Jagr doesn't believe that the pressure on Europeans to prove themselves is as critical as it was when he signed in 1990. I think the North Americans and the fans started respecting the European players. When I first came here, I was the first European player for the Penguins and everybody looked at me differently. I couldn't speak English. But in the last eight or nine years, it has changed.
Conditions are different because most myths have died.
The last to go was the idea teams couldn't win with too many Russians because they didn't covet the Stanley Cup with the same zeal as North Americans. That notion went on its deathbed in 1994 when the New York Rangers won with five Russians. There's no doubt about that. Larionov sees the quest for a Cup and Olympic gold as completely different. The Russian kids grew up dreaming to play for the national team, to play for their country in World Championships and Olympics.