Saturday, August 23, 2008

28 profiles in 28 days...The Battletank

Welcome back to TST's 28 profiles in 28 days (sorry for the weekend pause). Here's the backstories of players previously profiled:
Kris Beech....The Unwanted One
Matt Cooke...The New Ruu
Sidney Crosby....The Chosen One
Pascal Dupuis.The Iceman



Basics
Player Name: Ruslan Fedotenko
How Acquired: Signed as a free agent on July 2nd 2008
Draft Position: Left Wing
Age: 29
Contact Situation: Signed thru 2008-09 season, $2,250,000 million cap hit per season

History

Last Season Stats: (New York Islanders) 67 games played, 16 goals, 17 assists for 33 points,
Last Season Write-up: In Fedotenko's only season with the Isles (though it seemed like he was there longer than that) he put up those modest numbers on the weak team.
Career Year Stats: (2005-06 with Tampa Bay) 80 gp, 26g, 15a = 41p

Outlook
Player progressing, in prime or regressing: At 29 years old, Fedotenko has likely developed into his prime.
Expected 2008-09 role: 1st/2nd/3rd line winger. Rusty is something of a diverse player. Like Ryan Malone he's got the big body and nose for the net. Also like Bugsy, he's best when working with players that can lug the puck up the ice for him and then finish up in front of the net. In Feds' seven year NHL career he's averaged 17.5 goals a season and has been pretty consistent in scoring about 16-17 a year.
Potential line-mates: Pretty much every forward...Could be with Crosby or Malkin but could be with guys like Staal, Dupuis, Cooke and Kennedy on a more defensive minded line.
"Best case scenario" stats: 82 games played 20 goals, 25 assists, 45 points
Notes: Signed a one year deal with the Pens...Like Malone, has more career NHL goals than assists....When on a scoring streak he's on it; as evidenced by the 12 playoff goals he scored for Tampa in 2004 (tied for the lead).
Interesting fact: There are only three active forwards in the NHL from the Ukraine: Fedotenko, Toronto's Alexei Ponikarovsky and New York's (disputed) Nikolai Zherdev.



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