They say smoke is the first thing youll see in Nizhny Tagil, the Russian city where Nikita Soshnikov was born and raised.
It is an industrial hub, and it can be a hard place. The largest battle tank manufacturer in the world is based in Tagil, as is one of the countrys most prominent steel plants and eight maximum-security prisons. Factories dot the skyline and residents of the city are more likely to contract lung cancer than those living anywhere else in Russia.
Sitting in the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room earlier this week, Soshnikov is a long way from home. Ten time zones and more than 8,000 kilometres in literal terms.
In a figurative sense? Thats a little tougher to quantify.
Soshnikov perks up after learning that Ive visited Russia on a couple occasions, immediately wanting to know where. Before I can finish saying Moscow, Yaroslavl, Mytishchi and Sochi, hes chuckling.
Youve only been to the nice cities! he says.
During the lockout that interrupted the 2012-13 NHL season, Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul spent six weeks playing for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg the KHL team based closest to where Soshnikov grew up, about a two-hour trip by car and kept a journal about his experiences abroad.
Culture shock is putting it mildly, Lupul wrote in one entry.
