Arzamastsev hoping to get drafted after strong 2011-12 season

by Alessandro Seren Rosso
on

After being overlooked in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, defenseman Zakhar Arzamastsev has appeared on many NHL team radars. Especially considering that, at 19, he already played more than 100 professional games with Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the KHL, the same team which produced Flyers' goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, Caps' defenseman Dmitri Orlov, and forwad Ivan Telegin (WIN).

Hockey's Future recently caught up with Arzamastsev, who is already training after a disappointing first-round playoff exit with his MHL team Kuznetskie Medvedi.

"My season finished rather early," Arzamastsev said. "I didn't want to go to vacation already, thus I went to Moscow and started practicing with a personal coach. Now I'm trying to add some speed to my first step, we are practicing in the gym only, no ice."

Arzamastsev added that he doesn't like to spend much time without hockey in the offseason. "I think having a two-month pause is more than enough. Last year we had five months. Too much."
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2012 World Championship: Ted Nolan, Latvia

by Chapin Landvogt
on

After beginning his coaching career in the NHL as an assistant coach of the Hartford Whalers in 1994, Ted Nolan took over the head coaching position for the Buffalo Sabres in the following season. In his second season with the Sabres, he won the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year. His NHL career took a pause after that until he coached the New York Islanders from 2006 to 2008. In August of 2011, Nolan was named head coach of Team Latvia.

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2012 World Championship: Miks Indrasis, Latvia

by Chapin Landvogt
on

If you haven’t heard the name Miks Indrasis yet, keep your eyes and ears open. The undrafted 6-3, 196-pound winger has already made some considerable noise in his first two games for Team Latvia at the 2012 World Championships, having scored a goal against Russia in a surprisingly tight 5-2 loss and then chipping in a goal and an assist in a 3-2 victory over Germany. Most impressive is the confidence he’s been able to show on the ice with the puck on his stick.

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Gunning for Gold: A Look at the Gold Medal Favorites for the 2012 U18 Tournament

by Chapin Landvogt
on
Photo: Goalie Andrei Vasilevski has a good chance of being the first goaltender to be drafted in to the 2012 NHL Draft. (Photo courtesy of

Imago/Icon SMI)

The 2012 IIHF U18 Tournament is upon us and, as in recent years, has the international scouting community licking its chops. This year's edition once again features a number of young men representing their country on the international scene who will hear their names called at the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh. For many of them, this tournament will be the pinnacle of all their work this season and will leave a lasting impression – whether good or bad – in the minds and notebooks of what should be well over 120 NHL scouts in attendance. For all of them, this event will be an opportunity to go out and give it everything they've got for their native country, a motivation that often has no rival in the minds and hearts of 16-18 year olds. But which country will benefit most from that attitude? What teams can least afford to take a night off? Which players should be pushing the hardest for a victory in the tournament's final game? Here's what you can expect from the frontrunners for a gold medal at the 2012 IIHF U18 Tournament.

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NHL is number one goal for Andrey Pedan

by Alessandro Seren Rosso
on
Photo: Defenseman Andrey Pedan has exploded offensively this season, managing 10 goals, 30 assists, and 152 penalty minutes in 63 regular season games. (Photo courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

Nineteen-year-old Andrey Pedan is among those Russians who preferred venturing in the Canadian junior leagues system, rather than going for the usual route for European players; playing junior hockey back home then signing a contract directly with their draft team several years later. "My agent Alexei Dementiev advised me to go and play in the OHL, and this is what I did as I completely trust him. I think it was a good decision, I already adapted to the small ice surface last year and this year I further improved my game", Pedan said in Russian.

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