PATS TAKE RUSSIAN
Regina, Saskatchewan – Regina Pats Senior VP and General Manager Chad Lang announced today the team has selected Russian defenceman Sergey Zborovsky ('97) with the 39th Overall pick in the 2014 CHL Import Draft. The pick was the Pats' only selection of the European Draft as Regina features two import players, Dmitry Sinitsyn and Maximilian Kammerer, on their roster.
Hailing from Moscow, Russia, Zborovsky played the 2013-14 season with the Dynamo Moskva U18. The 6'4.5", 194 lbs defender played 27 games while scoring six goals and adding ten assists.
"We're really excited about having the opportunity to select (Sergey)," commented Chad Lang. "We welcome his size to our back end. Being a '97 born player, we think he fits in well with the group we're trying to build around."
Zborovsky was also the 48th Overall selection in the 2014 KHL Draft by Dynamo Moskva.
The Sarnia Sting opened the Import Draft by selecting Czech forward Pavel Zacha. Sherbrooke of the QMJHL was up second and took Russian winger Vladislav Kamenev. The first WHL team to make a selection was Lethbridge as the Hurricanes snagged Russian forward Nikita Milekhin.
Always a gamble with the Russian players reporting. Roddy, do you or Phil know if the agent confirmed with the Pats that the kid will in fact report?
Hearing Lang's out at GM now draft is over. Hope not the case, but makes sense.
lots of Russians taken in the Import Draft again this year… its about time too cause the Russian have so much skill just what the WHL & CHL needs… just think how much worse Saskatoon would of been without Nikita Scherbak
Hopefully this kid learns the game just as fast as Sinitsyn did
Being a Russian is he reporting or is this another one of them that looks good on paper?
His tweet was happy to be drafted by WHL Pats and wants to play here, but agree he is not here yet and it could be a case of wait until you see the whites of hie eyes.
Just a point. 6 teams scheduled to draft before the Pats "PASSED" so that makes him the 33 pick.
More Russians because the Czech Republic is essentially keeping more of their top prospects at home playing junior there. It has to do with the new direction in Czech hockey.
ever since Russia agreed to the IIHF transfer agreement clause along with the rest of the hockey nations getting Russians to report has not been hard to do, the CHL has never had this many Russians in the league before even with last years numbers and this year those numbers could grow higher