Joined: This month
Posts: 91
Maxim Mayorov update
10/3/2008 at 12:06 PM
Here is an article on the Mayorov situation. Enjoy!
The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to wait and see if top Russian prospects Nikita Filatov and Maksim Mayorov will be allowed by the Russian Hockey Federation to play junior hockey in Canada.
The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that although the rights to both players are no longer in dispute, the Russian federation has refused to sign the required transfer paperwork that would let both players continue their development in North America.
The Blue Jackets would like to see their prospects play in the CHL to get them customized to the style of play in North America: however they have yet to hear from the Russian federation who must give the CHL permission to send Filatov and Mayorov to the Sudbury Wolves and Brandon Wheat Kings respectively.
The Jackets remain optimistic that the Russian federation may soften their stance as they allowed Russian prospects Andrei Loktionov of the Los Angeles Kings and Evgeny Grachev of the New York Rangers to join junior clubs.
There is some urgency to the matter as NHL rosters must be completed before Wednesday's deadline prior to the opening of the regular season in North America on Thursday. If the situation is not resolved then the Jackets would likely send both prospects to Syracuse of the AHL. Mayorov has already been sent to the Crunch after being cut on Wednesday.
The Russian KHL dropped their complaint to the International Ice Hockey Federation last month that stated that players such as Filatov and Mayorov were still property of their clubs.
Due to the fact that both players are still junior eligible, they could play up to nine games in the NHL before being returned to Syracuse or their junior clubs without the entry-level contracts kicking in.