Plyushchev: Traktor and Avangard follow the same hockey course

Vladimir Plyushchev, a former Russian national coach, says Traktor and Avangard are following the same course, and that Omsk's problems are only hidden for now by acceptable results.

He said Traktor's position at the bottom of the Eastern Conference drew more attention than it deserved. "Chelyabinsk is not the only one betraying its historical traditions and betting on short-term imports," Plyushchev said. "Omsk is going the same way, but its problems are masked by decent results. Masked for the time being."

He pointed to Avangard's last game as evidence. That was against Traktor, and Plyushchev called it lacklustre.

"Both cities are on the same hockey course," he said. "Their common problem is no ideology and no systematic development, with all power handed to transient imports. Omsk managed to make another successful purchase, while Chelyabinsk simply got tangled up when, pardon my French, the Canadian coach left them in the lurch."

In Plyushchev's account, Traktor then could not sign another batch of foreign players and, out of desperation, began talking about a focus on youth development. "If Traktor were serious about it, they would not have brought in an American coach for whom youth hockey in Chelyabinsk and all of Russia is a mystery," he said. "He has not yet even understood where he has ended up." The coach he referred to is Scott Gordon.