[artlan]

Originally Posted by JeffR

That's one way of approaching it, yeah. A few other things to consider:

-if they've been selected in the CHL Import Draft, that's a good sign that they're more willing to leave Russia, even if they don't necessarily jump to major junior right away
-if their scouting report has comments that indicate they have difficulty adapting to new situations, that's a warning signal that they may be less likely to leave home
-check their KHL contract status before drafting them, a long contract is likely to be a problem
-when you know the contract is about to be expire, be ready to make an offer on July 1 - a delay of even a day or two can be too long
-if they happen to move out of the KHL at some point (e.g. to another European league), that'll make them subject to regular transfer agreements and a lot easier to sign
-if you want to sign them right away, look for a contract expiring right after the draft and a bad player happiness level - that makes it more likely he'll be reluctant to re-sign, which gives you an opening

Great tips, thank you!