The late 1980s, early 1990s saw an influx of Russian and Eastern European players as the Iron Curtain came down. Many great players were drafted in the late rounds by NHL teams that had good scouting staffs in Europe. It wasn't long before European players were also being selected higher and higher, into the first round. The Boston Bruins made one such selection in 1992, taking Russian left winger Dmitri Kvartalnov in the first round, 16th overall. Kvartalnov had a very productive rookie year with the Bruins, playing in 73 games, scoring 30 goals and 42 assists for 72 points. The next year saw him play half as many games and have a huge drop off in scroing. Before long Kvartalnov was playing in the minors for the Providence Bruins and by 1994 was playing in Europe. In 2000 he joined the Kazan Ak-Bars team in Russia and has played with them for the last three years.
Posted by hplayerz
at 4:38 PM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 22 March 2014 12:31 AM EDT