Home News Government urges Canadian KHL players to leave Russia and Belarus – TheLeafsNation

Government urges Canadian KHL players to leave Russia and Belarus – TheLeafsNation

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On Wednesday morning, the Canadian Federal government warned all Canadian players currently on the Russian and Belorussian teams in the Kontinental Hockey League to get out of those countries.

There are 33 Canadian-born players on 16 different Russian KHL teams, while there are seven different players on the only Belorussian team in the KHL. Out of the 57 players listed at the bottom of the article, 35 are former NHL players. This includes Ryan Spooner, Brendan Leipsic, and Andrew Hammond.

Moreover, there are six players that have played in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, with two making their Leafs debut. The two players who played on the Leafs are Brandon Kozun (Minsk Dynamo), and Brendan Leipsic (Magnitogorsk Metallurg). 

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The four players who only played for the Toronto Marlies are Joshua Ho-Sang (Ufa Salavat Yulaev), Ryan Sproul (Kunlun Red Star), Tyler Wong (Kunlun Red Star), and Jack Rodewald (Kunlun Red Star).

Taylor Beck, who plays for Novosibirsk Sibir, also was a Leaf on paper. He was traded from the Nashville Predators to the Leafs for Jamie Devane but was traded with prospects to the New York Islanders for Michael Grabner before the start of the 2015 training camp.

It’s widely known that Russia is in the midst of an ongoing war with Ukraine. Once you add on the arrest and detention of Women’s National Basketball Association’s star Brittney Griner, the country is not a safe place for citizens of countries supporting Ukraine.

So what does that mean for the 57 Canadian-born hockey players on KHL teams? If they do heed the call to return to Canada, they’d be leaving the second-best hockey league in the world. A lot of these guys frankly aren’t good enough to make it to the National Hockey League, meaning that they’d probably fill out the American Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League rosters.

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They would also have the option to play in other parts of Europe. While not on par with the KHL, both the Liiga in Finland and the Swedish Hockey League in Finland are reputable leagues. There’s also the option of playing in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany or the Czech Extraliga in Czechia, where yes, Jaromir Jagr is still playing.

Below is the list of every Canadian-born player in the KHL. An asterisk denotes an individual who was born in Canada but has a different nationality listed on the KHL’s website. There are also 16 players that play in China that were included, as they’d be traveling to Russia quite frequently.

Canadians on the Belorussian team:

Name: Team Position Former NHL Player Former Leafs Player
Ryan Spooner Minsk Dynamo Forward Yes No
Brandon Kozun Minsk Dynamo Forward Yes Yes
Shawn Lalonde Minsk Dynamo Defender Yes No
Cedric Paquette Minsk Dynamo Forward Yes No
Nick Merkley Minsk Dynamo Forward Yes No
John Gilmour Minsk Dynamo Defense Yes No
Mark Barberio Minsk Dynamo Defense Yes No

Canadians on Russian Teams:

Name: Team Position Former NHL Player Former Leafs Player
Andrew Calof Khabarovsk Amur Forward No No
Cameron Lee Khabarovsk Amur Defense No No
Andrew Hammond Chelyabinsk Traktor Goalie Yes No
Darren Dietz* CSKA Moscow Defense Yes No
Josh Currie Magnitogorsk Metallurg Forward Yes No
Phillipe Maillet Magnitogorsk Metallurg Forward Yes No
Brendan Leipsic Magnitogorsk Metallurg Forward Yes Yes
Edward Pasquale Magnitogorsk Metallurg Goalie Yes No
Kodie Curran Magnitogorsk Metallurg Defense No No
Jordan Weal Moscow Dynamo Forward Yes No
Eric O’Dell Moscow Dynamo Forward Yes No
Filip Varone Moscow Spartak Forward Yes No
Trevor Murphy Novosibirsk Sibir Defense Yes No
Taylor Beck Novosibirsk Sibir Forward Yes Yes (on paper)
Anthony Camara Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik Forward No No
Michael Chaput Nur-Sultan Barys Forward Yes No
Nelson Nogier Nur-Sultan Barys Defense Yes No
Jesse Graham Nur-Sultan Barys Defense No No
Christopher Bigras Nur-Sultan Barys Defense Yes No
Linden Vey Nur-Sultan Barys Forward Yes No
Corban Knight Omsk Avangard Forward Yes No
Tyler Graovavc Podolsk Vityaz Forward Yes No
Jeremy Roy Podolsk Vityaz Defense No No
Scott Wilson Podolsk Vityaz Forward Yes No
Alex Grant Saint Petersburgs SKA  Defense Yes No
Brandon Gormley Sochi HC Defense Yes No
Joe Morrow Sochi HC Defense Yes No
Joshua Ho-Sang Ufa Salavat Yulaev Forward Yes Yes (in AHL)
Ryan Murphy Ufa Salavat Yulaev Defense Yes No
Colby Williams Vladivostok Admiral Defense No No
Patrice Cormier Yekaterinburg Automobilist Forward Yes No
Brooks Macek Yekaterinburg Automobilist Forward No No
Curtis Valk* Yekaterinburg Automobilist Forward Yes No

Canadians on the Chinese Team:

Name: Team Position Former NHL Player Former Leafs Player
Cliff Pu Kunlun Red Star Forward No No
Matteo Gennaro Kunlun Red Star Forward No No
Jack Rodewald Kunlun Red Star Forward Yes Yes (in AHL)
Liam Ross Kunlun Red Star Defense No No
Zac Leslie Kunlun Red Star Defense No No
Devin Brosseau Kunlun Red Star Forward No No
Ryan Sproul Kunlun Red Star Defense Yes Yes (in AHL)
Kyle Wood Kunlun Red Star Defense No No
Brett Pollock Kunlun Red Star Forward No No
Luke Lockhart* Kunlun Red Star Forward No No
Tyler Wong* Kunlun Red Star Forward No Yes (in AHL)
Parker Foo* Kunlun Red Star Forward No No
Garet Hunt* Kunlun Red Star Forward No No
Ethan Werek* Kunlun Red Star Forward No No
Ty Schultz* Kunlun Red Star Defense No No
Jason Fram* Kunlun Red Star Defense No No
Brandon Yip* Kunlun Red Star Forward Yes No

It’s unknown for certain when this war will end. It’s just as uncertain if these 57 players will heed the call and leave Russia or Belarus. If they do, there could be plenty of opportunities in other leagues, but at least it’ll be safer for them.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D. Somehow the research and cross-tracking of players between Hockey DB and the KHL website took longer than actually writing the article. So that was fun.

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