WOLVES BITTER WITH RUSSIANS

Tim Hortons QuadPlex (Thunder Bay, ON, Canada)- The Thunder Bay Timberwolves made their first of three player cuts this weekend.
--The moves were made Sunday after the first six days of the team's Training Camp in Thunder Bay. A total of twelve players were re-assigned to either Duluth or back to the players junior team.
--Two players that were assigned to Duluth and chose not to report were Russians, Andrei Taratukhin and Denis Parshin. Both players packed their bags and left for the newly formed Continental Hockey League in Russia.
--"They're not under contract by us," said GM Blake Wendt. "We hold their rights in this league. But if they choose to go back to Russia, we really have no authority over that decision. We don't agree with it and quite honestly it leaves a bad taste in our mouths about players from over there in general."
--Taratukhin and Parshin are only two of three Russians that the Timberwolves hold rights to. The other being Yuri Trubachev (who was not invited to camp). Taratukhin is the only one that Wendt brought over himself in a trade with Wisborg last season. Parshin and Trubachev are holdovers from the former team in Hoboken.
--"Obviously if we thought or knew that Taratukhin had no intention of playing, or at least trying to earn a spot on our club. We would have never made a trade that included him. Live and learn I guess. We'll be very hesitant in the future about adding Russian players to our roster."
--The other players involved in Sunday's cuts included the following:
--Adam Comrie (OHLSaginaw)
--A.J. Jenks (OHL Plymouth)
--Denis Reul (QMJHL Lewiston)
--Antoine Lafleur (QMJHL PEI)
--Danny Syvret (Duluth)
--Mike Morris (Duluth)
--Jason Bailey (Duluth)
--Johan Ryno (Duluth)
--Alexander Sundstrom (Duluth)
--Rob Zepp (Duluth)

--The Timberwolves will cut another ten players next weekend to drop their roster to a more manageable 35 players for the third and final week of Training Camp. The final five players will be cut before the beginning of the regular season.