Russia's Ilya Kovalchuk became the latest high-profile player to join the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) by signing with big spending SKA St. Petersburg on Tuesday on the heels of a National Hockey League lockout.

The Russian club did not disclose contract details, only saying on its website that the forward for the NHL's New Jersey Devils would wear the No 17 jersey.

Kovalchuk, 29, joins NHL Most Valuable Player Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and former All-Star defenseman Sergei Gonchar of the Ottawa Senators, who both signed for KHL rival Metallurg Magnitogorsk on Sunday, in the Russian league.

The exodus of top NHL talent to Russia is widely expected to continue since the North American league imposed a league-wide lockout after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the players' union over the weekend.

The ambitious KHL, formed three years ago with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has jumped at the chance to recruit some of the world's best players, hoping it will help the fast-growing league emerge from the shadows of the NHL.

Magnitogorsk gave Malkin a hero's welcome despite the fact that the Russian defected to the United States during the team's training camp in Finland in 2006. The Russians then threatened to go to a US court to seek compensation from Pittsburgh before settling the case with the NHL club.

Despite signing a peace agreement with the NHL last year, KHL boss Alexander Medvedev has been eager to bring back the best home-grown players, saying such a move would greatly increase the popularity of the league both at home and abroad.

Russia's national coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov also welcomed the opportunity to see the country's elite players in person rather than watch them on TV, saying it would help mould the best possible team for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

(China Daily 09/20/2012 page22)