You can say all you want about Alexander Semin and his occasional lapses in judgement. What makes me willing to look past it, past the silly penalties and the apparent lack of travel awareness, is the fact that he seems happy here. We all remember him in his first season in DC - sullen, standoffish, lazy...yet showing glimpses of brilliance that made us yearn for more.
Now here he is, his second full season behind him, and there's a definite difference. Sure, the lazy penalties are still there from time to time, and sure, this latest glitch makes me want to buy him a new watch. But it's not hard to see that he's trying harder, he's producing more, and he's fitting in.
Nowhere is that more evident than in his relationship with Ovechkin. The two have really become inseparable this year and I'm certain that it's Ovie's influence that is partially responsible for Semin's 180 degree shift. All you have to do is look at the most recent interview with Ovechkin to see how close these two are (kindly interpreted for and posted by Mike Vogel, as usual).
To all those who take great joy in knocking Semin down and picking at him, enjoy it now. I think we'll start to see a new Alexander Semin emerge over the next year or two - one who will take his rightful place alongside Ovie as one of the league's elite players.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A Close Bond
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Semin a Spectator
I'm sure everyone has heard by now that Alexander Semin has been cut from the Russian squad at this year's IIHF World Championships for failure to report to training camp on time. In fact, Mike Vogel has a great rundown today of all the details.
I think we can all agree that Semin probably should have just booked his flight to meet the Russian team's schedule. But we all know that Semin has had his share of travel, er...issues. Back in 2003-04 he missed the team plane (how do you miss the team plane??) from New York to Pittsburgh and was scratched for the final game. So there's a history there - maybe Ovechkin should give Semin the Rolex he won for being the #1 star this season...
BUT here's the thing - according to Vogel, Russian coach Sergei Nemchinov called Semin Sunday to remind him he needed to arrive at 4:00 pm the next day. When Semin informed Nemchinov that his flight didn't arrive until 7:30 pm, the coach told him to get an earlier flight. I thought that seemed odd...I mean, there can't be that many flights from DC to Moscow, right? Depending on when Nemchinov contacted Semin, what are the odds he could have even changed his flight at that point?
I decided to serve as Sasha's imaginary travel agent and do a little investigating.
- The average flight from DC to Moscow is about 13-14 hours, although depending on how many transfers you have and how much time is left between them, the trip can take up to 20 hours.
- It took Semin a little less than an hour to get on the road from the airport - therefore we can assume that to make the 4:00 deadline he would need to land before 3:00; 18 flights would get him there before then, all of which leave before 7:00 pm the day before.
- Changes to international flights need to take place at least 4 hours in advance to insure adequate time for security checkpoints.
- Last minute fares from DC to Moscow increase by up to $1000 over fares booked at least two weeks in advance.
- On any given Sunday there are between 50 and 60 flights from Dulles International Airport to Moscow. I'm sure the equivalent number is available from BWI, as well as Reagan National (although you'd have to add a transfer at an international airport).
Conclusion?
Uh...yeah. He should have just gotten his rear in gear and booked an earlier flight to begin with.
*SIGH* Sasha, Sasha, Sasha. Have fun watching the game from the stands, kiddo.
