Published: 2 February, 2008, 12:15
Edited: 2 February, 2008, 12:15
The new Open Russian Hockey League will challenge the dominance of the NHL as the world's best league, according to the former Soviet and NHL legend Vyacheslav Fetisov.
“If we're able to draft players from the various European Leagues, Canadians added to our own talent in Russia, we'll definitely be a serious contender to the NHL. Also thanks to the combined financial help of the state and business we'll be able to create a very strong league, which will be no worse than our counterparts in North America,” Fetisov believes.
The new league will also feature a draft similar to that in the NHL.
“The draft will give us the chance to get rid of a number of middle men who take part in the process of deciding which club a player will join. The draft will help to keep the best players in Europe, and will reward the coaches who trained the players, because the way things are run at the moment aren't satisfactory,” Fetisov adds.
However, the new league has no plans to bring back top Russian's playing in the NHL at the moment, rather they're looking to keep future stars from leaving.
“At the moment, the top players will continue playing in the NHL because they believe it's the best league in the world. But if our league gains the same status as our North American counterparts, the new Ovechkin's, Kovalchuk's, Malkin's and Datsuk's, will stay here, because they'll be playing in a very competitive and financially competitive league,” Fetisov says.
It is hoped the creation of the Open Russian Hockey League will help to improve the quality and development of the sport in Europe. Although it was rumoured that only Russian clubs would be included at the start, Fetisov says he hasn't ruled out teams from other countries competing.
“The original idea was to create an International League, and there's been a lot of interest from countries like Latvia. Anyone who's interested in improving the game and it's development, will be interested in our project. Of course it's very difficult for a countries league to get better if there isn't the necessary level of competitiveness needed. In theory, this league is needed more by our neighbors than by us,” Fetisov says.
One thing is for sure, there won't be any problem in generating money to get the league up and running and to support it.
“At the moment, we have seven big companies who we're working with and are prepared to strongly back the new league. It will be a business project, so some companies may come and go, but there will certainly be no shortage of money,” Fetisov says.
The main question is whether the clubs actually want the new league or not. Fetisov was quick to point out the advantages it would bring them.
“We're not forcing the clubs to do anything. It's in their interests to join the League. At the moment they're paying colossal amounts of money. After the lock-out in North America, the NHL came back as an improved more stable product. If the clubs aren't interested there won't be a new league – if they are, the league will be launched soon,” he concludes.