://archive.thehockeynews.com/] Also, go to thn.com/free [http://thn.com/free] to subscribe. 2022 NHL Draft Russian Risks—May 23, 2022 - VOL. 75, Issue. 15 - Publisher GEOFF MOLSON, THE PART-OWNER and CEO of the Montreal Canadiens, whose team’s selection in the first round in last year’s draft was Logan Mailloux, which caused Gary Bettman to tell Steve Kouleas: “I was stunned. Surprised wouldn’t begin to explain my reaction. I’m a dad of two daughters, I have four granddaughters. What was done was horrific.” Had I been the chairman of the Montreal Canadiens, I would have asked Molson to resign as CEO, as the CEO is ultimately responsible for everything that goes on at a company whether or not he gave the green light on the pick. Molson and then-GM Marc Bergevin took a great deal of heat from the public for their seemingly careless regard for abuse of women by men. Molson the CEO is still there. Bergevin the GM is gone. Draft selections, especially in the first round, have consequences both on and off the ice. The argument that sports should not be intertwined with the society values of the day, sometimes referred to as the politics of the day, no longer holds water. They do. Sport is a fabric of the culture of many countries, and politicians in each of these countries often use it for their own benefit. I have owned more than a dozen community ice rinks, and one of my old companies built refrigeration and dasher-board systems for hundreds more, including five for the Montreal Canadiens Foundation, and each time, the politicians were front and center during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. They all use sports for their own political good. Politicians also use athletes in many countries as propaganda to try to keep up the narrative that their systems of society and government are better than the next country, and winning medals at international tournaments and their overall medal count are all that matters. In 1972, the Summit Series was played, and all of the Russian players were soldiers in the Red Army who ended up carrying hockey sticks into battle. These players were put through the wringer in preparation for the international stage that today would be considered abusive. The pressure that they endured from their political leaders to win at all costs was an abuse of these men by the government and its political leaders. They were pawns in a much bigger game. EVERYONE’S WATCHING TO SEE HOW MANY – IF ANY –RUSSIAN PLAYERS ARE DRAFTED IN THE FIRST ROUND Fifty years later, Russia has invaded Ukraine, and much of the free world has joined together in its support for Ukraine. Russian athletes, who in many cases grew up as beneficiaries of the state system, are finding that they are now being asked to explain why their government and country has invaded Ukraine. In addition, they are not being welcomed to play, and the list of leagues, associations, federations and tournaments continues to grow. The CHL will make Russian players ineligible for the 2022 import draft. The NHL has not made any statements regarding any ban, but it seems clear that everyone is watching to see how many – if any – Russian players are drafted by NHL teams in the first round. Every NHL CEO should have learned from Mailloux being drafted by Montreal in 2021. In addition to the potential public backlash, similar to what the Canadiens faced last year, and questions that selecting a Russian might bring while their country has invaded Ukraine, NHL teams also have to wonder if they are, in fact, throwing away their picks altogether, since these young Russian players may not be coming anytime soon – or at all. Russian players who have come of age at a time when they can be drafted into the army and the NHL in the same period face uncertainty. I’m not suggesting that they will be handed Kalashnikovs and sent to the front lines in Ukraine. What I am suggesting is that, just like the USSR players in 1972 who were forced to serve their country by playing hockey, they might be “encouraged” to serve their Mother Russia by playing in the KHL as part of their duty to support the regime. The KHL was the vision of president Vladimir Putin to create a league to compete with the NHL, and each KHL team is ultimately owned or controlled by an oligarch, some of whom are now missing their yachts and have run out of access to cash, according to media reports. I went to the very first KHL game as a guest of the league’s commissioner, I played in Red Square before the very first KHL All-Star Game, and I’ve had many financial discussions and negotiations with the then-commissioner of the KHL as the chairman of Bauer, so I have a pretty good understanding of how the KHL is financed, and it all points back to Putin, the ‘Big Boss’ as everyone there calls him. With teams leaving the KHL over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, expats announcing that they will not be playing next season in the KHL, the Russian economy in decline and Putin’s need to have the KHL look stable for his domestic audience, Russian players might be “encouraged” to stay home and play in the KHL. My sources at the highest level of Russian hockey have told me that there are rumblings from many who want to keep all of the Russian players in Russia to bolster their teams and league. After months, and in some cases years, of sanctions placed on them, the Russian oligarchs might be thinking of imposing a Russian player sanction of their own on the West. If true, it wouldn’t be the first time, and it will certainly not be the last time that athletes and sports were used for political reasons.
