In an article by Mike Sielski on Philly.com Ron Hextall is quoted as saying this:
“It’s different because you used to just not know if a Russian player would come over. Now it’s more a lot of them come over, but are they going to leave? If it didn’t come into your thinking, I don’t think you’re being thorough.” (Philly.com)
It’s true that when drafting Russian players there is risk involved – but it’s significantly less true now and the Toronto Maple Leafs shouldn’t avoid drafting them.
The KHL isn’t as strong of a league as some might want to believe it is.