The Detroit Red Wings have enjoyed tremendous success drafting Russians, but the war in Ukraine adds difficulty to doing so this year.
"Russian players were hard to assess and evaluate because it was difficult early to get in there and then you weren’t getting in there at all, or going there," Yzerman said Tuesday. "There’s always the usual concerns, and throw in just the uncertainty of what’s going on in Russia and a little bit of uncertainty as to what players can and can’t do — will they be available now or any time in the future.