“I’m scoring. They treat me well. They pay on time, and sure, I’d heard all the stories about guys coming over here and not getting paid and stuff. But, really, I think they’re beyond all that.
“For me, this has been the perfect place.’’
So much so that Bochenski is on the verge of signing a three-year extension with Barys (the team logo is a snow leopard). His wife Jenny and 2-year-old daughter just days ago returned to suburban Minneapolis, where Jenny soon will give birth to the couple’s second child. Bochenski will return home for the summer, then the family will be back in Kazahkstan in September for another season, 12 time zones to the east of Prior Lake, Minn.
“I guess you’d say it’s kind of like a mini-Dubai here, from an architecture standpoint, with everything so new,’’ said Bochenski, speaking via phone from his digs in Astana. “Sure, it’s different, very different in some ways. But for us, it’s kind of nice to have a second home, even if it is way out here in Kazakhstan.’’
The KHL pay scale, like its geography, is all over the map. Successful “imports’’ such as Bochenski typically can earn $600,000-$700,000 a year, on par with the NHL’s minimum wage. Given tax breaks and other incentives that are often tossed in (such as an apartment and car), it can be a comfortable harbor for North Americans, especially those such as Bochenski who tried to scratch out a living as a 13th forward at the NHL level and first-liner in the AHL.
“To be honest, sure, I considered trying [the NHL] again after these two years here,’’ said Bochenski, who leads Barys with 20 goals and 43 points in 41 games. “It goes through your mind.
“But my wife and I looked at it, and even though there’s a lot of traveling in the KHL, it meant a lot for us to be in one place, playing for one team.
“I played for six NHL teams in five seasons, and I was up and down from the minors more times than I could count. So to be in one place, with my wife and family, and have the whole cultural experience, too … we’re very happy with it.’’
