EXCLUSIVE
Nikita Scherbak signed a contract this week with Angers, France.
The fact that he’s Russian “made things more complicated”, he says.@raphdoucet spoke to him.
Former #Habs #Canadiens #CH #Canadien https://t.co/knWgm5W01M– La Poche Bleue (@lapochebleue) July 7, 2023
Nikita Scherbak: being Russian has closed many doors for him in Europe
Auteur: Manuel Sperandio-LemaySince Nikita Scherbak returned to Europe at the end of the 2018-19 season, he’s had quite an eventful career. Between the KHL, a return to the AHL, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, we’re talking about a guy whose shoes have traveled a lot.
And let’s not forget that this week, he packed his bags again, and will be spending next season in France.
Ducs d’Angers 🇫🇷 (Ligue Magnus) have signed forward Nikita Scherbak to a contract for the upcoming season. pic.twitter.com/2v8BQPl1kj
– Complete Hockey News (@CompleteHkyNews) July 5, 2023
Still, it was a bit of a surprise to learn that he’d be landing in France, given that we’re not talking about a European powerhouse in field hockey terms. Even if Scherbak hasn’t had a great career, we’re still talking about a solid player who’s only 27 years old, after all.
Raphaël Doucet (La Poche Bleue) took the time to talk to him about his signing, and the Russian forward was quite honest: the fact that he decided to sign in France is partly explained by the fact that his Russian nationality closes a lot of doors for him in Europe.
And since he didn’t want to return to Russia given the current situation, he preferred to sacrifice some of the quality of the league he’ll be playing in to make a decision with his family in mind.
That said, it’s a shame for a guy like Scherbak that he’s a collateral victim of all that’s going on in Ukraine. The Czech Republic (where he played in recent years), Germany, Switzerland and the UK would all be among the countries with leagues that block Russian players.
And once again, it’s a real shame for him and for other Russian players who want to play in Europe but don’t feel comfortable returning to Russia under the circumstances.
In full
– This corroborates what we first reported to you a week ago.
He was confronted in an airport 😅👀 https://t.co/OMQBsajUOt
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) July 7, 2023
– What a shame that injuries undermined several great years of his career.
Between November 4th 2010 and March 22nd 2013, Sidney Crosby only played 82 games due to injury. This was his statline… 🤯 pic.twitter.com/zRD7CJLyDa
– BarDown (@BarDown) July 7, 2023
– A case settled in Seattle.
Seattle’s Will Borgen has a new deal before his arbitration case: 2x$2.7M AAV
– Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 7, 2023
– Signature in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Vinnie Hinostroza to a one-year, $775,000 contract. pic.twitter.com/JV3zlGFWar
– Complete Hockey News (@CompleteHkyNews) July 7, 2023
– The goal of the event is to please the fans. It’s up to him to find a way to endear himself to the fans if he wants to take part (something he’s not very good at).
Remember, the Red Sox outfielder wasn’t selected. https://t.co/e8ikiUjJtj
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) July 7, 2023