The latest chapter in Kyle Wellwood's wild and weird world is a sad one. Dmitry Chesnokov of Puck Daddy is reporting that Atlant Moscow Oblast has released the pudgy playmaker from his contract. The news comes from Russian sports website sports.ru, which apparently broke the story, but the website resists my translation attempts (ie. it goes all weird and wonky when I try to use Google Translate), so I'm trusting Chesnokov's translation.According to Chesnokov, the website reported that "the club management is not satisfied with the play of the 27 year old, and because of that a decision was made to end the relationship."
It seems likely that Atlant believed they were getting the diminutive dangler of 2005-07 rather than the dependable defensive presence of the current Wellwood incarnation. Wellwood only had 5 goals and 3 assists in his 25 games, but managed a +6 to go with his minimal point totals. Chesnokov also points out that he averaged a mere 8:39 in ice time per game.
Either that or they thought that in signing a hockey player from Canada, they were going to get a tough enforcer willing to drop the gloves at any moment. Wellwood had to dispel that notion in this interview:
Q: Are you ready to jump into the fray?Wellwood: There is an image of a Canadian hockey player, but I do not like to fight. You could even say I can't.
Maybe that was the issue. Kyle just needed to be willing to drop the gloves. I'm guessing he didn't because he found the green Russian bandages embarrassing. Either way, his unwillingness to fight for his job left him without a job to fight for.
On the plus side, Kyle Wellwood is coming home.
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