Even though somewhat below the radar, the Russian Hockey League is quietly gaining steam. It seems that a lot of ex-NHLers like Dmitri Yushkevich, Oleg Tverdovsky and several non-Russian players are choosing to head east to Russian teams with well healed owners. Several NHL stars including Alexander Mogilny, Sergei Fedorov, Jaromir Jagr, and Ilya Kovalchuk have either decided or will consider playing in Russia next year if an NHL collective bargaining deal isn't worked out. In a way, its good to see that the NHL might face some competition in the near future...both the owners and the players association seem to have based their strategies on the assumption that they would continue to hold a monopoly on professional hockey.