Over the summer of 2010 a news article was published somewhere out of Russia where Evgeny Dadonov was quoted as saying if he didn’t play in the NHL that he was going to play in the KHL instead. Well, turns out that’s incorrect and he’ll stay in North America to play this season. Whether it’s with the Florida Panthers or Rochester Americans is yet to be seen.
George Richards of the Miami Herald wrote tonight about Dadonov:
“They were asking me what I was going to do,” Dadonov said. “All I said was ‘maybe Florida sends me back to Russia.’ It’s not my option. Whatever Florida tells me to do, I’ll do. They say go back to Rochester, that’s where I’ll go. I’d like to be in Florida. I think I’m ready to play in the NHL, but as a forward, I have to score.”
and…
“He’s in that big mix and one thing he has is skill,” said DeBoer. “He has a dynamic element to his game and I give him a lot of credit. He wasn’t the best conditioned guy last year, but he’s lost a lot of weight, a lot of baby fat. He’s made a real statement to me real far that he’s serious about being an NHL player. He’s not a big guy but finds a way to get to the net.”
Continue reading the article… (more great info included about what the Panthers think and on the Cullen injury)
Dadonov had a decent rookie season in North America and may have had a better one if he was paired with players who skated faster than Graham Mink and Chris Taylor. On the flip side though, it could be discussed that those guys were great mentors and helped him adjust to the game pretty well.
Thursdays game should be great with players like Dadonov fighting for the chance to stay in the NHL.
