EURO CURVE

Euro Curve takes a daily look at the world of international hockey.

- There were 19 NHL prospects in last night's Russian Super League contest between Ak Bars Kazan and Metallurg Mg. Among them were Alexei Kaigorodov ( Phoenix Coyotes), Alexei Emelin ( Montreal Canadiens) Andrei Zubarev ( Atlanta Thrashers) Ak Bars Kazan also features NHL castoffs Denis Arkhipov and Mika Noronen ( scratched from line-up)

- Former NHL Players in Russian Super League and their early season stats:
Alexei Yashin (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) 5 Games Played, 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points
Oleg Tverdovsky ( Salavat Yulayev) 5 Games Played, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points
Andrei Taratukhin ( Salavat Yulayev) 5 Games Played, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points
Aleksander Suglobov ( SKA St.Petersburg) 3 Games Played, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point
Denis Shvidki ( SKA St.Petersburg) 3 Games Played, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points
Oleg Saprykin ( CSK Moscow) 5 Games Played, 5 goals, 1 assist, 6 points
Alex Perezhogin ( Salavat Yulayev) 3 games played, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points
* Nice to see Andrei Kovalenko and Dmitry Yushkevich still playing at a high level

- The Hockey News ran a story in their ' Eye on Europe' section this week which detailed the trials and tribulations of Former Nashiville Predator Jere Karalahti and his desire to return to the National Hockey League. Karalahti was originally drafted by the Kings in 1993 (6/146) but hasn't played in the NHL since 2002 with the Kings and Predators. He was suspended that year for failing to enter the NHL's Substance Abuse Program. Karalahti has played the last 4 years with HIFK Helsinki of the Finnish SM Liiga, registering 5 goals and 9 assists in 51 games last season.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg