By KYLE BAUER
Now some guys are getting desperate, or maybe not. The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) –born out of the Russian Super League– has mined European NHL talent for the past four seasons in an attempt to boost their notoriety and talent pool.
So far, the crop has been mostly veteran defectors- Sergei Fedorov, Alexei Yashin, Viktor Kozlov, Jozef Stumpel, Marcel Hossa, Pavol Demitra, Martin Skoula, Dominic Hasek and Jaromir Jagr who has recently found his way back to the NHL, signing with the Philadelphia Flyers at age 39. There has also been some younger players– Alexander Radulov, being a prime example– whom have left to be closer to their home land with more lucrative tax-free dollars.
In the 2011 off-season, the addition of former Minnesota Wild forward Antti Miettinen has been made by Ak Bars Kazan. Mietten, 31, is a Finnish born player who spent five seasons playing in his native SM-liiga before coming to the NHL. Being European trained may have...
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