31-year-old Alexei Kruchinin has become this season not only the leader of Torpedo, where he left Siberia in the summer. In Igor Larionov’s team, the striker made an unexpected reset and reached a whole new level, gaining more than 50 points in the regular season. It’s not just his personal record in the KHL. This is double the previous record! An injury prevented Kruchinin from showing all his class in the playoffs, but even here he proved to be a real fighter – going out on the ice because of pain. And he left him after the battle with SKA with a limp, but – to the standing ovation from the stands.
In addition, Alexey managed to work during the game and in the coaching staff of Nizhny Novgorod – when he missed games due to injury. Talk in detail about his upcoming new contract. But the club and the player clearly have a mutual interest.
In the second round of the Gagarin Cup, “Torpedo” lost the series to SKA St. Petersburg (0-4) and ended the season. The fourth game (3:5) took place in Nizhny Novgorod on March 22.
“The feeling of understatement in ‘Torpedo’ remained”
– Torpedo had an incredible season. You have it too, according to statistics – the best of your career. What are your impressions of the trip?
– In my heart now, to be honest, it’s hard because of the loss, in order to objectively assess the whole season. It is clear that there are many advantages for every Torpedo player. Many thanks to the fans, they are really amazing in Nizhny Novgorod. It’s a shame we couldn’t extend the season for them. Really like! Now we have to move away from defeat, and then the real realization will come that there have been a lot of good things in this championship.
– Due to an injury, you did not enter the Gagarin Cup in the first matches. And on Wednesday, they limped off the ice. Did you have to force yourself? Playing through pain is hard.
– It’s not worth talking about injuries in the playoffs. Even after the end of the season for us. Because I don’t want the injury to be my excuse. Because of this, I couldn’t play at full power. If you’re on the ice, then you’re ready. Unfortunately, in this series, I couldn’t show what I showed in the regular season. He was limping because, apparently, the same injury had repeated itself. Now is the time to fully recover.
– You have become a favorite of the audience of Nizhny Novgorod. But your contract with Torpedo is over. What will you do next and do you have to think about debts? Taking into account that right now you have a chance to sign the main contract of your career.
“For me, money has never been in the foreground. I can’t say how much I’m going to think yet. First you just need to calm down from the game. Then I’ll call the agent and start negotiations. I hope they pass quickly. Because now I have a great feeling of understatement. Will have to make up for it next year.
“Nobody has done that yet in the KHL”
– This season you had a unique experience at Torpedo – working on the bench as a coach during the game. Will it be useful in the future?
– It was a great experience. And at this time – in general, something unusual. No one has done this before in the KHL. It is very important for me, because I have never hidden that I would like to become a coach after the end of my playing career. It was interesting to observe the behavior of the guys on the bench from the outside. Note some details.
Should the KHL championship be extended until the end of May? Taking into account that our team will not be able to compete in the next world championships.
– One hundred percent the league would benefit from the championship lasting longer. I’m sure no KHL player will say, “Let’s play less. Everyone will be in favor of having seventy or even eighty league games. You just don’t need to cram them in five months for us to constantly fly all over Russia.
And so – make contracts at least until May 15, at least until May 31, travel expenses. Now is such a time – the sun is peeking out, the mood is right. You put on a suit, you go to the game – everything is fine! And suddenly hockey is over for us today. It would be possible to play in the regular season at that time. If you’re playing the playoffs in warm weather you can put big screens in the plazas and there are beer stands right there for the people. And thousands of fans who have not been to the arena will rest there and watch the hockey.
It has to be done when we don’t have the World Cup and the international scene in general. All attention should be on the KHL. I hope the league will start moving in that direction.
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Watch live broadcasts of KHL matches on the federal channel , thematic channels of the holding, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
