Steve Yzerman On The Russians

from Joe Smith of The Athletic,

It should come as little surprise that some of the Lightning’s cornerstones are Russians, with All-Star winger Kucherov and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Last summer, Yzerman traded former No. 3 pick Jonathan Drouin for another Russian, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. If the Lightning advance from this Eastern Conference final against the Capitals and win the Stanley Cup, it’ll be largely due to their impact

Yzerman saw past the perceptions, the misconceptions. He understood the people. He appreciated the talent.

“I learned the players from (Russia), they come from a very different culture than we do,” Yzerman told The Athletic. “How situations are handled are…