When Alexander Gordin was chosen by the Montreal Canadiens in the sixth round, 171st overall, in the 2020 NHL Draft they continued their strategy to draft out of Russia. In 2018 they hit a home run when they selected Alexander Romanov in the second round, and in 2019 they selected another Russian late in the draft Arsen Khisamutdinov.
Gordin was drafted out of the SKA Saint Petersburg system, a club with a pedigree and a track record of developing young talent. They also had Daniel Bochner as a skills coach. At the start of February Bochner has became an assistant coach in the club, something that should translate well in regards to the development of Gordin.
Habsent Minded 3.46: The KHL pipeline, with Gillian Kemmerer
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The Tsarina of Russian hockey, Gillian Kemmerer, joins the podcast for another episode where the focus is to learn about the setup of the KHL teams’ development system. Miss Kemmerer has a lot of knowledge in regard to the SKA Saint Petersburg system after a fantastically researched article on her own website
The Caviar Diplomat. As Montreal Canadiens prospect Alexander Gordin plays in the system, it is important for Montreal fans to understand the development structure in the KHL.
Miss Kemmerer also has some inside knowledge on what SKA thinks about Gordin, whom I have labeled a defensive liability, and a skating catastrophe.