Two years ago, the Hockey News predicted Sergei Samsonov would be the #1 pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. That's a lot of pressure to put on a 15 year old.

In late 1993 and early 1994, Sergei toured Cananda with his Russian Junior team. In just 24 games, Sergei scored an incredible46 goals and 37 assists. The Samsonov hype has begun.

But after playing in over 100 games last season with the fames Moscow Central Army team in the CIS and the Russian World Junior team, Sergei apeared to be tired. His team was defeated at the World Junior Championships in Boston and brought home only a bronze medal.

Despite finishing third in scoring in the top division in Russia, the skeptics were questioning Sergei's touting as the next #1 pick. The toll of playing on four different teams was showing. The politics in Russia also began to take its toll and forced a dramtic change in Sergei's life.

The internal strife in Russia was not just limited to politics. A struggle over control and coaching of the Moscow Central Red Army began tearing the team apart. Viktor Tikhonov, the former coach of many Societ Olympic Teams, was ousted as the coach of the Central Army in 1995.

But as the 1996 season approached, Tikhonov went to the courts to regain control of the team. Citing a 49-year lease he had on the Central army arena, Tikhonov conviced the court he should have control of the club.

The ruling went against Tikhonov's rival, Viktor Volchkov, who was appointed coach after Tikhonov's removal. Viktor is the father of Aleksandre Volchkov, the fourth overall pick in the 1996 NHL Draft.

The battle in the courts split the team down the middle. The supporters of Volchkov were not allowed to practice during the court preceedings. The after the ruling, the Volchkov followers were relegated to a second divsion team. Among those followers was Sergei.

Fed up with the problems in Moscow, Sergei made the decision to come to North America. Sergei contacted his new agent, Jay Grossman, who put out the word that the 17 year old phenom was available.

"When Sergei made the determination in July to play in North America, we had a number of significant options available as far as places to play.," Grossman said. "About three-fourths of the IHL teams called. Detroit was the place we felt Sergei could develop. We also felt it was crucial for him to be in a positive environment. We felt the Vipers were tops in the regard."

So on August 22, 1996, a press conference was called in Detroit to announce the signing.