columnist Pavel Lysenkov in his telegram channel every day during game day, the KHL holds a fan vote: “Which coach do you consider the best on this day?”
Thus, Mikhail Kravets is in third place in this poll. This despite the fact that he only led Avangard in October, replacing Dmitry Ryabykin in that role. That is, he did not start from the first meters of the distance.
There was a time when the Omsk club was even at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. But the team under Kravets started winning game after game.
And the fans love it.
“Miroshnichenko is ready for medical reasons”
– Mikhail Grigoryevich, what can you say about the debut of Ivan Miroshnichenko in Avangard, whose return to big hockey was awaited by all KHL fans?
“Above all, we are happy that Vanya has overcome her problem and returned to work. This season he’s played well in both the MHL and the VHL, and now he’s vindicating our KHL hopes – both in practice and in games.
– Are you going to introduce it to the adult level with care? Or can Ivan be safely thrown into battle?
– According to all medical indicators, he is ready. And how long he is ready to spend on the pitch – specific matches will show. From his debut, I had the impression that he could play a lot more.
— How do you manage to find a common language with the players so easily? There is an opinion in the KHL that you are a soulful coach. Or is he a dictator?
– I can be different. It all depends on how the players behave after our conversations and communications in the locker room. If I see that a person is making mistakes, but giving all their strength to the site, trying to get a win for the team, then I can skip their mistakes, not have an extra meeting about it.
Because it happens that a player is mistaken of excess energy when he tries to embrace the immensity. To win, have lots of normal, quiet conversations with the guys. But sometimes you can sound like a man if the match is very serious. The most important thing is that there are no insults. I can raise my voice, but it’s speaking face to face, so the player can understand better.
“If the player just talks, our cooperation ends”
… At this point, the interview was interrupted for a few seconds by striker Dmitry Shevchenko, who terminated the contract with Avangard by mutual agreement between the parties. But he came to personally kiss the coach goodbye. The question immediately arose:
– Is it difficult to separate from players like that? After all, it’s like a loved one leaving the family.
– Sure. Moreover, just now, Dima has achieved what was expected of him and has played well in the last matches. When his games didn’t go well, he himself came to apologize, realizing what he had done wrong on the ice. We managed to convince him, and he was able to rebuild himself and start playing properly. But there are situations when you still have to separate. I really hope Shevchenko continues his successful career and achieves results at Barys.
– Recently, Alexander Burmistrov expressed his dissatisfaction with Oleg Znark in the dressing room of Ak Bars. And the striker was immediately removed from the team. How would you behave as the coach of Kazan?
– It all depends on what exactly and in what form it was expressed. And also what Burmistrov did before. After all, there are players who start grumbling: “We’re doing the wrong thing, the wrong training…”. I always offer to show them what it takes to start playing better? You don’t have enough time, or you don’t like your partners, or do you need to put yourself in the majority in order to improve your mood? I always ask. And first, I give the player what he wants. If he proves on the ice that he needs all that, that’s one thing. And if he just talks, that’s where our cooperation ends.
“Pulling young KHL players simply by their age is a mistake”
– Next year, the number of legionnaires in the application will be reduced to three people by order. To whom will you give the vacant places in the team? The agents will say: let’s put our promising young people.
– I don’t like this expression: “Come on, bet.” Let the agents say what they want. If there are young players like Miroshnichenko or Mikhail Gulyaev, then I don’t even have to say anything, I will place them myself. Because I see how the guys on our VHL team play, how they train.
Attracting players to the KHL team simply by age is a mistake. Youngsters should be brought into the main team, but they should play there and not serve a number. We were also young, but nobody put us in the adult teams because of our age. For example, I scored a hundred goals in the major leagues before arriving at SKA. That is, specific indicators are needed to get even into the fourth link of the KHL team. And you also have to use the time there is to prove that you can somehow help the team win. Then the coach will leave you naturally.
Here’s a good example – our 18-year-old striker Gleb Trikozov. He has good performances, so he got his chance in the game against Salavat Yulaev. Because he took our team out in the MHL, and he’s trying hard in the VHL. He’s a promising striker, he deserved a chance with his game. Again, the players who are invited to the youth team – they haven’t just made it. Everything must be logical. Age is not the main criterion, goals, assists, dedication and everything else should be attached to it.
– Do you like more when there are five legionnaires in the team? Because Avangard became the champion in 2021 largely thanks to foreigners. Grubets, Kaski, Pokka, Knight, Bush – their contribution to victory can hardly be overstated. Each of them is a shot in the “bull’s eye”.
“The strongest should just play. If our guys are performing better, or at least on the same level, then why should they give up their place in the team to strangers? But if our legionnaires overplay, excuse me, they will play.
– How do you like Arseniy Gritsyuk’s game this season?
– If Gritsyuk plays every game until the end of the season like he played with CSKA or Traktor – he scores more, gives more, fights – then everything will be fine for him. Arseniy is very talented, if he works and plows on the site, everything will be fine for him.
“My arrival at Avangard is Khabibulin’s initiative”
– Tell us how you came to Avangard? Whose initiative was it?
“The very first call came from Rashid Khabibulin, our current CEO. It was his initiative.
– When you led Avangard, the team changed quickly. Goalkeeper Vasily Demchenko was particularly impressed. At the start of the season, everyone was saying that your team had a problem with the goalkeepers, and suddenly… Did you work with him personally?
“I don’t get involved in babysitting. Our goalkeeping coach Sergei Zvyagin is doing his job at 200%. And the fact that Vasily plays like that is his great merit. But, of course, the whole team helps him – the guys started catching 25-30 shots per game. Goalkeepers feel such support.
– In what role do you see Nail Yakupov in your team?
“Let’s get better first. He has too many wounds. Finger, foot, something else. Nail needs to recover and get out to play. He is a good, fast and active attacker. With a large volume of skating, we can score. Of course, the team needs him.
– Yakupov’s injuries are really one after another, but nevertheless …
– He’s in the team, he always worries about her.
“The team is 90% formed”
– What should be done so that in a continuous championship of 68 games with only one break, the team does not fall into a psychological hole? Do you have company parties in the club? Is it to take the whole composition to the take-out restaurant?
– Just on December 15, we will go to the New Year’s meeting with the whole team. We try to do things like that so that there is not only one hockey.
– Is Avangard already 100% trained? Is this the team with which you are ready to leave for the championship?
– I will not say a hundred, but 90% of course. If you make reinforcements, then only points – help Vasily, help in defense.
– Do you have two granddaughters?
— Two granddaughters and two grandsons.
– He also happens to be a grandfather?
– At that time, almost none. It’s only in the summer. And even then, the children and grandchildren already have their own things.
– Are you going to train your grandchildren in hockey?
– I won’t hang around, let the parents decide. But if they do, then, of course, I will help them.
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.
