“After the first NHL game, the thought arose, ‘Maybe go back to Russia? Interview with Evgeni Malkin

“I’ve been nervous and cried for the past three days. But those are tears of joy.

– Eugene, what does it mean for you to play 1000 regular season games in the NHL? The 16 seasons on the same team… Do you remember your first game with Pittsburgh?

“I feel like I’m ending my career today. Everyone around me is congratulating me, introducing me, a lot of good times, they’re showing me on TV. It’s like I have Been somewhere for a long time, and now I’m back.

But I will say that the most interesting has only just begun. And every year you appreciate your access to ice more and more. Because you understand – there is still more to play, maybe not so much. In our life now, everything is so ambiguous.

Therefore, you especially remember those times. Record, take photos. And thank you to the players, thank you to the entire Pittsburgh organization. Many good surprises. It was also in Chicago, where I played the thousandth game. And now against Calgary, which is game number 1001. It’s also very important that we won the last two games.

Thank God it’s all over. I have been crying, getting nervous and worried over the past three days. But these are tears of joy. And many pleasant moments will forever be remembered. I have no words to describe the wonderful organization we have.

– But if you go through those 16 years, name some of the brightest highlights.

– Anyone will say that these are won Stanley Cups. But it’s actually my first game in the NHL. She was also very important. I didn’t know where I was going. I didn’t know what to expect. And things could have turned out differently. Not as you wanted. I got injured in the first game…

I remember you hurt your shoulder.

– And I had a lot of thoughts: “Maybe come back? Maybe try playing in Russia again?

I have made many friends here with whom we communicate and keep in touch. There are my friends here, even on crutches, – Malkin nods to a passing partner. “A game is still a game. But the most important thing is human relations, even with rivals.

It seems to me that I remain not only a good player, but also a person. How can I forget the times when I met my wife? Or when we had a baby?

There are a lot of hockey-related events. It’s an amazing life and I consider myself a lucky person.

“My son fell in love with football”

– Is Nikita Malkin already successful in hockey? My wife and son came to this game.

– If not how? Of course they are with me. Of course they support. Always there when it matters most.

Well, with hockey for the son, everything is more difficult. Because he really loves football. Qatar is currently hosting the World Cup. The son has a whole magazine, he collects all the players. For each team you need to collect a certain set of stickers. We order them, they are constantly repeated. There are five or six players left to recover. This school has already turned into a real adventure. Children not only collect stickers, but also play and organize tournaments.

So my son is now in love with football. And I see he likes team sports. We were in Moscow, I took him to hockey – he liked it too. Party, changing room – he made a lot of friends. And he liked to walk.

Here in Miami, hockey is a little more difficult. But now he’s back in Pittsburgh, and I want to try again. We don’t really have any pressure. If you like football, we will be happy to try this sport.

The main thing is that a person loves what he does. But I see he is very motivated – he knows all the players, he watches the World Cup games now, he knows the scores and who plays how. For me it’s amazing. He is only six years old. But football really got him.

“Sanya Ovechkin congratulated by phone”

Did your parents fly to Pittsburgh?

– No, they were only on TV during the match, when I was honoured. Now they are applying for a visa. Documents submitted, we are waiting. Now it has become much more difficult to do, it takes a little longer. But I hope they come to the Winter Classics where we play against Boston. Or after the New Year.

They are no longer young, it is difficult to fly. Therefore, we choose, we guess, so that it suits them. Let’s see how it is better when they get a visa.

– Now Pittsburgh is playing great, but before that they had a seven-game losing streak. What was it?

– We made the right conclusions, somewhere our luck returned. You can’t lose all the time. We won one, the second game – and the confidence came. After the first two wins, the guys felt it, they started playing much better.

The key to success is in the details. Somewhere the majority has improved, or here we have changed the minority a bit. All in all, it paid off.

– You received many congratulations. Which was the most unexpected?

– In fact, Ruslan Fedotenko congratulated me on TV. I was a little surprised because I hadn’t spoken to him for a long time. When they flew to Montreal, I saw Max Talbot. So it’s not surprising here.

And so many guys congratulated me – for example, Sanya Ovechkin on the phone. Ilya Kovalchuk also called. All guys communicate with each other, make friends, maintain good relations. I thank them for the kind words, I also wish them good luck.