BY PATRICK KING
Sportsnet.ca
The common theme in junior hockey is to expect the unexpected.
With the season barely a month old, the statement holds true in the Québec Major Junior Hockey League's Atlantic Division. The most intense division in the Canadian Hockey League remains in the spotlight as the handful of championship-worthy teams continued jockeying for position.
The internal battle within the Atlantic Division reached new heights with some big stories emerging from Moncton and Charlottetown.
The Wildcats finally saw an end to the seven-week dispute over the rights to the highly-skilled Russian forward Kirill Kabanov. Moncton moved up to the seventh overall spot in this summer's CHL Import Draft to select Kabanov who registered five points through his first two games on the weekend.
The 17-year-old was in the hockey equivalent of a custody battle with the Kontinental Hockey League's Salavat Yulayev Ufa and the Wildcats. The International Ice Hockey Federation deemed Kabanov was not under a valid and binding contract in the KHL when he requested an International Transfer Card.
It was welcome news in Moncton, N.B., where Kabanov had since been practicing with the team and billeted for more than a month.
"We knew the release might be difficult to obtain," acknowledged Danny Flynn, head coach and director of hockey operations for the Wildcats. "We felt there was a very good case the contract that he presently had was not valid. It was a long process and a lot of hard work by a lot of people (to get him here)."
Kabanov is so offensively-gifted that his stay in Moncton might only last one season. Many draft pundits predict he will be a top five pick in this summer's National Hockey League Draft, which is bad news for the rest of the league.
On top of being a skilled athlete, Flynn was blown away by Kabanov's intelligence. Kabanov has a great command of the English language, Flynn says, as he began taking university courses at age 15. Kabanov has already begun his studies in Moncton, attending classes not only in English but in French as well.
"This is not only a real good player, this is also a very bright young man," Flynn added.
But it's his personality that made the transition so easy for the Russian sniper.
"He has a really outgoing, (Alexander) Ovechkin-type personality," Flynn said. "He's got a great spirit about him and a real bubbly personality so it didn't take long for him to fit in with our guys."
Kabanov's decision to join the Wildcats was simple: he wants to play in the NHL. By playing junior in Canada, Kabanov sets himself up to learn the North American style and familiarize himself with the smaller rinks.
"He could have stayed in Russia, in a real good situation and play in the pro league but he was determined to come to junior to learn about the North American game," said Flynn. "We're certainly excited to have him and he's certainly excited to be back on the ice and playing."
News out of Charlottetown, P.E.I. has been less upbeat to begin the season. The Rocket fired their head coach, Guy Chouinard, 10 games into the season a week ago. Team president Serge Savard Jr. then hired former Val-d'Or head coach and general manager, Eric Lavigne, a day later.
The results weren't as discouraging as the play, Savard Jr. told Sportsnet. The team's lack of discipline was his main concern, particularly because of the strength of the competition within the division.
Lavigne and Savard Jr. have been close friends for more than a decade. Savard Jr. quashed the notion that Chouinard's firing was made to make room for Lavigne, who had been fired from his post in Val-d'Or. Once Chouinard was fired, Lavigne's name immediately came to mind.
"I started with him. He was my only candidate," said Savard Jr. "I've had him on top of my list for a long time but the situation was never proper. Either he was under contract somewhere else or I needed to hire somebody and he was not available but now the stars lined up.
"I think he's the perfect fit."
Lavigne won't have long to wait when comparing his team against other elite teams in the Atlantic Division. The Rocket won two of their first three games since the coaching change, including Tuesday's 4-0 win over Saint John.
The team is just as interested in measuring the strength of their opposition as they are with determining whether to load up for a run at the title this season. The Rocket has a big test this week, as they meet Saint John a second time on Sunday following a home-and-home with the Kabanov-led Wildcats on Thursday and Friday.
"There are seven or eight teams that are going to try to win the championship," said Savard Jr., citing the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles as another divisional-opponent with their eyes on the QMJHL title. "Usually there's only two or three (teams) but at Christmas time everybody knows them.
"We'll make sure we improve the team but if the conclusion is that we cannot then it makes no sense to give our best young players to go get older players."
P.E.I. was able to better analyze the strength of the Sea Dogs Tuesday, as overage forward Mike Hoffman made his return from injury to Saint John's lineup. His addition, along with Nick Petersen in a trade with Shawinigan, was an unwelcome surprise to the rest of the Atlantic Division.
"Pretty much everybody in the league thought they would play in the American Hockey League this year, that's 100 goals right there with those two guys so that changes their plans a little bit," Savard Jr. said.
The Rocket traded for overage goaltender Marco Cousineau from the defending league champion Drummondville Voltigeurs to help counteract the offensive firepower from their closest competitors.
The news of Kabanov's addition to the Wildcats made things even more interesting.
"Kabanov is supposed to be the next (Sidney) Crosby," Savard Jr. warned.
"Over the first month or so pretty much all the teams in our division added impact guys," Flynn noted. "It was nice for us to have our turn and get our guy."
The rich teams just got richer but the season is far from being determined. The trials and tribulations of the unexpected lay the foundation for the intensely competitive battle within the Atlantic Division.
