NHL teams weigh risks of selecting Russian prospects as war in Ukraine continues

The war in Ukraine has added an increasing level of uncertainty for NHL teams interested in drafting Russia-born prospects because of questions regarding their availability to play in North America.

While no team has openly stated it would avoid selecting Russians altogether in the two-day draft in Montreal that opens Thursday, there is the potential of Russia being shut out in the first round for the first time since 2005.

"I don't know if anybody has the answer," said Seattle general manager Ron Francis, whose team currently has 12 picks over seven rounds, including No. 4 overall. "It's certainly unknown right now so it makes it, I think, a little more riskier than years past."

It doesn't help that NHL and its Russian-based counterpart, the Kontinental Hockey League, do not have a transfer agreement in place. That prevents NHL teams from buying out KHL contracts, a consistent hurdle for any GM hoping to raid the second-best league in the world.

Without disclosing the Canadiens' strategy, Montreal GM Kent Hughes said it will be up to each team to weigh the risks of selecting a Russian player.

"It's simple enough to say that the war in Russia creates a level of complexity or probably more uncertainty," Hughes told The Associated Press. "Any team picking has to balance the uncertainty of it with the potential of the player."

Last week, Philadelphia Flyers goalie prospect Ivan Fedotov was suddenly assigned to a remote military base in northern Russia, according to the player's agent, J.P. Barry. Selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft, Fedotov signed with the Flyers in May after completing his contract with CSKA Moscow in the KHL.

While the NHL has not issued any directives regarding drafting Russian players,