Striker of the club system “Colorado Avalanche” Mikhail Maltsev explained why he sees no point in further breaking into the NHL through the AHL.
This season, Maltsev has played 28 AHL regular season games for the Colorado Eagles, scoring 21 (11+10) points. In the NHL for the Avalanche, he has five games without scoring.
– We often call the AHL almost a league of fools – in fact, it’s not. Almost all top 6 teams have very skilled players, hockey is very fast, decisions are made quickly. Of the four seasons in North America, I spent about two and a half in the AHL, I tried to develop myself, to add certain components. But further, I think, it will not be possible to add quality here. There is a conservation risk. Also, at times, I see that I already become a “veteran” of this league. But I always plan my career differently (laughs).
– When can you feel like an AHL “veteran”?
– I missed all winter with an injury, in one of the first games after my return I face TJ Tynan from Ontario. One of the league’s top scorers over the past three years. He said to me, “Mikhail, good to see you on the ice.” On the one hand, it’s nice, but on the other, you understand: “Fuck, I became completely mine here.”
– Tynan, by the way, is actively paired in the KHL. They wrote that he somehow already signed with Magnitogorsk and called him the new Radulov for our league.
– He really has a lot of points and he has been gaining them regularly for several seasons. But with Radulov, of course, too. I played against him a lot – he doesn’t have such energy, somewhere he doesn’t even always run in defense. Here, in the majority, he is really good, he scores most points in uneven line-ups, “RB Sport” quotes Maltsev.
The rights of Maltsev, 25, in the KHL belong to Spartak after defender Alexander Nikishin was traded to SKA.
Source : MatchTV
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