The lockout’s negative side

The past couple of days have seen frantic moves made all across the KHL and the rest of Europe since it was announced that for the second time in eight years there was to be an NHL lockout. Metallurg moved quickly to sign Malkin and Gonchar; Donbass signed Fedotenko and Ponikarovsky, and Lev picked up Voráček and Hudler. Even Slovan got on the bandwagon, announcing just two days ago that they had signed former club hero Ľubomír Višňovský to a contract for the duration of the lockout. There are two sides to every story, and it can be viewed that signing the NHLers will help create a buzz around the team, ensure that every game will be a sell-out due to the big names appearing at the Slovnaft Arena, and will improve the standard of hockey even further. However, I am not so keen on this scramble for NHL players that has suddenly taken grip of the major European leagues.

I was at the game against SKA St. Petersburg on Monday. I watched a team overcome huge odds to pick up a remarkable victory against one of the KHL’s biggest spending teams, who incidentally, have just penned Ilya Kovalchuk to a contract. Not only did we see Captain Fantastic Miroslav Šatan score with a couple of minutes left to win the game, but we saw an incredible goal by 19 year old Tomáš Mikúš. We saw fantastic performances in defence from guys like Martin Štajnoch and Ivan Ďatelinka. These are guys who have not, and more than likely will not make the NHL, but the sheer effort and determination that they put in to push Slovan to victory against SKA was incredible. What I hope we don’t see is a bunch of NHLers rushing into the Slovan roster, who will take the places of these guys who have so far done nothing wrong. Not only that, but the NHLers are not here for a predetermined amount of time. The lockout could feasibly end next week, but it could also stretch into the New Year. If the latter applies, what happens when the team loses three or four of their top players. They are simply irreplaceable at that point, and expectations which will have risen, will have to come crashing back down.

Don’t get me wrong though, I am delighted that Slovan managed to agree to a deal with Višňovský, and in all honesty, I think that having one more Slovak NHLer would be a good compliment to the roster. There are a lot of very good young players who have made the step up with Slovan, and the experience of playing alongside guys like Višňovský who have played at the highest level will be invaluable. However, these young players need experience. Younger players such as Kytnár, Preisinger, Kudrna all need to be getting game time in the KHL this season, otherwise their development will stall. It’s great to see NHL players joining the KHL, but not at the sacrifice of the future of players who Slovan will need a couple of years down the line. The NHL players will be gone, more than likely in January, and they won’t be coming back. These younger players are here for this season and potentially much longer. I know winning immediately is a great feeling, but there has to be a long term plan in order to generate the Slovak players for Slovan’s roster, and having them sit on the sidelines while the NHLers score for fun could be ruinous for the long term prospects of Slovan.

I know I’m sounding negative, but I just don’t want to see the young players shafted in the quest for a ‘false’ position in the standings as a result of the NHL players. However, it may be a necessity if all the other teams around Slovan strengthen. I would love for the team to be able to sign someone like Andrej Sekera, or if we’re aiming really high, Zdeno Chára. I just hope that the team doesn’t get caught up in the heat of the moment, and forget about the players who are the foundations of which the club will be built on in the next five years.

Jon Rowson

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