Steve Yzerman: All good players eventually come over from Russia

Tampa Bay Lightning Steve Yzerman commented on the team having picked up three Russians in the NHL draft in 2011.

«We talked about it as a strategy. These are high-end players. They’ve all indicated to us they want to be National Hockey League players.

«There is a lot of hesitation with these players to bring them over, which is understandable. But we feel that the three we selected are a good gamble. We believe they will be here, and they will be here sooner rather than later.»

«Any player you pick in the second round is three or four years away. In three or four years, if they’re good players, they’ll be here. All the good ones eventually come over from Russia,» said Yzerman as quoted by Tampabay.com.

Tampa Bay Lightning picked up Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Nesterov and Nikita  Kucherov in rounds 2-7 of the NHL draft in 2011.