Cherepanov done after just 2 games at the Super Series

Alexei Cherepanov, superstar forward for Team Russia, is out for the rest of the Super Series with a concussion. He sustained the concussion in the first period of Wednesday's loss when Brandon Sutter caught Cherepanov with his head down and delivered a crushing hit.

He didn't take part Friday in the morning skate, and officials for Team Russia are saying that he's still in the hospital.

I have to wonder about the severity of this concussion. On the one hand, the team would not want to lose their star player for the entire series, because it will be that much harder to succeed at all. But let's say that team officials are really beginning to doubt whether they can succeed, and they worry that the Canadians will go after Cherepanov even more as the series wears on. There are six games left, four of which are on Canada's home turf, so you know that Team Canada will be even more aggressive in front of their fans. Perhaps Cherepanov's RSL team quietly said that they don't want their star player to lose his entire season with the club and that he should be pulled from the team.

Ordinarily I don't question a player's health when it comes to concussions, but this one just struck me as being a little bit off. Cherepanov actually played his best hockey of the Series after Brandon Sutter hit him in the opening frame on Wednesday. Sure, he made a few lazy plays, but he had a number of shifts that were really good, if not great. He wasn't knocked out, he didn't have any balance problems (certainly not like Seidenberg of Germany, who was on the wrong end of a Shea Weber hit at Worlds this spring), and frankly, he looked okay on the ice for over 40 minutes of play. The fact that he's still in the hospital would suggest that he sustained a serious injury, so why was he able to play for so long after being hurt?

Maybe I don't know anything here...maybe Cherepanov is really hurt, and maybe my 'pro-Team Canada' attitude has clouded my judgment, but something just smells a little fishy here. I mean, shouldn't Team Russia be calling for some kind of suspension on Sutter? I haven't heard anything yet on that front.

Update: According to Pierre McGuire of TSN, the Russians did call for a suspension of Brandon Sutter, but they didn't get it. In addition, there are rumours in Russia that one of the reasons why Cherepanov isn't playing anymore in this series is because of a confrontation with his coach. Apparently the Russian coaches called out their star players for not producing, and Cherepanov wasn't happy about this.

"Super Series" of hockey coming soon

The hockey world has been generally quiet since the first few days of the ‘free agent frenzy’, except for ownership issues and a few offer sheets here and there. Hockey fans can get a quick fix now and then with brief stories on SportsCentre, sandwiched between stories on Michael Vick and Barry Bonds, but a Top 10 list of Crosby’s greatest NHL moments is little more than a tease.

The good news – check that, great news – is that the summer hockey drought is about to come to an end. The Canada Russia Super Series officially begins August 27th in Russia and ends on September 9th in Canada. This eight game series will showcase the best junior players in a format that is very familiar to each nation.

It has been 35 years since the original Summit Series was played between the best players in the Soviet Union and the best players in Canada. Many people believe that the best hockey in history was played during these eight games. At the time, it was assumed that the mighty Canadian NHL players would easily sweep the series and humiliate the Soviets, but Team Canada’s ego was put in check when they lost the first game 7-3 in Montreal. However, in the end, it was Canada that was victorious in the Series, thanks to a goal by Paul Henderson with 34 seconds remaining in the final game.

While the original Summit Series caused nationwide interest, and most Canadians tuned in to watch the final game, I do not believe that the current series will enjoy the same interest. There will certainly be a number of Canadians who will tune in to watch the games, but the interest will not be near what it was during the Olympics (especially the Salt Lake City Games) or maybe even the World Junior Championships.

Even though this Super Series does not showcase the best of the best Canadian/Russian players, it does have the best teenaged players from these two nations – the next generation, if you will. I think that we will see great hockey, and it will be a chance to peek into the future of the NHL. A lot of players have something to prove in this tournament: Cherepanov and Esposito will have to prove that they are players that should have been top 5 draft picks, Turris will have to prove that he can be as successful with CHL players as he was in Junior A, and Tavares will have to prove that he is the player that everyone believes him to be. Should be an interesting show!