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Tuesday, August 26, 2008
So much for the other Ilya
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Kontinental Hockey League season starts Monday, and Ilya Nikulin remains half a world away from the Thrashers. The Ak Bars Kazan defenseman, Atlanta’s second-round draft pick in 2000, has been quite a tease but has always ended up choosing the sure money in Russia over the entry level contract in the NHL.
“We’re disappointed,” Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said, but he added that he wasn’t surprised. Throughout the summer, even when Nikulin’s U.S. agent said a signing was close, Waddell said he’d believe it when it happened. “At no point during this year” were the Thrashers counting on having Nikulin. Frustrating? Waddell said no, because this isn’t the first time he had been through this with Nikulin. The Thrashers stayed interested because, though they were never convinced Nikulin would sign, they knew they’d benefit if he did. “The player would be a good player in the NHL,” Waddell said.
From a coach’s perspective, though, there is something worse than not getting a player who could help your team be better: You could get the player and have him be less than fully committed to his decision to play for your team.
“For a guy like that, to me it’s like if a player is kind of injured, if he thinks he’s injured, then I’d prefer to put someone in there who’s ready to go full-tilt,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “Come of free will and free spirit and say this is what I really what I want to do. If you’re going to play in the National Hockey League, you can’t just put your big toe in the water, you’ve got to jump in. You’ve got to say, for sure that’s what I want to do. If you want to be there, jump in.
“I’m seeing wishy-washy, so I’m planning as if he’s not coming. If he says, I’m coming of my free spirit here, then that’s when I want him, not when he’s wishy-washy. Because it would be too easy just to go back. I want a commitment. Not just from him. I want people to come here and say I want to play in the National Hockey League for the Atlanta Thrashers.”
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