He swore allegiance to the Americans and disappeared. What happened to the bright talent of Russian hockey

Russian fans have been keeping a close eye on the infamous Nikolai Zherdev this off-season. The striker recently signed a trial contract with Dynamo Minsk and is again trying to restart his career. Unfortunately, there are a lot of similar stories, when talents themselves ruin their sports future, in Russian hockey.

One such example is Kirill Kabanov. The forward was once quoted above Vladimir Tarasenko and Evgeny Kuznetsov, and American experts estimated the attacking potential of the Russian at the level of Tyler Segin and Taylor Hall. However, Kabanov never played in the NHL, could not gain a foothold in the KHL, and now the forward plays in the Danish championship.

A long tongue and a difficult character are the reasons why the Russian could not realize his potential.

“The KHL is just an unfortunate name, an imitation of the league”

The start of Kabanov’s career will be the envy of many young players – the striker made his debut in adult hockey as part of Spartak when he was only 16 years old. Only very promising players are allowed to join the main team so early. And in the 2009/10 season, Kabanov was such a hockey player.

An early debut in adult hockey and playing skills made Kabanov one of the favorites in the upcoming NHL draft. The striker also had good chances to leave under the first number. The Russian understood that next year he could go overseas and never return to the KHL. Therefore, Kabanov decided to please the North American public while still at Spartak.

— It doesn’t matter how much money they offer me in the KHL. Life in America is more interesting to me. If you play like a star, you are just amazingly treated. The NHL is a league with a 100-year history, and the KHL is just an unfortunate name, an imitation of a league that is full of corruption, Kabanov said.

Kirill Kabanov / Photo: © Andrew Francis Wallace / Contributor / Toronto Star / Gettyimages.ru

“It’s all show-off, village talk”

In the domestic league, they took such a statement from the current Spartak player as rudeness. And this is not the only unpleasant moment in the relationship between Kabanov and the KHL. The Moscow club soon sold the rights to the young talent to Salavat Yulaev. However, the Ufa residents never signed a contract with Kabanov. And all because of the fantastic demands of a 17-year-old player – to let him go to the NHL without compensation and provide him with a jersey with the game number “17”. At the same time, Kabanov’s father played an active role in the negotiations, who insisted on observing these points. Such requests from a novice hockey player and his father shocked the leadership of Salavat. Even Alexander Ovechkin spoke on this topic. Yes, they did not wait for comments from Ovi about Ivan Fedotov, but earlier he did not refrain from harsh words.

– This is all show-off, village talk. Just think: they paid a lot of money for you, they call you to Salavat Yulaev. You will be able to play under the guidance of Bykov and Zakharkin, who lead the Russian team. This is a unique opportunity! But a guy’s career can go downhill due to the inadequacy of the parent, Ovechkin said then.

Kabanov and his father had to apply to the IIHF in order not to wear the Salavat Yulaev jersey. The International Ice Hockey Federation unexpectedly sided with the hockey player. And after all the transfer wars, Kabanov ended up in the Moncton Wildcats team from the Quebec Junior League in the middle of the season. The Russian immediately brightly declared himself – in the first 11 matches, he scored five goals and gave nine assists. However, Kabanov was prevented from continuing to improve his statistics by a long-standing injury, due to which he missed three months.

By the end of the regular season, he nevertheless returned to the ice and finished the season, having recorded 10 goals and 14 assists after 23 games. Due to so many matches, his quotes in the upcoming draft were a little shaken, but this was only the beginning. “Moncton” at the end of the season got into the playoffs and was going to compete for the major league trophy. Kabanov, on the other hand, was transferred from the top three to the bottom link, which the talented striker could not like.

Kabanov’s irritation led to the fact that in some games he did not even get into the squad. Then the striker decided to leave the team and join the Russian team to participate in the U-18 World Cup – another step towards falling in the ratings of the upcoming draft. However, a bright performance at an international tournament could have corrected the situation, but Kabanov once again ruined everything himself – he was expelled from the national team because of the famous story with nuts.

– Imagine, I call him to the coaching room. Talk one on one. Tell us what we expect from him. I invite you to take a seat. Kabanov sits down and first of all, without a twinge of conscience, puts his hand in a plate of nuts. These are still with the players in the locker room. He takes nuts and puts them in his mouth. I exclaim: “What are you doing?” He: “What? They are standing here. I thought you could.” And what should I tell him after that? Get out of here? – said the head coach of that team Mikhail Vasiliev.

“I can promise you that I won’t leave New York”

And soon, a few weeks before the draft, the hockey player left the agent JP Barry. And he was not Kabanov’s first agent, some also refused to cooperate with the forward and called his father unreasonable. As a result, in the draft, the Russian did not even leave in the first round, but only in the third, where he was chosen by the New York Islanders under the 65th number. This could be the robbery of the century – the player, who was the favorite a year ago, went to the “islanders” almost for nothing. Kabanov himself could not resist the draft and again pathetically commented on the choice of the Islanders.

“I can promise you that I won’t leave New York. I can give my passport to the fans so they don’t think I’m going back to Russia,” Kabanov said.

Kirill Kabanov / Photo: © LARRY MACDOUGAL / STRLMD / Global Look Press

It is not known whether he had to return the document, but he did not stay in New York and soon went to the KHL, and then to the Danish championship. At the same time, the hockey player did not play for the Islanders. The team noted his difficult character and the fact that he was late for training.

According to all the statements and stories, it may be believed that Kabanov has a very high self-esteem. However, fans from New York warmly said goodbye to the striker. Fans even said that the Russian always answered messages on social networks, happily took pictures with those who wished, and even played roller hockey with them. And, perhaps, if not the environment, then Kabanov’s career would have developed differently.