Montreal Canadiens basic supervisor Kent Hughes says he would not remorse visiting a prospect in Russia, regardless of going through widespread backlash amid the nation’s ongoing warfare in Ukraine.
“No remorse,” Hughes mentioned in French on Wednesday on the Canadiens’ follow facility. “I feel we have been criticized totally on the political aspect, for us this was about work.”
Hughes, scout Nick Bobrov and particular adviser Vincent Lecavalier raised eyebrows for flying abroad in December to look at fifth-overall draft decide Ivan Demidov play for SKA Saint Petersburg in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.
Corridor of Famer Dominik Hasek, a vocal critic of Russia’s invasion, condemned the Canadiens for visiting. The Czech goaltender labelled it “unhappy for a company with such a hockey historical past” after a photograph of Montreal’s brass posing with SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg surfaced on social media.
“Do you notice that the KHL is a big supporter of the Russian management and an enormous commercial for Russian crimes, which have greater than 1,000,000 victims in 3 years of warfare? And that SKA coach Rotenberg is a supporter of the most important legal of our time, Putin,” Hasek posted to X on Dec. 20.
“Do you notice that by doing this you’re promoting the Russian imperialist warfare and crimes and that additionally, you will bear a share of accountability for the misplaced and crippled human lives?”
Responding to the criticism, Hughes mentioned the Canadiens weren’t the one NHL workforce to make such a visit.
“I can let you know that whereas we have been in Russia there have been a number of different groups that have been there,” he mentioned.
Hughes maintained the go to was strictly about scouting, echoing prior feedback by Canadiens govt vice-president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton.
“The target, to begin with, was to see him play in particular person,” Hughes mentioned. “It is undoubtedly a singular case once you draft a participant fifth general and there is just one particular person within the group who’d seen him in particular person.”
Hughes famous that Demidov, a proficient ahead who the Canadiens hope will play a significant function of their lineup subsequent season, noticed his ice time step by step decline for 10 consecutive video games within the KHL.
“So I needed to see him play,” Hughes mentioned. “I needed to see the place he was at along with his sport, discuss to him once more face-to-face.
“Talk to him that no matter his particular person stats, he is actually vital to us and the group. I feel like Gorton mentioned, once you resolve to draft somebody they develop into a part of your loved ones. We consider so much in communication, so I feel it was a very good method to go see him in particular person.”
The dialogue with Rotenberg, Hughes added, did not differ from when he visits a Canadian Hockey League or NCAA prospect.
“Just about the identical that I had with coaches in Michigan once I went to see (first-round decide) Michael Hage,” he mentioned. “What do it’s essential see from him? What do you suppose he must work on? Inform us about his character, how does he react to challenges? Stuff like that.”
The Worldwide Ice Hockey Federation has banned Russia and ally Belarus from occasions by means of a minimum of the 2024-25 calendar because of the ongoing warfare. The NHL additionally excluded Russia from this winter’s 4 Nations Face-Off event regardless of its historical past as a hockey powerhouse.
The Canadian authorities recommends avoiding all journey to Russia “because of the impacts of the armed battle with Ukraine and the danger of terrorism.”
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