UPDATE 3:15 PM EDT
Czech website iSport reports that Jakub Voracek has signed with Prague-based KHL team HC Lev. The
article includes quotes from the player.
As of yet, the team's official site has yet to issue a statement on the signing and agent Petr Svoboda has not yet confirmed it.
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Back on Sept. 3, Allsvenskan, Sweden's highest minor league, made a decision over the protests of some of its teams to fall in line with the policy of Svenska Hockey Ligan (the body that oversees Elitserien) not to allow temporary contracts for locked-out NHL players. Last week, that position was reversed.
According to numerous reports, Allsvenskan team Mora appears poised to land LA Kings star Anze Kopitar once he has an insurance policy in place. Both sides confirmed that there is a contract agreement between Kopitar and the club.
In the meantime, Allsvenskan's decision opens the door for Nicklas Grossmann to return to his original pro team, Södertälje SK. SSK club director Maria Andark
told Aftonbladet today that the club has had discussions with the agents for Grossmann, Tom Wandell and Carl Hagelin but nothing has been signed yet. Grossmann reportedly
wants to wait a few weeks to see what happens with the NHL lockout before making a decision.
With Allsvenskan changing its position on temporary contracts, there is now enormous pressure on Elitserien to alter its own policy. NHLers such as Alexander Steen (Modo) and Niklas Hjalmarsson (HV71) are returning to Sweden to train with Elitserien clubs.
Steen's Swedish agent told the Expressen newspaper that he hopes his client will be approved to play for Modo as soon as next week. A Hockeyligan spokesman insists the policy won't be changed, but it seems more a matter of when than if Elitserien will allow temporary contracts.
According to another piece in Expressen today, there is also
considerable interest in signing North American NHL players among some Elitserien clubs, and vice versa. The article identified former Flyers defenseman Matt Carle as one such player.
Elitserien has a limit of two non-EU imports per season but this policy appears to have some loopholes. It could be bent if/when temporary contracts are green lighted by Hockeyligan. The discussion will be taken up again, but nothing is reportedly imminent.
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As reported yesterday, Ruslan Fedotenko will play in his native Ukraine for new KHL entry HC Donbass Donetsk during the lockout. The Kiev-born forward has lived in the U.S. since he was 18.
Fedotenko and Alexei Ponikarovsky will join the team this week. The team has a home game (its first) on Wednesday against Metallurg Novokuznetsk but a more likely start date for the NHL players' first appearance could be Sunday's road game against Atlant Mytishchi.
Side note: The KHL has
clarified its rather convoluted rules for signing locked out NHL players. Each team can sign up to three NHL players, only one of which can be an import player.
For the Russian-based KHL teams (the majority of the league), the import player must meet at least one of five criteria, the easiest of which to qualify for is either having played in at least 150 NHL games over the last three seasons or having played in the one of the last two World Junior Championships.
For the duration of the lockout, KHL teams may have up to six foreign players on the roster, but only five can be in the starting lineup for any given game. The locked-out NHL players’ wages may not exceed 65% of their current NHL salary.
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There is also nothing new to report in terms of Scott Hartnell signing with KalPa Kuopio. Finland's MTV3
reported yesterday that general manager Kimmo Kapanen has had ongoing discussions with minority owners Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen about joining the team. There was a quote from Kapanen (majority owner Sami's younger brother) acknowledging as much.
Timonen has been pretty adamant in telling the Philadelphia area media that, given his age, the fact his kids are in school in this area and that his body has taken a lot of wear and tear, he is likely to stay put for the time being. However, he has left the door open for playing with KalPa in the event of a prolonged NHL lockout.
Apart from owning a part of the team, Timonen might also be interested in playing for KalPa in a prolonged lockout in order to take advantage of the opportunity to play as teammates with his younger brother, ex-Flyer Jussi Timonen.
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