Daniel Brière, “ambassador of Russia”. If the trend continues, it’s a nickname that the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers could inherit.
This is because Brière maneuvered with skill to conclude several delicate issues with Russian hopes. There was Ivan Fedotov, Matvei Michkov and then, more recently, Alexei Kolosov.
“A good friend of mine said, ‘Brière should be made ambassador to Russia,'” famous Elliotte Friedman joked in the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast.
The hockey man is casually building a reputation across the league.
“He has a good one,” Friedman confirmed. He did a very good job. We must not forget that he first made his mark in the ECHL. He looked after the business side of the club. And if you know anything about business, you know how quickly things go sideways.”
In other words, Brière had seen others, and that is why he was able to calmly navigate through the troubled waters, whether it was a question of Michkov or Cutter Gauthier’s request for a transaction.
The geopolitical context in Russia and, more broadly, the proverbial “Russian factor”, continues to frighten certain teams, but not the Flyers, who see it as an advantage to stand out.
“Some teams don’t want anything to do with Russian players. Others will take a chance, but they are still afraid. The Flyers have a gift with them, it seems, Friedman admitted. Michkov absolutely arranged to be drafted by the Flyers, that’s no small thing.”
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