Kantserov, Zhukov, Konov and Demidov go to KHL All-Star Game
On Saturday in Chelyabinsk, the stellar hockey week began. The Traktor Ice Arena hosted the MHL Challenge Cup, where the East and West teams met.
Hope you didn’t miss the broadcast on KHL TV. It was interesting to see the guys who are the future of our hockey. By the way, 5132 spectators came to the Challenge Cup. Compare with the viewership of Traktor’s last game – 4,567 fans attended the game against Barys. And then people went to see the young people!
The Eastern team won with a score of 5:2. Remember these names: Vladimir Konov (Loko-76) opened the scoring, Alexander Mirzabalaev (Russian Knights) equalized, Anton Begaev (Krasnoyarsk Lynxes) took the lead, Roman Kantserov (Steel Foxes) developed the success, Alexander Morozov (Sakhalinskiye Sharks) reduced the score, Yegor Chernikov (Mammoths of Yugra) made the scoreboard 4:2 and Ivan Klimovich (Siberian Snipers) recorded the final result.
Look, seven goals were scored by representatives of seven teams at once. Here it is, the diversity of the Youth Hockey League!
What is valuable, the expert council chose the four best players of the Challenge Cup, who received an invitation to the KHL All-Star Game, which will be held on December 10-11 in Chelyabinsk. Konov and Kantserov are invited to the celebration, along with Artem Zhukov (Siberian Snipers) and Ivan Demidov (SKA-1946).
In addition, the guys had to throw at goal, knocking out the targets on which the names of the divisions were written. Accordingly, Kantserov will play for the national team of the Kharlamov division, Konov for the Chernyshev division, Zhukov for the Bobrov division, Demidov for the Tarasov division.
And I found a moment to speak with the top scorer in the history of our hockey, with the legend of legends Sergey Mozyakin. Well, it’s like going to an NHL star party and chatting with Wayne Gretzky.
Magnitogorsk is the undisputed leader of the East
– Sergey, you are now responsible for youth in Metallurg. Did you like this MHL Challenge Cup, where the cream of the crop was gathered?
– For me, this is the first youth game of the stars, which I watched in full. Moreover, we have chosen the best players. I liked that the Challenge Cup was a real hockey game and not a stellar amateur game where you can score 20 goals. Here the guys tried and fought to be chosen for the KHL All-Star Game.
I really liked the atmosphere and was delighted that more than five thousand spectators gathered in the arena. In a good way, it’s amazing!
– Roman Kantserov of the Steel Foxes will participate in the KHL All-Star Game. Can he become an interesting player in the KHL?
– Roma is a good guy in life and he is very successful in hockey. He makes a big contribution to the team’s game and helps a lot in the dressing room. I am very happy that our experts chose him and that he made it to the KHL All-Star Game.
How to integrate the first team of Metallurg? He does a lot of good things and should continue like that. Then he will succeed.
– Magnitogorsk won 2:1 against CSKA. A little revenge for the Gagarin Cup final, when Metallurg could have become the champion. How do you find the performance of the team this season?
– “Magnitogorsk” is called the favorite from year to year. This spring was a tough finale. He’s still in discussion, analyzing why Metallurg didn’t take the cut.
At the beginning of this championship, some problems appeared, Magnitogorsk did not enter the season easily. But now I think the team has found their game. Maybe not 100% perfect. But for me, Metallurg is the undisputed leader in the Eastern Conference. We need to gain even more momentum by the end of the season. Hopefully this playoff will do better than the previous one.
“If a young person hasn’t reached the KHL, it’s because he hasn’t made an effort”
– Tell me frankly – are you for three or five foreign players in each KHL club next season?
– My position: the two sentences “young people are making their way in the KHL” and “how many foreign players should be in the team” are in no way related to each other. If only three foreigners are allowed in, that doesn’t mean we’ll have a youth hockey boom. If the guys don’t shoot it, it means others will play in their place.
If young people fail to enter the composition, it means that they are not making an effort.
– Competition must be maintained.
– There should be competition between young people. But when you’re inexperienced, it’s harder for you to compete with those guys who spent five to ten years in the KHL.
It will always be difficult for young people. But from year to year, guys still appear who are making their way to the top. And I don’t see a problem with that. Moreover, strangers do not affect it in any way.
“I am proud to have played with Sanya Ovechkin for the national team”
– How do you find the situation in Ak Bars? So far, Yuriy Babenko is in charge of the team, but Oleg Znarok was sacked. Can a team take off with so many age stars?
It is difficult for me to judge from the outside. I know Znark well. He is a great coach and person. I also know quite a few guys from the current Ak Bars roster.
– Each of them one by one – great. Why didn’t they work together?
– That’s such a difficult question… Maybe something happened in the locker room? Perhaps Oleg Valerievich failed. Or the players just didn’t support him at some point.
But you know what I’m going to say – put any other coach in Ak Bars, and I don’t think he can drastically change anything. Maybe this problem comes from within. From what I understand.
– Soon Alexander Ovechkin will score the 800th goal in the NHL. Does this upcoming realization impress you?
– It will be a vacation for me that Sanya conquers such a peak. He has accomplished so much. Will he score those 800 goals or not? He is already a legend of the NHL and of Russian hockey. He can only be congratulated. And I am happy and proud that we know each other, that we played together in the same Russian team.
– My opinion: you have a better wrist throw than Ovechkin. And it has a better click.
Well, that’s your opinion. And I love the click!
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.
