Tarasenko Coming Now or Later?

When the Blues sent David Rundblad to Ottawa in order to draft Vladimir Tarasenko they knew they were taking a young man with nearly limitless scoring potential. They just didn’t know how soon he would cross the pond. Conflicting reports are circulating. Renewing undo confusion on where Tarasenko will play hockey in 2010.

Alessandro Seren Rosso (@AlexSerenRosso) of Hockey’s Future tweeted Tuesday morning that Tarasenko’s current plan is to play for Sibir and make his way on to the Russian U-20 World Junior Championship team. Rosso has stated previously that rumors of a 2010 North American arrival are premature. Sibir’s training camp started July 12th in Latvia and the team reported that all players are expected to appear. With Tarasenko being named to the Russian U-20 team playing against the French U-20 in three exhibitions in August, all signs point to Rosso being spot on. Adding further confirmation of what was believed already to be true.

A Tuesday night message board post leads to new speculation. As a poster on the STLToday.com Blues Forum claiming to be from Novosibirsk, Russia says a report is out saying Tarasenko hasn’t decided where he will play but is at Sibir’s training camp.

The door is open once again?

A tweet from Puck Prospectus writer Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) on Wednesday brings about more speculation. Posting a link to a tweet from Genadi Boguslavski (@GenadiB), a hockey writer for Sovetsky Sport, stating that Tarasenko has yet to decide if this season will be spent in the KHL or St. Louis.

The door must be open!

One Russian prospect writer is saying Tarasenko is staying. Another Russian writer says the decision is still up in the air. Confusion is understandably easy to come by. As is jumping to conclusions. A deeper review is needed.

Here is what is known about the situation:

- Tarasenko has a two year KHL contract in place.
- Tarasenko has publicly stated his high level of interest in making it to the NHL.
- Rumors persist of an out clause in his 2011-2012 contract that allows for a buyout. However, that has not been confirmed.
- In a July 6th interview with RussianProspect.com Vladimir says his agent is discussing options with Sibir, but the decision is “not up to me”. He was quoted as saying a decision would be made by the time training camp started (July 12th). It appears he wants to make the move now if possible.
- A July 9th date has also floated around the Internet for an official decision.
- Both “deadlines” (July 9th and 12th) have passed with no definitive answer from the Blues, Sibir, Tarasenko or his agent.

Is the perceived lack of closure fueling the speculation?

At this point there may be nothing “official” ever stated and a little reading between the lines is needed. The decision dates have passed, training camp started, and Tarasenko is still in Europe. When I asked Genadi on Twitter if she had any additional information her response was the same as Rosso’s Tuesday tweet. Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) reminds everyone that the Blues do not expect Tarasenko to come over for this season. This has been the general consensus since not long after the draft.

It may not be the answer some want, but the truth is what it is. He isn’t coming over now.

At this point there is no need to rush. No matter how bad the fanbase wants another scorer added. There are seven players upfront under contract who should be putting up points. Three of those are high profile draft picks that the Blues need to see take the next step in their development. Inserting Tarasenko now puts him in a position to compete for energy line minutes. Not the ideal way to bring over a Russian scoring prospect.

Perhaps the questions have all been answered already in Vladimir’s Interview with RussianProspect.com?

Question from RussianProspect.com: So in the best case, next season will be your last in Russia?

Tarasenko: Yes. If I’ll stay with Sibir then next season will be my last one in Russia. I’ve said that if I’m going to America I’m not going to repeat Filatov and Tikhonov’s experience and get back to Russia because it strongly affects the relationships between you and your club, and generally with the NHL.

Very strong words coming from the young Russian. He is ready and willing to come over when it’s his time.