Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE
The rosters have been named and the stage is set; the 2012 Subway Super Series is just over a week away, and Team Russia has several players from the Canadian Hockey League ready to compete in the tournament.
Four players from the QMJHL will represent Team Russia in the games, which begin November 5 in Blainville-Boisbriand and run through November 15.
• Artem Sergeev, a 19-year-old defenseman playing for Val-d’Or, is in his third season in the Q. Last season, he played in 46 games and had seven goals and 13 assists in that time, ending the season with a -16 rating and 46 penalty minutes. He captured a silver medal at the IIHF World Juniors in 2012 and signed an entry-level contract with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning in July. In 14 games this season so far, Sergeev has scored three goals and eight assists and is a plus-3.
• Anton Zlobin, 19, hails from Moscow and also plays for Val-d’Or after spending the last two seasons with Shawinigan and winning the championship with the Cataractes. The left winger was drafted 173rd overall in the NHL draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins this past June after scoring 76 points (40-36) in 66 regular season games and 10 points in 11 playoff games. In this his first season with the Foreurs, Zlobin has scored 19 points in 14 games and is third on the team in points scoring.
• Valentin Zykov, 17, is a native of St. Petersburg. This is the right winger’s first season in the QMJHL. As a rookie with Baie-Commeau Drakkar, he has scored six goals and five assists and is a plus-6 in 12 games this season.
• Mikhail Grigorenko, 18, was recently drafted 12th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in this year’s NHL entry draft. The right winger is in his second season in the QMJHL with the Quebec Remparts. In 59 games last season, Grigorenko scored 40 goals and 45 assists for a superb 85 points and was nominated as the top professional prospect in the Q. As he was still too young to play in the AHL, Grigorenko returned for a second season with the Remparts and has so far scored 24 points in 12 games.
The Western Hockey League has one representative on Team Russia, in goaltender Andrey Makarov.
• Andrey Makarov, 19, of Kazan, is in his second year in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades after playing with the Lewiston MAINEiacs of the QMJHL in 2010-11. Last season with the Blades, Makarov went 29-21-2 and had a .913 save percentage in 54 games played. He had a 3.01 GAA and tallied four assists. This season, he’s 5-8-0 with a .895 save percentage and 3.21 GAA.
Finally, two players from the Ontario Hockey League will play for the Russian team.
• Nikita Zadorov, 17, of Moscow, is in his first season with the OHL’s London Knights. The defenseman has three assists and is a plus-12 in eleven games with the Knights so far.
• Daniil Zharkov, 18, of St. Petersburg, is in his sophomore season with the Belleville Bulls. Last season, the left winger scored 23 goals and 13 assists in 50 games before adding a goal and two assists in six playoff games. This season, Zharkov has six points (4-2) and is a plus-1 in 12 games.
Other players on Team Russia include first overall NHL draft pick Nail Yakupov, currently playing overseas with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk and three players from Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, along with Alexander Khokhlachev, a Boston Bruins draft pick who previously played for the Windsor Spitfires but is now playing for Moscow Spartak.
Find the full roster for Team Russia, as well as the CHL teams and schedule information, here.