Nabokov may be eligible to play for Team Russia

[Mrs. Sykora]

Sorry to disappoint you guys, but Nabokov seems to be able to play in WC. This is what I've found in today's newspaper.


Nabokov may be eligible to play for Russia

In the past weekend, the Russian goalkeeper of "San Jose Sharks", Evgenij Nabokov, earlier had outworn for youth combined team of Kazakhstan and having no right to participate for Russia, arrived in Moscow from the USA. In Russia, he met the president of Russian Hockey Federation Alexander Steblyn.

"Steblin could not show me the official paper which proved that I had the right to support Russia", - informed Nabokov. "But at the end of this month, the president of IIHF, Rene Fazel will come to Moscow, and probably he'll bring such document with him. If this very unhappy problem for me will be solved at last, I necessarilly will take part in the World Cup


The question of Nabokov's hockey citizenship will be lifted on executive IIHF committee session which will take place on the 1st of July. Thus, the organizer of the World Cup is not IIHF, but NHL and that's why any special documents are not required.



So, we don't need Khabibulin any more. He can continue being jerk, who cares now.

[Mrs. Sykora]

Plus, Sergei Fedorov's agent Pat Brisson (sorry, do not know how to spell his name correctly), is sure that Fedorov will play in World Cup.

"I do not know any reason for Sergei not to take part in WC. I'm sure we'll see him there" said Brisson.

[Jazz]

Mrs. said:

Sorry to disappoint you guys.....

ummmm.....Disappoint who??

I want to see all the teams at full strength! i.e. ice the best team they can. I think most of the member's in this forum have a similar thought.

Anyways, Nabakov's eligibilty for the World Cup was never questioned.....only questioned for the IIHF-sanctioned events (such as the Olympics).

[Mrs. Sykora]

Anyways, Nabakov's eligibilty for the World Cup was never questioned.....only questioned for the IIHF-sanctioned events (such as the Olympics).

Yeah, but the guy himself, wants to play, when all problems are solved and not earlier.

[Graham]

Mrs. said:

The question of Nabokov's hockey citizenship will be lifted on executive IIHF committee session which will take place on the 1st of July. Thus, the organizer of the World Cup is not IIHF, but NHL and that's why any special documents are not required.

Not sure I understand this fully. Does this mean that his eligibility is being sorted for the World Cup only (which has looser definitions anyway), or that they will also allow him to compete for Russia in future World Championships, too?

Graham.

[Mrs. Sykora]

Graham,
he can play for Russia in the World Cup. But he says, that he wants to play also in the World Championships and Olympic Games. That's why his position is so strict: if you give me the official right to play for Russia, I will be participating in the World Cup for sure.

It's obvious that he doesn't want this problem to exist any longer.

[SensFanForever]

Mrs. said:

So, we don't need Khabibulin any more. He can continue being jerk, who cares now.

Mrs. Sykora: At the risk of sounding ignorant. What is this about? Why is he or why do you think he is being a jerk? Does he not want to play for your country?

[Mrs. Sykora]

Yes,
he doesn't want to play for my country.

[SensFanForever]

Mrs. said:

Yes,
he doesn't want to play for my country.

Apparently I have been living under a rock.... Why does he not want to play for his country?

[icing101]

Khabibulin opts out of World Cup
by Alan Adams, Sportsnet.ca

Team Russia is turning into Team Turmoil. Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has decided not to play in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and there are hints that a handful of more players, including goalie Evgeni Nabokov, will join him in missing the best-on-best tournament.

The rumour mill says Danny Markov, Sergei Fedorov, Alexei Zhamnov, Ilya Kovalchuk and Valeri Bure are also thinking of pulling out and they could be joined by other refusniks.

The loss of Khabibulin is a major blow to the Russians and the distinct possibility of Nakobov pulling out leaves the Russians on the ropes when it comes to goaltending. The third goalie on Russia's World Cup roster is Maxim Sokolov, who played for Omsk Avangard of Russia's Super League this season.

In an interview with a Moscow-based paper, Khabibulin said he was unhappy with Russia's preparations for the eight-country tournament.

"We have no chance of winning based on the current situation surrounding the preparations of our national team," Khabibulin was quoted as saying in Sport-Express. "I have already had a similar experience before the 1996 World Cup when there was total chaos in our organization.

"This time we have more of the same and frankly I don't see any point in my participation in this tournament."

Russia's preparations for the prestigious eight-team tournament have been off track since they started.

What Khabibulin was referring to was the politics of Russian hockey and the divided house that it is. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation does not have a good relationship with NHL players and in Khabibulin's case the people in charge of the federation are also the same people who took his 1992 Olympic gold medal from him and allowed crusty coach Viktor Tikhonov to have it. Khabibulin was awarded a gold medal prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics thanks to the efforts of Russian Sports Minister Slava Fetisov.

In the months leading up to the May announcements of the World Cup rosters, Russian hockey officials were not interested in working with Fetisov and NHL veteran Igor Larionov in assembling the team and it looks like their insistence on doing things their way will cost them.

Last month, Russia named former Dynamo Moscow coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov to lead the team in place of 73-year-old Tikhonov, who was sacked after Russia's dismal showing at the world championship in the Czech Republic.

Bilyaletdinov had been sacked by Dynamo a month earlier after a string of poor results in the Russian Elite League, and his appointment as national team coach brought heavy criticism from the media and fans.

Nabokov is scheduled to have knee surgery and the recovery time will take him into the World Cup schedule.

He was also miffed that nobody from the Russian federation called him to see whether he was interested in playing in the World Cup before the roster was announced.

"It is strange but nobody from Russia's camp ever talked to me," he is quoted as saying in Sport-Express. "I never received any official information from any of the federations. It is sad but true.

"What else worries me is that there does not seem to be any kind of preparation for the World Cup. It seems that the team will go there just to participate, not to win. The team does not have a goal. For many NHL players it looks strange to say the least

[SensFanForever]

Thanks icing101!
It is now all as clear as crystal!

[pihinalle]

Alexei Zhamnov has confirmed that he won't play in the World Cup.

[mlaa]

What´s wrong with Russia?

[DanCan]

you know, this issue has been discussed several times in the past year. At IIHF's Fan Corner, I remember some pretty obnoxious replies when Mrs. Sykora wrote that she had heard that Nabokov would be eligible to play for Russia in future IIHF tournaments (i.e. not only the world cup where IIHF is only a co-sponsor).

But now it is official! You might well see Nabokov in the World Cup, the 2005 World Championships and the 2006 OG in Turin. Case closed!

This is the official news release from the IIHF:

Evgeni Nabokov cleared to play for Russia in IIHF competitions[/b]

The IIHF Executive Committee approved the request by the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia to make Kazakhstan-born goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, 29, eligible to play for Russia in IIHF competitions. Nabokov, of the NHL San José Sharks, was born in 1975 in Ust-Kamenogorsk, in the Kazakhstan republic of the former Soviet Union.

Nabokov represented Kazakhstan in the 1994 IIHF World Championship (C-Pool) at the age of 18 and therefore became, under the old IIHF Statues & Bylaws, ineligible to play for any other country. During the 2003 General Congress, the IIHF adopted a new eligibility rule which says that a player can change his national eligibility, providing he has played for at least four consecutive years in the national competition of his new country where he is a citizen.

Nabokov became, due to political circumstances out of his control, a border-case having played two years in Ust-Kamenogorsk while it belonged to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) before transferring to Dynamo Moscow of the Russian league where he played for three seasons. After being drafted by the San Jose Sharks, Nabokov left Russia in 1997 to play for the Sharks' organisation in the American Hockey League.

"We took on a flexible attitude towards the request of the player and the Russian federation to switch the player's national eligibility," said IIHF General Secretary Jan-Ake Edvinsson. "It became very clear that Mr. Nabokov was a victim of historic circumstances which were totally out of his control and that it would be unfair to him not to approve the request."

Paragraph 204 f) in the IIHF Player Eligibility Rules reads: Exceptional Circumstances can be decided by council.

This decision means that Evgeni Nabokov is eligible to represent Russia in the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Austria and in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Even without the IIHF decision, Nabokov would have been eligible to play for Russia in the upcoming 2004 World Cup of Hockey, which is a NHL-NHLPA governed tournament where IIHF eligibility rules don't apply.

[Graham]

I must admit that I can see the logic behind it. It's always the problem when a country fragments the way the USSR and Yugoslavia did. In those cases I think any games played for a team in a unified country should count for any country that then splits away from that union.

Graham.