“It is a great happiness for Kazakhstan that they are playing against the Russian national teams”
– We are on the eve of the “Future Cup”. The Federation tries to ensure that our young players get as much experience as possible, Tretyak said. “Our task is to organize more competitions. What we have, we play with Belarusians and Kazakhs. In general, we signed a memorandum on joint work with Belarus – from children’s teams to adult teams. We are also looking forward to the December tournament.
Today we are rounding up the best players we have. The main thing is that they train and play at a high level. A number of hockey players – Michkov, Lazutin, Ivanov – play in the KHL. We have good stars, and God forbid they grow.
— Did Kazakhstan voluntarily agree to play with us? Local journalists had unpleasant rhetoric about cooperation with Russia.
“I don’t know about it and I don’t react to rumours. What they write there is their opinion. But the Kazakhs are coming, they are going to play. With Belarusians a little easier. But I think it’s a great happiness for Kazakhstan to play against the first and second teams of Russia. For them, it is more important than for us.
We want to cooperate because we are close people. And we invite to our tournament those we want to see. We have a real agreement with Kazakhstan, and there is no risk that it will not come.
— Earlier, there were talks about the Chinese team.
“We wanted… But for more Chinese to start playing hockey.
“We will not sign contracts with coaches from Zhamnov’s headquarters”
– Which Russian teams will we see at the December tournament?
– The first Russian team will be coached by Alexei Zhamnov. Team RU25 – Roman Rotenberg.
– Who will be included in the seat of Zhamnov?
– You should ask him a question. It will provide the roster of players and coaches by December 1. He should give us that list. Because the tournament is ephemeral, and there is only one this season. Let him invite whoever he wants.
– If Zhamnov invites the same Ilya Kovalchuk, will FHR conclude a contract with him?
– What contract? No. Do I have to sign a contract for two games? Just Zhamnov invites and people will participate.
– And who will enter the headquarters of Rotenberg?
– It hasn’t been determined yet. That’s why we’re not telling you yet. Did he say in an interview that this would be the headquarters of the SKA? Well, that makes sense. And for the FHR, the main thing is that the first team has a worthy competitor. I’m not saying Belarusians are weak. But we want to bring together two solid formations of our teams.
So it was in Soviet times. Then two national teams of the USSR took part, because there were not enough teams. And once even the second team won the Izvestia award.
“Compare Rotenberg and Tarasov? Any normal person wouldn’t think of that!”
– What did you put in the words that Rotenberg is a disciple of Tikhonov and Tarasov?
– I was asked a question about the system of training hockey players and the formation of the team. In Soviet times, we didn’t have a general manager. The head coach combined these functions, he was like a king and a god. The same Anatoly Tarasov came to the coaching council with a ready-made team and said: “These guys are going to win the World Cup, I’m going with them.”
Today, the general manager recruits both a coach and hockey players. The coach is only an employee. It’s the NHL system. I have been asked how Rotenberg combines the two positions. I answered: it’s like in the Soviet Union.
But even thought there was no comparison! Any normal person wouldn’t think of that. Tarasov cannot be compared with anyone, neither Chernyshev nor Tikhonov. They are our stars, the patriarchs of Soviet hockey. It is very difficult to achieve the same success as them.
– Vyacheslav Fetisov said: “Ask your crazy Tretiak why he said that.”
– It’s his reaction, why he didn’t read my thought to the end. My answer was completely different from the title. Later I said that Rotenberg is young, promising, he tries, he graduated from the institute. But Fetisov does not read this. Any questions should be directed to him.
“Thanks for the idea! Hall of Fame must work”
– Why isn’t the FHR introducing new members to the National Hockey Hall of Fame in December? Our museum has not been updated since 2014. But many legends are waiting for such an honor.
We have a number of ideas about who we want to bring in. The same Vladimir Aseev from Samara, who for many years worked in the ice hockey federation. We will present it.
It’s a good idea, yes. And we need to popularize the Museum of Hockey Glory of Russia as much as possible. We are going to do it. Thanks for the advice! We will try to be on time for the December tournament.
We already have candidates and the coaching council has decided who we will present. It can be done. We thank for this idea.
“Which museum will Ovechkin donate his staff to?” »
– Do you follow how Alexander Ovechkin breaks goal records? Already Gordie Howe has passed.
Alexandre is an exceptional player. When you open our press, in the NHL section, we only talk about him. But everything is well deserved. The man is already becoming a legend. It’s hard to get close to Gordie Howe, who played over 1,000 games.
By the way, Howe played until he was 50. God grant Alexander such longevity. At least until the age of 45. Then it will definitely beat Wayne Gretzky’s feat.
We wish him good luck, and above all – no injuries. And so that Sasha himself does not cling to these discs. And he just went out and had fun and did what he knows how to do. Then he will really get what he wants.
Ovechkin took the stick with which he broke Howe’s record. They say there will be some kind of museum in Moscow, the Ovechkin Academy in Mnevniki. What have you heard of it?
– I have no information. I heard that Sasha wanted to donate the stick to the museum. I just don’t know who exactly he will give it to – either the NHL in Toronto or us.
– It seems that Ovechkin will have his own museum in Moscow.
Well, let’s wish him luck. And we will always help you. For us, the more museums there are, the more our sport is popularized. We are all for it!
“We are for three legionnaires, and the Ministry of Sports supports us”
– A few months ago, Arkady Rotenberg announced that in the 2023/24 season there will be three foreign players per club in the KHL. Does everything still work?
— Yes, we gave the letter to the Ministry of Sports. They support us there so that there are three legionnaires.
Allow me to insist: we are not against the legionnaires. We are for good legionnaires like Jaromir Jagr. We had a number of quality Finnish and Swedish players.
Today, the situation is such that the foreign actors themselves have disappeared. And today it is better to invite three good legionnaires, whom you can admire. And give more space to Russian youth, which we will see at the “Future Cup” in St. Petersburg.
Today we have a chance for young stars to discover themselves. There may not be another chance like this. Maybe in two or three years we will have five legionnaires again. But let’s think about our hockey today, since we don’t participate in international championships. All the same, the athlete reveals his talent in the competition. So let our youngsters compete in the KHL.
– And what about the “Admiral”, who plays successfully thanks to five good legionnaires? It will collapse.
“I don’t think there will be stratification in the league. We have a different opinion. ‘Admiral’ is playing well, and let’s see how he gets to the end.
– That is, the decision on the three legionnaires has already been made?
— The final decision is taken by the Ministry of Sports. We have a letter there.
“Only I voted for the Lada not to be abolished”
– What do you think of Lada’s possible return to the KHL?
– The Ice Hockey Federation has always been for the expansion of the representation of Russian clubs in the league. I was probably the only KHL board member when I advocated that Lada not be removed. And you all know it well.
I just left two teams – “Lada” (Tolyatti) and “Ugra” (Khanty-Mansiysk). I said that “Lada” should be left. And when the decision was made, there was only one vote against – mine. The others voted for Lada to leave.
Glad Lada is back today. I was in Tolyatti, again I saw how much they love hockey there. We have so many players – stars, world champions – who have come from this city.
The more good Russian teams, the better. I always rejoice. I spoke with the governor of the Samara region. He said to me, “We will definitely be back. Vladislav, thank you for your support!
“When the situation in the world changes, then it will be a completely different conversation with the NHL and the IIHF”
– Why are hockey ratings dropping so much? Yesterday, during the match “Metallurg” – “Avangard” did not even gather three thousand spectators.
“It’s such a difficult time today. And our people are not yet used to the fact that there are so many games in the KHL – each club now plays 68 games. Not all wives will let their man go in hockey when there are four or five games in a row in a city.
And where to find the money? These are the tickets you need to buy. We are not yet used to such a pace, unlike the NHL. So somewhere attendance and falls. But not because there are no legionnaires somewhere. The situation is difficult today, you know. Everyone thinks of his family, how to live. There is such a situation.
– Do we have positive relations with the international federation IIHF? How are we going to be sent back to the World Cup? And what about the World Cup?
Everyone is waiting for what will happen to the international situation. When that changes, then, probably, we will decide. The NHL has yet to announce the World Cup roster. The IIHF is also waiting to see what will happen.
It’s just that not everyone talks about it openly. But I think that without the Russian team, the World Championships and the World Cup are still not at the level they should be.
Russia is Russia, we can’t live without it. Therefore, when the situation in the world changes, the attitude towards tournaments will be different and the conversation will be completely different with the NHL and the IIHF.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
