Blades Sign Timkin

(Sorry for the late posting. I've been at war with my horrible ISP all morning)

The Everblades announced yet another signing today. Russian froward Evgeny Timkin is the latest player to sign with the Everblades. He appears to be another of the big physical type of player the team has been signing lately. He also seems pretty feisty (turn down your speakers and sit through all of the pictures and it'll be worth it):



His numbers (courtesy of Elite Prospects) aren't the most impressive,
but I have a feeling he wasn't signed by the Blades for his scoring ability. That's not to say he isn't a good player, he did make an impression on a hockey writer at the World Junior Under-20 championships. If what that writer says is to be believed he may be a more defensively minded forward. Obviously, a forward of that type will naturally have less goals and assists.He did make a bit of a name for himself during the tournament when he laid a devastating hit on Minnesota Wild prospect Jere Sallinen. The hit ended up knocking Sallinen out of the tournament. The rest of his team was obviously not happy and they targeted Timkin later in the game, leading to this tussle:



He was eligible for the 2010 entry draft, but wasn't selected for whatever reason. My hunch is, he's decided to leave the KHL with the hopes of getting some attention from an NHL team. It's will be much easier to be noticed by NHL teams when your playing under their nose in their system.

I think Timkin may be one of the players I look forward to seeing the most in action. I love that the Everblades are finally focusing on building a big physical team, with the teams that the Gladiators and Stingrays tend to put on the ice we need to be able to push back. It's about time we get tough around here.