A total of 18 Russian hockey players were drafted during the 2015 NHL Draft. Despite the continuing yet unsupported stereotypes against Russian players’ work ethic on the ice, the total of Russian skaters drafted is the most since 2004.
18 Russians have been selected in the #NHLDraft2015. That’s the most since 2004, when there were 20 including Ovechkin & Malkin
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) June 27, 2015
A total of four Russian players were selected in the first round. The Flyers took Ivan Provorov with the seventh overall pick while the Stars (Denis Gurianov – 12th overall), Red Wings (Evgeny Svechnikov – 19th overall) and the Capitals (Ilya Samsonov – 22nd overall) all picked Russians in the first round.
As players such as Vladimir Tarasenko continue to thrive in the NHL, teams are realizing that the tired stereotype against Russian players has no merit. There may always be concerns that the KHL will try to swoop in and lure a Russian skater back, but passing on skill during a draft is a critical mistake.
