I really like really good Russian players and such, but I watch a lot of junior hockey all over and nobody does junior development and competitive organization like Russia does.

It is weird, in my opinion it encourages bad habits and stunts growth past a certain talent level.

For people asking for elaboration, I can go over it live tomorrow (9:30PM EST, don't forget), but in short, I'd say over half the MHL teams should either not be, or have a separate league. Highest of high end teams just absorb more and more talent, increasing competitive divides.

The best of the best on those top programs spend a loooong time on those top programs before taking a step up, and when they do, they're rarely used, let alone be allowed to play with creativity with good, modern habits such as attacking the net.

Plus, once great MHL players go up to say, the VHL, that's another league where many teams should just not exist, no guarantees they'll even play much there, and if they do, half the veterans on the team are just... bad. Really, really bad.

For example: I've seen Lada Togliatti, a program with good young talent, not play Fyodor Svechkov and Dmitri Kostenko together at 5v5 once in my tracking of either. Both are creative, skilled players, but half their passes aren't corralled by veterans, making results awful.

Basically, you have the best young players playing in a GIGANTIC league, with the best programs literally having enough good talent to ice three at least VHL-quality teams, and they keep absorbing more of the best. About 50% of the games they're playing just aren't competitive.

It also does not help that the Russian Federation had a U18 NTDP program for one season... and they got busted for doping.

I don't know how ownership or finances of all these teams breaks down, but I wouldn't be surprised if the focus from up top isn't primarily hockey.