Yes, in case you couldn’t tell, the title of this piece includes a portmanteau of “Moscow” and one of Calgary’s most favoured nicknames, “Cowtown.” (A portmanteau is formed when the sounds and meanings of two words are combined into one).
27-year-old defenseman Nikita Nesterov, signed by the Calgary Flames on Friday to a one year, $700,000 contract, represents the latest addition to Cowtown’s ever-growing community of Russian players and prospects.
After going between 2007 and 2019 without a single Russian-born player ever donning a Flames sweater, general manager Brad Treliving has spent much of the last two years introducing over a half-dozen of them to Calgary.