I didnt see a valentenko thread so I thought I would put it in.

Pavel Valentenko: http://www.canadiens.com/eng/team/redirect...;playerID=30578

This kid is supposed to be a force, and he was Russias number one pick. I also heard that this kid could have gone as high as the third round last year if it wasnt for the lack of a transfer agreement.

I hope he is signed. Maybe hell turn out better than Emelin.

Never heard of him.

sorry not Russias number one pick, he was their Best D-man during the WJC

Hes not bad he impressed me at the WJC, he needs work on his skating though, but he seems like a tough hard nosed player.

It would be nice to see him in Hamilton next year, we are short on LD's so adding another one would be good.

Personally I dont' think he's on the same level as Emelin but I've only seen Valentenko at the remax games and wjc's. Emelin at 19 was considered to be the top U-20 defensemen in Russia, and he was at one point leading his team in scoring (due to the fact that the team cut their budget by 50% at the half way point in the season, so many of their top scorers left)

At this point I'd just be happy to see both Emelin and Valentenko signed and in camp next year.

Valentenko got injured at the prelim camp for Team Russia. I think it was a long shot for him to make the team with Markov taking one spot and hopefully Emelin getting a spot, that doesn't leave a lot of room. It was likely a great experience for him, hopefully he is in Hamilton next year.

Isn't he under contract in Russia still? I know that doesn't mean a whole lot, but I think he won't come over until that agreement is over... So maybe the year after next.

I have high hopes for him, though... Great kid, very solid defensivly and tough as nails, too. Was exceptional at the WJC, really stood out on a bad Russian defensive squad.

He's under contract for the next 2 years, but Gainey said talks are going well, so I assume they will buy out his contract with Neftekhimik, although Gainey didn't go into detail at the press conference so I'm just assuming.

Gainey said he will have both signed this summer hopefully, but said Valentenko's contract talks were coming along much better.

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/colu...ad-9707b626409b

Not a formal announcement but looks to be a done deal.

Article also mentions why Mikus was not signed.

Good news about Valentenko. I think this kid is going to be something good for this club in the future.

Very good news. It certainly can't hurt to bring in more D-Men. Welcome to Montreal, Pavel.

that's really exciting news. i was really impressed with him during the world juniors and only later found out he was drafted by the habs. he was the only russian to score against price in the final i believe.

If true, this is great news. Valentenko looks like a great D prospect.

Now for Emelin!! ahah i wish, i think it'll have to be next year after his contract ends! Congrats Pavel though, welcome to a great franchise!

But if we can buy out his contract with his russian team, why can't we do the same with Emelin?

the two teams have to come to an agreement (financially). chances are emelin will cost a lot to buyout.

I thought that the NHL forbid its teams from negotiating directly with Russian teams for the past couple of seasons?

Well I don't think the league can stop teams from doing so they just would like them not to do so.

an embargo because they won't sign the transfer agreement? lol.

i have no idea. i just thought they were asking obscene amounts of money from the nhl teams to buy out a players contract. interesting.

Not at all. They're simply asking that the NHL not rob them blind by taking their best young players for free or offering only an insulting token amount of money, regardless of whether the prospect is a career fourth-liner or the next Ovechkin. I think a two-thirds buyout of the player's existing contract, similar to what we do for our own players, would be quite fair.

In any case, I am excited at the prospect of seeing this kid don the CH one day.

are you sure it's 2/3s or is that only within the bounds of the transfer agreement?

i'm not siding with the nhl by any means. i think it's a joke what they pay the euro leagues to take their best players - i don't blame russia for not signing. honestly, i didn't realize it was 2/3s. that sounds more than fair. i thought they could ask whatever they wanted (i thought they asked way more than 2/3 of malkin's contract for him to be released but i guess i misunderstood, i thought they wanted a few mil for him) - why all the fuss then? why didn't pittsburgh just buy it out? can the team refuse the buyout?

i can't imagine emelin is paid that much that we wouldn't buy out his contract at that amount to bring him here?

Any confirmation that Valentenko was signed?

Weep said 2/3's would be fair, not that 2/3's was in the transfer agreement. I'm not sure what the transfer agreement looks like, but Russia didn't sign it either way. So the only way to land players is them breaking their contract and leaving, or signing waiting for their contract to expire then signing one over here.

Malkins club deffinatley asked for more than 2/3's of his contract. I hear that the demands were ridiculously high from Russian clubs. I think we should stop defending the Russian clubs, the transfer agreement makes it a fair swap, with fair compensation for high end and more than fair compensation for low-end players. Russian Management is just being little babies about the whole thing. IMHO involvment in tournaments should be based on whether or not you are participating in the transfer agreement or other major documents that need to be agreed on by the IIHF and Nation teams. If Russia doesnt want to be a part of the IIHF transfer agreement they should not be allowed to ice a team for the olympics, world championships and world juniors among other tournaments. Lets see how quickley they remain out of the mix if this happens, and quite frankly aside form Malkin and Ovechkin, there are really no Russian players I would rather have on my team than a good Canadian player.

What about Markov, or our prospects Yemelin (or Emelin), and... well... Valentenko?

And can you blame them? It's Evgeni Malkin we're talking about here, the guy whom all the North American hockey pundit were calling 'the best player in the world not playing in the NHL' before he joined the Penguins. Don't forget, unlike the NHL, the player doesn't stay in the system with a buyout. It's a one-shot thing and he leaves, which permanently impoverishes the Russian league. Talent leaves, and all they get is cash. I don't blame them for asking a lot for buying out Malkin.

You're sounding like don cherry.

He's sign a contract with Montreal! www.rds.ca

Woohoo!!! This guy is going to be pretty good IMO. He played very well with Russia at the Jr's.

I like how its not even worthy of being the top story on the main page.

Great news for Hamilton, great news for us, he will become a dynamite player for us.

It's there now. Canadiens.com, isn't as fast as everyone else, give them time.

http://www.canadiens.com/eng/news/redirect...newsItemID=5967

yay! I hope to see him play in a near future

This is good news.

1 down, 1 to go.

Welcome to Le Grand Club Pavel!

I may draw a little fire with this, but IMO Valentenko is going to be a better player than Emelin. The fact that he'll be over in North America two years earlier than Emelin will make all the difference. Both will probably be top-4 defenders someday, but the fact that Valentenko is much younger is going to be huge.

yup, the Emelin signing should come soon enough

It is getting pretty crowded in Hamilton (first Carle, now Valentenko and possibly Emelin)

If they sign Emelin I am more than convinced than ever some D-men have to move to the Habs next year (unless they trade them or put some of these guys in Cincinnati)

Ah, well when it was first announced that Esposito story was on the top while Valentenko was below it.

Our D crop is looking better already.

so is this official? How did he get out of his Russian contract (or was it up already)?

Yes, it's official. It's up on the Canadiens' official site. And I believe his contract had expired, thereby eliminating the need for him to pull a Malkin.

Valatenko did not have a russian contract as far as I know. Emelin does and it might be a problem.

Cool, sounds good. I'm not that familiar with this guy though, what is he good at? Also did he just have an awesome season or why was he drafted in like the 6th round a year ago and is now considered a top prospect?

BTW, I heard they may have closed that Malkin loophole, so that may not even be an option

basically what weeping said. if I am not mistaken his contract ran out in Russia and he would be like an UFA over there so he can pretty much do whatever he wants, signing with the habs seemed to be it

From all accounts, he's a solid defensive defenceman who plays physical and punishes enemy forwards down low. No telling where he'll plateau in the NHL, but size, defensive responsibility, and physicality are great places to start. He does need to fill out, though. He's listed at 6'2'' but only 202 pounds.



I've heard the same thing. Basically they're rewriting Russian labour laws to prevent their hockey players from giving two weeks' notice and bolting whenever it suits them.

How old is Valentenko?

19

Check the emelin thread, reports say that Emelin is very close to signing with the habs. Either way i think emelin has more size than Valentenko ( i think) and that's what the Habs are desperate for right now.



Well that's a pretty fair bet. Chances are that dandy and/or bouillon are going to get moved somewhere to make room for Emelin, Valentenko and o'byrn, these 3 players could crack the line up, I'd LOVE to see Valentenko AND Emelin on the same line. These guys are already projected to be amazing, can you imagine them under one of the best russian defencemen like markov?