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NHL won't stop teams from drafting Russian players

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Cooper Godin
March 29, 2022  (7:01 PM)
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The 2022 National Hockey League Entry Draft is nearly three months away, and while at the General Manager's meetings in Florida, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told reporters that the league won't step in the way if teams want to draft Russian players.

"Look, it's an evolving situation," Bill Daly said. "The world might look different in July than it does today, so let's see where we are then. But it's not our current intention to have any restriction on Russian players being drafted."

Calgary Flames General Manager Brad Treliving brought up a good point. While there is no issue to draft Russian players, gaining access to them and getting work visas would be tough.

"The bigger issue is your ability to access those players – and that's from the bricks and mortars of visas and all those types of things. That's something that you have to consider," Treliving said.

Three Russians were ranked in the top ten in the International Skaters category in the most recent NHL Central Scouting rankings. Danila Yurov (3rd), Ivan Miroshnichenko (8th), and Alexander Perevalov (10th).

Source: Sportsnet.