Remember Friday night when we speculated that former Winnipeg Jets‘ centre Alexander Burmistrov would be added to the Russian Federation’s men’s hockey team for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia?
Yeah… that didn't happen.
Instead of Burmistrov, Valery Fesyuk Executive Director of the Russian Federation men's hockey team has named Alexander Svitov to replace Denis Kokarev in their line-up as was reported by multiple news sources. Svitov is a teammate of Burmistrov with the KHL's Ak Bars Kazan this season.
Russia adds Alexander Svitov for #Sochi2014 as replacement for injured Denis Kokarev. http://t.co/IKvHHn8769
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 27, 2014
The addition of Svitov makes sense, as he fits the two-way player the Russians covet to replace the loss of Kokarev heading into the tournament. Whether he was a better selection than Burmistrov, a defensively responsible forward in his own right will remain up for debate. But after choosing Alexander Semin to fill in for an injured Sergei Soin last week, it was evident that a player of Svitov’s ilk would be coveted for a bottom six role.
Svitov was a third overall draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2001 NHL Draft. He played parts of four seasons in the NHL before returning to play the remainder of his career in the KHL. He has amassed twelve points (8G, 4A) in forty-six games with Ak Bars this year.
If we had a GIF of Perry Kane shaking his head in disgust, it would be inserted here.
Stay tuned for more coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, specifically as it relates to the Winnipeg Jets.
