KHL
Dinamo Minsk defeated Barys 2-1 (OT)
Artur Gavrus F: E, 1 Shot, 11:12 TOI
Season: 28 GP 1-2-3, -9, 8 PIM, 2.9 SH%, 1.2 SH/GP, 45.5 FO%, 11:38 ATOI
ECHL
Elmira lost to Reading 3-2
Maxime Clermont: DNP (Injured)
Riley Boychuk: -1, 1 Shot
Harry Young: -1
Monday Reading
Insightful, old interview with ex-Devils prospect, Kirill Tulupov from ArtfulPuck. Some interesting tidbits:
PT: There have been some issues with a few teams and their Russian players. It must be difficult for the players due to huge cultural issues, language issues, feeling as though you are in an alien land, etc.
Tulupov: There are many, many issues. It could even be the food, language, many things. Even friends. Talking. Not many Russian guys know English. You don’t want to be by yourself all the time. I don’t like when they always speak about Russians chasing money and they return home to get more money. It’s not really hard for us to sit a couple of games if we are doing something wrong. We are willing to change. There are not many people to support you and the media is always ready to rip on you if there comes a chance. Hard pill to swallow.
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PT: You were drafted in 2006 by the New Jersey Devils. Your style of play seems to fit the Devils Organization perfectly. What happened? Why did they opt out?
Tulupov: Right after the NHL draft they offered me a contract. My father still keeps it on the wall. He was very proud of me. The more so, because that Devils were the club where his favorite player Fetisov had played and coached. Long time ago he bought me Fetisov’s The Overtime. It was my guide book in the world of Hockey. I still keep it along with me. Under that contract my AHL money amounted to $33,700. It was the matter of discussion but the agent – my previous agent – backed off. He decided to turn it down without any negotiations. Two years later I was really high in their prospect system, I was the second best defenseman overall, and the sixth in the top 20 list. From the very beginning I moved up from 13th spot to 6th spot, almost double, and 2nd best defenseman right after Corrente, the very first round pick of 2006 – a defenseman too but they opted to let me go this time. You have to know Devils’ GM Lou to understand that he never offers something twice for a player taken in the 3rd round. I trusted my agent but I was wrong. One more year in Q as a 20-year-old somehow calmed me down.
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PT: This past summer was very painful for the entire hockey world – first, the deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak — and then the unimaginable happened when the Yaroslav Lokomotiv team died in a plane crash. I assume you knew some of those players, probably even played with them during your career.
Tulupov: I had two good friends on the Lokomotiv team. One of them was drafted the same year with me in the New Jersey Devils. We played together in the National U-20. He was a 2nd round pick, the forward Alexander Vasyunov. And I was playing in the Q with another forward, Sergei Ostapchuk. Even now it’s very painful to think about. I was in Detroit at the time. It is an accident. It can happen with anybody, anywhere in the world. It is hard enough for us as hockey players, but I can’t imagine how hard it is for those close to these players. So terrible.
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