Russian spotlight: hustle

In tonight’s Russian highlight reel, we look at the plethora of Russians that play for Anaheim (for some reason) and how their grind has mattered to their team.

Mister McCarty - A good friend of lifetime Russian goalie Mark Harper, McCarty is a quiet presence in Anaheim. He cleans up well, though. The center seems to be a bit gifted at the dot, something that he showcased tonight with a stellar 74% FO% in 19 FO taken.

Alexei Ivanov - The rookie is quietly starting to catch his bearings on the Anaheim roster. He’s not much of a scorer yet, with no goals so far this season, but he’s started putting some hits up. His TOI isn’t high yet, as Anaheim’s roster is quite loaded, but once he starts getting a bit more ice time, expect this kid to explode.

Jerry Mander - One of the most surprising Russian rookies so far this season, Mander has exploded onto the SMJHL with strong defense and a bit of offense too. The American ex-pat is currently 6th in the league in hits, showing how effective his play as a power forward has been so far.

Hustle play of the night:

Quote:5. Anaheim Outlaws , Hiro Fujikawa 5 (Jerry Mander 3) at 11:36 (PP)

There’s nobody else from the federation it could go to tonight. Jerry Mander never gives up on this puck, putting up an absolute beauty of an assist in to get his linemate, Hiro Fujikawa, his 5th goal of the season. Seriously, we could watch this all night.

This group of forwards will be big for the Russian Federation going forward, with McCarty contributing to the team’s strong center depth, and Ivanov and Mander putting up great offensive and defensive numbers on the wing.