So the great player migration has been peaking during last few days. Im not really interested in imports or older Latvian guys - they will be OK and I wish them well. Some might return, some might not. Im interested in where the young and promising guys are going - and there are quite a few surprises.
Kristaps Zile - to Orebro (SHL);
Karlis Cukste - Pelicans (Liiga);
Janis Svanenbergs - Lukko (Liiga).
These are the guys who got the lucky ticket. Top Scandinavian leagues for 20-24 year olds with just few points this season is a great opportunity. That is less true for Zile, who has been a Dinamo and Latvian NT regular for a few years now (and thus should get a better deal), but then again, SHL is better than Liiga so the higher expectations of him did came true.
Nikolajs Jelisejevs - MoDo (Allsvenskan);
Miks Tumanovs - RoKi (Mestis).
Less ideal deals in second tier leagues. Jelisejevs is a bit of a head scratcher, since he was the best scorer on a KHL team. But then again, Allsvenskan is probably just a little worse than some other top European leagues like Extraliga or Liiga, Modo is fighting for a promotion so may very well be on par with lower tier SHL teams, and the fact that he has never been a great player prior to this season may have lovered his value. For Tumanovs, who has just started his transition to adult hockey, Mestis is good.
Overall, for the mid-season when most teams are completely formed, all did well. To whichever team the guys went, it depended on the needs of these exact teams, so luck had a big part in it. Like Zile, who got lucky with one of Orebros d-men to be injured.
Im a big fan of Dinamo, I enjoy watching top level hockey all year round and dont think that KHL is bad or that Dinamo is hurting Latvian hockey. However, i do think that Dinamo did not give Latvian hockey as much as it could, at least in terms of player development. Yeah, Darzins or Indrasis became top level players here, however one could argue that some players have stagnated in the far-too-safe and comfy environment. I would be OK with some young guys not returning and doing great in top European leagues, getting top minutes and PP opportunities, and not sitting behind two lines of imports on the Dinamo roster. And since we are losing year after year, might as well lose with younger local guys and give others chance to become great somewhere else. If at least two of Zile, Cukste, Svanenbergs or Jelisejevs show great results and stay in Europe, i will consider this Dinamo season a success.