Thousands piled in to watch the SHL S23 Draft live from Toronto, Ontario
TORONTO, ONTARIO - As the evening came to a close and the final names came off the board, Vsevolod Nikitin parted from celebrating the draft status of his new Seattle Riot teammates to address the media. Nikitin had set aside some time after the draft to announce the first official International Transfer of S23 in the SHL. Nikitin approached the stage calmly, carrying a neatly-folded Russian jersey on top of a Team Russia hockey bag. he set the equipment off to one side of the podium and took to the microphone.
Nikitin folded this jersey before approaching the stage, but whose name was on the back?
Quote:First off, I would like to congratulate my teammates over in Seattle for their fantastic draft. I know I'm here under Federation business, but I am also here to help welcome in new blood to the Seattle locker room in Martins Ziepins, Dr. Timeturner Whooves, Cole Rogers-Tanaka, and OJ Simpson Jr. These additions will help us for years to come!
Now, on to business! I would like to congratulate the Russians drafted here tonight representing your country. Fernando Pergher is a great defender and will do well in Calgary after being selected 4th overall! Ausy Willison and Maxim Golubev, two of our prospective centers, were also taken in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, respectively, and I feel they will serve Russia proud in Toronto and Clagary, respectively! For a Canadian team, it sure seems like Toronto keeps drafting our Russian talent! (laughter, then silence) I wish these players well and hope that they will play just as well as they do in the SHL as they do in Moscow.
Our main reason for being here, however, is this! (playfully shoves the equipment bag) These shoulder pads and the jersey on top is why we came here tonight. On the coattails of the SHL Draft, the Russian Federation would like to open the International Transfer season for S23 by announcing our 1 transfer. We have been well acquainted with a familiar face and, after a similar finding of Russian heritage to that of Luka Zaitsev, we have made a decision. This player has a lot of good years ahead of him at the center position, and looks to start playing immediately following the current IIHF tournament. This will, of course, help to soften the blow of losing 2 key forwards to retirement in Alexey Kovalenko and Sam Samsinov, who has volunteered to stay on at his role as Head Coach in Russia.
Finally, to reveal our newest native...
Nikitin turned and unravelled the jersey to reveal...
Evgeny Semin takes the stage to hold his new Team Russia jersey
Mr. Evgeny Semin!
Formerly known as Trill, Mr. Semin has agreed to sign the paperwork to transfer to the Russian national team!
I will be around tomorrow early to answer questions if you leave some for me or for Evgeny.
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