More than half of Carolina Hurricanes’ 2022 NHL Draft picks from Russia amid uncertainty

The Carolina Hurricanes drafted four Russian players on Day 2 of the 2022 NHL Draft at Montreal’s Bell Centre on Friday amid friction between that country and the United States and Canada.

In the second round — with their first pick at No. 60 — Carolina picked forward Gleb Trikozov. The Canes then took forward Alexander Perevalov in the third round with pick No. 71, defenseman Vladimir Grudinin in the fifth round (No. 156), and defenseman Alexander Pelevin in the seventh round with their final selection (No. 205).

There was some concern in NHL circles about selecting Russian players due to questions regarding their availability to play in North America during the war in Ukraine. Still, the Canes selected Russian players with more than half of their picks.

“... How it worked out is really random,” Hurricanes assistant general manager Darren Yorke said. “We don’t go into any draft and think, ‘Let’s get one country over another.’

“We build our list irrespective of whatever passport they have. If other organizations thought they’d be risky, we didn’t see it that way.”

There has always been some level of risk in drafting prospects from Russia. Even before the current conflict, some Russian players elected to remain in their home country and play in the leagues there instead of comring to North America. Now, travel restrictions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have put the NHL in an uncomfortable position of not knowing if picks will be allowed out of the country. Last month, prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Final between the Lightning and Avalanche, the NHL announced Russian and Belarussian players on the respective rosters would not be allowed to take the Cup to their home countries this summer to celebrate.

“I think it’s probably not a good idea for us or the clubs to get involved in the politics of what’s going on in Russia,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters in Montreal for the draft. “And I think the players need to make sure that they’re comfortable in what they’re doing and where they are doing it.”

Last season, there were 41 Russian-born players in the NHL. It is unknown if players who played last season in Europe would be able to play in the NHL next season.

Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Ivan Fedotov was recently sent to a remote military base in Russia for allegedly trying to elude military service, his agent, J.P. Barry told The Associated Press. He has been accused of purchasing a fake military ID from a high-ranking military officer. Fedotov — the Russians’ starting goalie for its team that won the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics — was selected by the Flyers in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft and has since played in Russia.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the NHL severed ties with the Kontinental Hockey League. NHL teams now have to communicate with the Russian Central Registry about players in order to sign them to contracts. The NHL can still sign players from the KHL, but must work with the Central Registry to show “independent written evidence demonstrating that the player is entirely free of any and all potentially conflicting contractual obligations in the KHL for 2022-23 and beyond,” as noted by NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly in memo issued to the league’s general mangers in March.

When asked who to expect at the Hurricanes’ Prospect Development Camp at Invisalign Arena — beginning Sunday and running through July 14 — Yorke didn’t mention any Russian players.

This story was originally published July 9, 2022 at 11:08 AM with the headline "More than half of Carolina Hurricanes’ 2022 NHL Draft picks from Russia amid uncertainty."