Sharks top pick Nikolay Goldobin joining Finland's HIFK, instead of going back to OHL

Not so long ago, there was a hue and cry about talented European players continuing their development in North America and not coming back. In that regard, then, what the San Jose Sharks have opted to do with 19-year-old first-round pick Nikolay Goldobin, assigning the skilled winger to HIFK Helsinki in the Finnish Elite League instead of sending him back to the Sarnia Sting like they would have to if he came from from Mississauga instead of Moscow, is actually a welcome development, in the big-picture sense.

Or, put another way, there was less potential gain in having Goldobin, a 94-point scorer in the OHL, go back for another year of toe-dragging teenagers.

From Curtis Pashelka:

For those scoring at home, that means only two of the five Canadian Hockey League import players who went in the first round of the NHL draft are back for another seasono of major junior. The Montreal Canadiens returned Nikita Scherbak, who was taken one spot ahead of Goldobin, to the WHL, where he is now gracing the Everett Silvertips. The Winnipeg Jets' top pick, Nikolaj Ehlers, is making his season debut for the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday.

Third overall pick Leon Draisaitl is on the Edmonton Oilers' opening night roster, while the Dallas Stars have assigned Julias Honka, formerly of Swift Current, to the AHL.

There is no one-size-fits-all development path. However, Goldobin move brings up the point that having a player leave 18 or 19 to find another stepping-stone toward the NHL is essentially in tune with how it works in every other hockey country. Being enriched by European talent is a two-way street. Players test the waters in major junior for a myriad of reasons, such as the opportunity to be a top-end player against a decent calibre of competition, which might not be available in Europe, where junior club hockey is more of an afterthought. Once someone has outgrown that — and Goldobin could certainly stand to play in a men's league in order to become a more consistent performer — it is time to take the next step.

Between Goldobin and Honka, someone following the sport from a CHL perspective might have to become more conditioning to seeing this happen.  

Meantime, an opening is created for someone else. Sarnia, with Czech newcomer Pavel Zacha and 18-year-old sophomore Vladislav Kodola, still has a full complement of imports. The Sting lose a trade chip, but that's just a fact of life in the OHL.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.