Alicia
12-15-2005, 04:45 PM
TSN.ca Staff
12/15/2005 1:31:14 PM
The chance to play for former linemate Pavel Bure was not enough to lure Alexander Mogilny to Turin, as the veteran winger told TSN that he has withdrawn his name from consideration for Team Russia at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
The news comes just days after Bure and Mogilny's other former CSKA Moscow linemate, Sergei Fedorov, took his name out of the running for the final roster.
Mogilny was the first Soviet player to defect to the West, the first Russian to be included on the NHL All-Star Team and and the first European to become captain of an NHL team.
In 1989, Mogilny defected to the West after the Soviet Union won the gold medal at the World Championships held in Sweden. He secretly flew to Buffalo, where the Sabres, who had drafted him in 1988, held his NHL playing rights.
Mogilny has played his 15-year career with the Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 471 goals and 1,029 points.
Mogilny has represented his homeland at the 1988 World Junior Hockey Championship and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
12/15/2005 1:31:14 PM
The chance to play for former linemate Pavel Bure was not enough to lure Alexander Mogilny to Turin, as the veteran winger told TSN that he has withdrawn his name from consideration for Team Russia at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
The news comes just days after Bure and Mogilny's other former CSKA Moscow linemate, Sergei Fedorov, took his name out of the running for the final roster.
Mogilny was the first Soviet player to defect to the West, the first Russian to be included on the NHL All-Star Team and and the first European to become captain of an NHL team.
In 1989, Mogilny defected to the West after the Soviet Union won the gold medal at the World Championships held in Sweden. He secretly flew to Buffalo, where the Sabres, who had drafted him in 1988, held his NHL playing rights.
Mogilny has played his 15-year career with the Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 471 goals and 1,029 points.
Mogilny has represented his homeland at the 1988 World Junior Hockey Championship and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.