Capitals Prospect Update From Russian: Stanislav Galiev
In an effort to provide more expansive coverage of your Washington Capitals this season, from time-to-time I will be talking to folks from around the league(s) and from across the globe in an effort to get a better grasp on how the team’s prospects are developing.
This first segment will focus on the Capss Russian-born prospects, a few old - a few new, as well as a check-up on Caps property currently skating in the Motherland.
To help break down the Russian factor of the Washington Capitals roster,
Alessandro Seren Rosso has been kind enough to answer a few questions for us.
Here is a quick bio of Alex:
Alessandro Seren Rosso is a freelance hockey writer who serves as Russian hockey expert for sites like Hockey's Future, McKeen's Hockey and Russianprospect.com. He also collaborated with a number of media outlets such as The Hockey News.
Alex and I discussed 5 Capitals players from or currently playing in Russia. They are Stanislav Galiev, Dmitry Kugryshev, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitri Orlov and a check up on Chris Bourque.
Today I present to you our interview on Capitals prospect Stanislav Galiev, hope you enjoy!
Name: Stanislav Galiev
Current Team: Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL
SH: The Caps may be more inclined to draft Russian players than many other teams, but what made Galiev interesting enough for Washington to draft him in the 3rd round(86th overall) in 2010?
ASR: Well Galiev is a talented player who already plays in North America, he was definitely going to be drafted. And the Caps exploited the chance to have yet another Russian guy, they are making a good job in getting Russian players on board. Galiev is very good player and has all the tools to get a spot with the Caps more sooner than later.
SH: Galiev has spent the last 3 seasons playing in North America, considering he is seasoned to that style of play, do you think he will have any trouble in eventually making the Capitals?
ASR: Well, as any junior he needs some seasoning before getting to play in a men's league. He needs to improve in some areas, in physical play for example, but he's used to the more demanding North American game and thus he shouldn't meet so many problems.
SH: Stanislav has been(more or less) a point-per-game player in both the USHL and QMJHL, what makes him a successful right winger?
ASR: Galiev is a very good playmaker, very creative and can always find the open man. He can score too, even if sometimes he just shoots the puck instead of being patient and creating a dangerous moment. Moreover even if he's not a physical player he doesn't get hurt too much when things get tough.
SH: Galiev came over at a very young age, do you know if the decision was hockey related or personal? If hockey-related, was there any reason why Galiev would have left Russia at such a young age?
ASR: I had the chance to interview Galiev during his first year in the USHL. He told me, at times, that he came to North America, just like many other Europeans who cross the pond early, to have more chances to be drafted and to be successfull in hockey.
SH: Is Galiev eligible to play for Russia in the WJC this year? If so, is he being considered?
ASR: I think that most likely Galiev will play in the next WJC. He'll probably skate in one of the bottom two lines. With such wingers as Vladimir Tarasenko, Maxim Kitsyn and Evgeny Kuznetsov the top six is not likely to be accessible for him.
My thanks to Alex for conducting these interviews with me.
I will post the remaining 4 interviews over the next week.
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Go Caps!!!!!
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