Russian sports minister, Soviet hockey legend and longtime NHL player Slava Fetisov made some very interesting comments in the Russian media that resonate in light of Russia's top junior players getting utterly dominated by Canada's at the just-completed Super Series.

Canada won seven games in the eight-game series, with one tie.

Part of the problem, Fetisov said, is that Russian youth hockey needs a makeover in developing both the all-around talent and the character of its players.

Fetisov harped heavily on the character and team-oriented play issues, noting that the Canadians, Swedes, Finns and others all play distinct brands of team hockey, while recent Russian national teams have often seemed disinclined to buy into a team concept or identity.

He places the blame at the feet of youth-to-adult training programs and further notes that it's become common for NHL teams to choose Swedish or Finnish captains, but you never see Russians chosen to wear the C for the reasons outlined above.

What I really admire about Slava Fetisov is that he always speaks his mind truthfully. Whether you agree with him or not about this issue, the need for financial stability in Russian hockey and/or his reasons for disliking the NHL-IIHF transfer agreement, there's almost always legitimate reasoning behind his conclusions.

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