Another NHL prospect is headed to the Kontinental Hockey League.

On Saturday the Phoenix Coyotes loaned struggling forward Viktor Tikhonov to CSKA Moscow of the Russian-based league for the remainder of the 2009-2010 season. This means the 21-year-old, who had played in 18 games for the AHL's San Antonio Rampage this season, will not play in the NHL until next season.

Tikhonov has struggled to find a permanent home with the Coyotes. In 61 games least season, the Latvia native tallied eight goals and 16 points as a rookie.

The grandson of the legendary Russian hockey coach of the same name, Tikhonov was the Coyotes' first-round pick (28^th overall) in the 2008 entry draft. He failed to make the big club's roster this season and had just eight points in 18 games this season for the Rampage, the Coyotes' top farm team.

Tikhonov is the second 2008 first-rounder in the last few weeks to be loaned to the KHL. Columbus Blue Jackets forward Nikita Filatov was the other. Filatov is also playing for the CSKA Moscow squad, where he has four goals and four assists for eight points in four games. He set a league record with three game-winning goals in three consecutive games.

"The style is pretty different," Filatov wrote in an e-mail to the Columbus Dispatch. "The game maybe is not so aggressive and tough, but maybe more skilled and smart. You have to be in good position, especially because of the bigger-sized ice."

He told the paper he is relishing his role with the Russian club.

"It feels unbelievable," he wrote of the increased ice time. "Very happy about it. That's what I want, to be there (on the ice) as much as possible and to help the team win."

Russianhockeyfans.com is speculating the young forward may want to spend another year in the KHL after this season. The website offered a translation of a recent interview published by Sovetskiy Sport, where he was asked what CSKA can do to make him stay in the KHL.

According to the website translation, Filatov responded by saying, "The one thing I'm not thinking about right now is where I will spend next year. But I wouldn't exclude the possibility of staying in CSKA."

AROUND THE KHL: Some familiar names sit among the top scorers in the KHL. As of Nov. 29, Maxim Sushinsky of SKA Saint Petersburg led the league with 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in 30 games. Sushinsky was drafted 132nd overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild and played for one season with the Wild. In second is former NHL star Alexei Yashin, who has 10 goals and 36 points in 30 games with SKA. Yashin hasn't played in the NHL since 2007, but is still a major drain on the payroll of the New York Islanders. The Hockey News recently reported that unless John Tavares hits all of his bonuses, Yashin will be the second-highest paid New York Islanders skater this season. Yashin, who was bought out by New York in 2007, accounts for $2.2 million on the Isles' payroll until the 2014-2015 season. Alexander Radulov of Salavat Yulaev Ufa, a former Nashville Predators first-round pick, is third in the league with 15 goals and 35 points in 27 games. ... The KHL all-star game is set for Jan. 30, 2010 in Minsk. Last year's inaugural game took place in Red Square, Moscow and Team World was captained by Jaromir Jagr, while Team Russia was captained by Yashin. ... KHL President Alexander Medvedev and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman met last month to discuss NHL-KHL contract transfer disputes. "On a personal and professional level, [the relationship between the NHL and KHL is] cordial. For a variety of reasons we haven't been able to come to common ground on some fundamental issues," Bettman told reporters Nov. 11. "The KHL and Russian Ice Hockey Federation are going to need to respect our valid contracts and that's something to date that hasn't happened." According to a KHL statement after the meeting, "The two sides reached an understanding of the need, using political terminology, to reset and upgrade their relationship. As a result, moving forward, designated representatives of the KHL and NHL will work in a spirit of collaboration to thoroughly analyze all issues between the leagues and identify mutually acceptable and beneficial solutions. The results of such work will be reviewed by the Leagues' leaders during their next meeting, scheduled during the Vancouver Olympic Games in February 2010."

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http://www.kgobuys.com/

The style is pretty different," Filatov wrote in an e-mail to the Columbus Dispatch,thank for your sharing!!

Christian , March 29, 2011

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