The Belov has Landed

Anton Belov has arrived in Edmonton. After having issues receiving his Canadian work visa Belov will finally join the team today.

There has been a lot of buzz around Anton this offseason, he’s big 6ft3 and bulky 216lbs. Apparently he can contribute offensively as well, scoring 26 points in 46 games with Avangard Omsk in the KHL last year. Dmitry Chesnokov from Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog wrote that Belov is “…Arguably the best defenseman in the KHL” He also said that it was Belov who decided it was time to make the jump to the NHL, you can read the complete article here.

Now that Belov is in camp the coaches will finally be able to get a look at just what he can do. I wonder how he will make the adjustment to the smaller NHL ice, where he’ll need to play more of a north/south game as opposed to the east/west style played on the larger KHL ice.

That being said, Belov arriving late may hinder his chances to make the team. Philip Larsen has impressed so far, and so has Taylor Fedun. Belov is also on a two-way contract so the team may just decide to send him done for ease with the cap situation.

It will be interesting to say what Coach Eakins has to say about Belov after he gets a look, actually it’s always interesting to hear what the new coach has to say.

Here is the Just Who Is Anton Belov article by Jeremy Thompson from earlier in the series for your reading pleasure. Once you’re done reading that check out this article on Oilersnation,com featuring some of Belov’s best video highlights.

Thanks for reading