20 сентября 1990 года. 
NHL CAMPS"Soviet winger seeks job with Jets and chance to talk Russian literature with coach Kharin shows speed against Smythe rivals // The Globe and Mail

THE name of Fyodor Dostoyevsky hasn't popped up in chats between Winnipeg Jet manager Mike Smith and Soviet right winger Sergei Kharin, but it's only a matter of time.

Dostoyevsky, the classic Russian novelist of works such as The Idiot, Crime and Punishment, and The Brothers Karamazov, holds no small degree of interest for Smith, who has a doctorate in Russian studies.

Kharin, a 27-year-old right winger who is a rookie in the National Hockey League, thinks that "Dostoyevsky is, of course, a deeply psychological writer."

Kharin, whose comfort with English is growing as quickly as his knowledge of North American-style hockey, also thinks cheeseburgers are very good, Canadians are very good people, and there is "more pass" in Soviet hockey but "more physic" in the Canadian game.

He was the Jets' 12-round pick in the 1989 entry draft and has played for both the Soviet Wings and Soviet national teams. He has shown exceptional speed and instincts in Winnipeg's first three exhibition games - all losses to Smythe Division rivals (the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers).

And the Jets happen to have an opening on right wing.

"He's got great speed and he's really starting to look comfortable out there," coach Bob Murdoch said, noting that Kharin isn't afraid to mix it up in the corners. His lip was bloodied Tuesday by the Oilers' Ken Linseman.

Smith said that the player, one of about a dozen Soviets in the NHL this year, appears to suit the team well with his quickness.

"I think our strengths are in our transition game and team speed," Smith said, adding that he will make a point of talking more with the Soviet winger, should he make the squad.

Jet psychologist Paul Henry described Kharin as "a quality individual, highly motivated and solidly professional." Henry, who worked for Smith when the general manager was with the New York Rangers, is also high on mobile defenceman Phil Housley, who moved from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Dale Hawerchuk.

Leaning from the press box during the match with the Oilers, Henry pointed at the ice as Housley, driving for the Edmonton net, was yelling: "Pekka, Pekka!"

At least one reporter thought the former Sabre was uttering obscenities at his new teammates.

"Nope - that's Pekka Peltola (a Finnish winger)," Henry explained. He noted that one of Housley's great qualities is knowing just when to move for the net and call for a pass. Peltola's pass, on this occasion, was just a split-second late.

Smith has said that, with the addition of Housley, Scott Arniel and Jeff Parker for Hawerchuk, he might want to trade for one more rugged forward with scoring punch.

The Jets have 10 defencemen at camp (it's the second year of a three- year deal with the city to train at Saskatchewan Place). Along with Housley, Winnipeg also has highly mobile defencemen in Dave Ellett, Fredrik Olauson and Teppo Numminen. They also have veterans Randy Carlyle, Peter Taglianetti, Moe Mantha, Shawn Cronin, Gord Donnelly and Bryan Marchment.

"We're not an overly talented team: we do it with team play and hard work," Smith said, complaining that, with Hawerchuk's departure, the team has no bona fide all-stars.

The pressure will be on centre Thomas Steen to pick up his scoring production now that Hawerchuk's in Buffalo. Insiders said that, if the right offer were to come along in the next few weeks, Ellett likely would be moved.

Rookie centre Stu Barnes of the Western Hockey League's Tri-Cities Americans, the Jets' first-round pick in the 1989 junior draft, has a good chance to make the team, as does former national-team member Kris Draper of Toronto.

In the meantime, Smith said, the clock is running out on Winnipeg councillors, who must decide quickly whether to build a new arena. The club said it will move if there is no word from the city by December.

It is estimated that the Jets bring $65-million a year into Winnipeg. 

13 октября 1993 года. 
BOMBERS LAND RUSSIAN WINGER KHARIN LOOKED AT FOR LEADERSHIP // Dayton Daily News.

 Sergei Kharin has been around the world, played ice hockey in two political structures, the NHL and helped win a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics.

He was also done in last week by a flurry of roster moves by the International Hockey League Cincinnati Cyclones, who own his contract and told the 30-year-old Russian he could stay in the area and still play - with the East Coast Hockey League Dayton Bombers.

So Kharin, a right winger, worked out with the Bombers the last three days. Although he didn't play in the team's first exhibition game Tuesday night, he is expected to play Thursday. Coach Jim Playfair also expects him to make the team - if he wants to make the team.

"We're counting on him for leadership and obviously to score some points," Playfair said. "It's a great deal for us."

But the first-year coach has assigned no roster spots yet, especially to players who have had experience in higher classifications.

"I told the players, 'You might not want to be here and you might not think you should be here, but in realistic terms, you are here.' "

Kharin grew up in Moscow, eventually making the roster of the Soviet Wings of the Elite League. He also played for the Russian National Teams, helping them to win the World Junior title in 1981, two World Championships and the Olympics in Calgary.

He was not allowed out of his Soviet commitment until he was 27 and had played 10 years with the Wings. Winnipeg took him in the 12th round of the NHL draft in 1989, but he still had one year to play in Russia.

"It was a new life," said Kharin, who lives with his wife Olga and 8-year-old son Anton in Cincinnati. He has not been back to Russia in three years, spending seven games with the Jets during the 1990-91 season, the rest of his time in either the American or International leagues.

The Bombers won the late-night exhibition game with the Louisville Icehawks 4-2 at the Kettering Ice Arena. Because of bus problems, the Icehawks arrived after 9 and the game - reduced to two 25-minute periods - started after 10 and finished after midnight. A full house of about 1,000 was reduced to about half by the time the game began. Refunds were given to those who left.

Some day, he would like to go back to Russia, but understands it is a different land.

"It's worse," he said. "It's very expensive. Before, there was no freedom. Now, there is freedom, but no economy."

Kharin also knows 30-year-olds who can't find a spot on IHL rosters are near the end of their careers, yet he wants to play another year or two and plan for the future.

"I'm not young," Kharin said. "After 13 years at the highest level, this doesn't seem serious. What can I do? Go work in office? Maybe now I start a coach's career. I can't say what's going to happen in Dayton.

"I want to help this team play hard. I want to help Jimmy with the other international players on this team. I can communicate with those guys."

2 февраля 1994 года. 
BOMBERS' KHARIN WELL-TRAVELED SKATER // Dayton Daily News.

Sergei Kharin can skate at a lot of different speeds, most of them faster than anybody else on the Dayton Bombers.

Coach Jim Playfair will go further than that.

"A lot of guys can fly without the puck," Playfair said. "When they get the puck on their stick, it looks like it weighs two tons. Sergei skates the same way with the puck. He's the best skater in the league."

It is the Russian way, and Kharin has been skating that way since he began at age 7.

"In Russia there is more room (bigger rinks) to skate," Kharin said. "There's more power here, because the rules are different. It's different for me, but there are more chances to score a goal. Sometimes, with only a couple of strides, you're on goal."

A former Olympian for Russia, Kharin also played seven games with Winnipeg in the National Hockey League in 1990-91, but spent most of the last three seasons in either the American or International Leagues.

This season, Cincinnati, where Kharin spent most of last season in the IHL, didn't want him, and suggested Dayton. To Kharin, it wasn't necessarily a step down. It was a place to play.

"Sometimes something happens, sometimes it doesn't," Kharin said. "Sometimes I'm frustrated. But I don't want to give up this game. I feel great. I'd like to try again in the NHL. I've been there. I have a new life here, and it looks like it's pretty good, but who knows?"

Kharin has played in 35 of Dayton's 44 games and has scored 21 goals - third best on the team - and 46 points.

"If he doesn't get two points a night, he hasn't come to play," Playfair said. That's the rub. Sometimes, Playfair doesn't think Kharin is trying as hard as he should.

"It's a matter of finding out what gets him going, his mind-set," Playfair said. "If he wants to get it done, he'll get it done."