Sudbury Wolves hunt next great Russian

BY SCOTT HADDOW

The next potentially great Russian superstar in hockey could be unleashing his  talents on the OHL for the Sudbury Wolves. And it could happen as soon as the 2008-09 season.

The Wolves top brass, including head coach and GM Mike Foligno, vice-president Blaine Smith and owner Mark Burgess, are headed to Russia for the World Under-18 Hockey championship for a scouting mission and there's speculation they will try and land young Russian phenomenom Kirill Kabanov.

Coincidentally, Wolves rookie sensation Eric O'Dell, who made Team Canada, will be displaying his abilities on the international stage.

Now who just is Kirill Kabanov? He's a rising star in the hockey world and the next big thing to come out of Russia.
Kabanov, who's birth date is July 1992, played as an under-aged player at the recent World Under-17 hockey championship.

In four games, Kabanov recorded one goal and seven points.

In the minds of scouts who have had a chance to see Kabanov play, they say he's on the same level as Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin.

Ovechkin and Malkin have taken the NHL by storm this year as they finished one-two in league scoring respectively.
I have heard Kabanov, at this point in his life, is just as good, if not better than Ovechkin and Malkin were at the same age.

The Wolves own the first pick overall in the CHL Import Draft, which takes place in June.

If all goes right in Russia goes well, they might select Kabanov first overall and have him in the line-up for the 2008-09 season.

This would be a major block-buster for the Wolves if they pull it off and it materializes.

Kabanov has the talent that makes people want to pay to see him. It could be a huge boost for the local economy if he plays here, as scouts and powerful hockey people from all across North America will descend on the Sudbury Arena to watch him play.

If it does happen, the Wolves would have Kabanov for the next two seasons as his draft year isn't until 2010.

Kabanov is advertised as an electrifying forward who has the ability to break games wide open with his clever stick work or a big hit. He has out-of-this-world skill and a nasty edge to boot. He's a complete package.

Adding Kabanov to the mix of young and exciting Wolves players could prove to be the catalyst which sees the Wolves contend for a Memorial Cup in the very near future.

Adding to all this will be the high-end draft picks Sudbury secures at this year's OHL Priority Draft, which goes in early May.

Sudbury also picks first overall in that draft and it's expected they will select John McFarland, who is touted as the best prospect available for the 2008 OHL draft.

McFarland comes with impressive credentials. The six-foot, 195-pound centre scored 90 goals, 162 points and 167 penalty minutes this past season for the Toronto Junior Canadiens AAA midget squad.

Adding the likes of McFarland and Kabanov to the Wolves roster would be unreal. Sudbury already features a fine stable of young, talented players such as Eric O'Dell, Jared Staal, Daniel Maggio and Peter Hermenegildo.

Needless to say, it's going to be some wild times for Sudbury Wolves over the next few seasons as they go from bottom feeders to the top again.

As with anything, only time will tell if all these pieces fall into place and something extraordinary happens.
Until then, Wolves fans can really start to dream big.