panoo

Friday, August 17, 2007
by Adam Proteau

Those who assume Russian hockey players spend their summer on a borscht-and-bourbon bender should have a conversation with Barry Smith, the longtime NHL assistant coach and now first-year coach-GM of SKA-St. Petersburg in the Russian Superleague.

“Working with these players has been terrific so far,” said Smith, who has been putting his new team through training camp workouts since July 3. “Having NHL-level talent to train with really raises the standard of practice, and adds something new for the boys who’ve been here right from the start.”

The list of NHLers who have started preparing for the 2007-08 season with Smith is a who’s-who of Russian stars: Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar of the Penguins, Viktor Kozlov, Alexander Semin and Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals, Alexander Radulov of the Predators, and former Florida Panther Alexei Semenov are among those who have been put through their paces by Smith, who has been pleasantly surprised by their off-season fitness and enthusiasm.

“It’s turned out better than I thought, because I was a little worried about some of the NHL guys not being on the ice (prior to camp) and having some problems with speed or tempo,” said Smith, who quit his job as assistant coach to Wayne Gretzky’s Phoenix Coyotes in April. “But they were excellent. The tempo on the ice is unbelievable. I’m very impressed with the speed and the skill.”

Although his primary concern is his own team, Smith can’t help but be impressed by the talent he’s seeing every day.

“Radulov is really flying out there,” he said. “And Malkin…you can see he’s going to be a stud. He competes in every situation, which is good for our players’ (performance), because it raises their playing level.”

Smith, who earned five Stanley Cup rings (with Pittsburgh and Detroit) over the course of his 17-season NHL coaching career, isn’t the only North American discovering the benefits and pitfalls of a Russian training camp.

Defenseman Jamie Heward, who split last season between Washington and Los Angeles, has signed to play the ’07-08 campaign with St. Petersburg, while prospects David Moss (Calgary), David Liffiton (Rangers), Mike Weber (Buffalo) and Josh Beaulieu (Philadelphia) all have made the trip to improve their game.

Those players, like Smith, are quickly discovering the luxuries North Americans have when it comes to the sport.

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