Since the late 1970s, 620 Russian players have been drafted by NHL teams. Only Canada (6,083), the United States (2,408), and Sweden (697) have more drafted players. Out of those 620 players, 584 have been non-goaltenders.
Since the easing of restrictions (and the fall of the Soviet Union), Russian players have had a big impact on the NHL. Their style and creativity have changed the way the game is played in an incredible fashion. We still see many Russian offensive gurus making their way into the NHL, like the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov.
Today, scouting Russia has come a long way, but there still seem to be teams that go deeper and have a better handle on it than other teams.