“When Igor came to Rangers, he was told, ‘You are the first Russian who doesn’t need retraining. Secrets of Shesterkin’s Rise

“Shesterkin has dominated this season”

Was it obvious to you that Shesterkin would win the Vezina Trophy this year?

– Throughout the NHL season, I watched Rangers games, and Igor and I were in contact. It was striking how heavily Shesterkin added during the championship. Yes, there were some difficult moments, but he overcame them. I saw how the other guys were playing. Against their background, Igor looked very powerful, dominated. So it was not a push, but throughout the season.

10 games before the start of the playoffs, we discussed that it is very important to keep the level in the Stanley Cup. “Vezina” is given for the regular season, but the most important thing is the team’s performance in cup matches. There are plenty of examples where even star goalkeepers have failed.

Thus, Igor in the battle for the Stanley Cup added to each series. And in the Eastern Final against Tampa, he was good from the first game, and the Rangers held him. Yes, in the end, the Lightning players wreaked havoc, trampled, used their colossal cup experience. But Igor held very well with the overwhelming advantage of Tampa. And even Rangers had a chance to capture this series – thanks to Shesterkin.

– How did he get enough strength for 20 games in 40 days?

— Yes, he played against a backdrop of fatigue. I played because of the good habits, the developments, the mental safety margin. And I gained experience that will be useful to me in future playoffs. Shesterkin kept the mark, played without drops. And he has played 73 games this year. This has never happened to him in his life! But Igor went through this marathon very gently.

“He doesn’t look like a beefy athlete.

– However, Shesterkin’s physique is good. Last summer, we practiced well at the goalie camp. I was just without a contract, it turned out that I was free in the summer. Igor and I immediately contacted, and he suggested: “Maybe we can work?” – “Sure!”

We trained for a month and a half. At the same time, Vsevolod Kondrashov, an old friend of Igor, a fitness trainer, was working. He has been doing this for several years now. I saw how serious they were. There was very intense on-ice training, and in parallel they worked on physical training. As I know, Vsevolod also advised Shesterkin during the season. And that helped a lot.

Igor wrote during the playoff: “The fatigue has accumulated…” Rehabilitation after games is very important here. How to recover, eat, sleep. We didn’t even talk about it anymore. Shesterkin is very meticulous. After a winning match, if not too good goals have been missed, he immediately wants to dismantle them. And I diverted his attention to positive things. Everyone makes mistakes, but the main thing is victory. And thoughts should be directed to the next game. You need to prepare, relax, walk and breathe fresh air. At this stage, the simple things are very important.

“Igor’s example should inspire young people”

– What is special about goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin? What is her characteristic, even if we compare her to Andrei Vasilevsky?

– There are common technical points, how modern goalkeepers play. Especially our Russian guys. But there are differences in tactics and style. Andrey is more global, that’s why he covers more space. At the same time, he is mobile, flexible, perfectly reads the game. Igor is always more mobile, compact, agile. And his life makes him so. It does not have Vasilevsky’s dimensions. If you play less actively and deeper into the net, the puck will fly towards you.

I don’t mean that Andrei is standing still. He’s not a blocker, but a goalkeeper. But Igor needs to be more aggressive. There is even such a phrase that I coined when Shesterkin and I were working in St. Petersburg: “You need to have controlled aggression.” Just Igor does it very clearly, and this distinguishes his style.

– Can you explain why Shesterkin never became SKA’s first goalkeeper, being under Mikko Koskinen or Magnus Hellberg?

– I would not bring up the past, there were a lot of difficult situations, the solution of which did not always depend on the goalkeeper coach. But I must say that Igor was treated very well at SKA. And they gave a development opportunity, for the game and his professional growth as a goalkeeper.

– I will say it differently: do you see a trend in the KHL now that young goalies will be better revealed? You work at Lokomotiv, and there you missed Ilya Konovalov, the best newcomer in the championship.

– When Ilyukha left Lokomotiv, I followed him – we crossed paths in the national team. And I saw what happened to him then. The former technical staff came, they brought with them a goalkeeper with the prefix “super”.

-Eddie Pasquale.

– Yes. Naturally, the conditions were created for him to play as the first number, and Ilyukha began to be drawn. Once taken out of the game, the second, the third… The guy was just confused, spat, offended and left for the Edmonton system. The situation looked really ugly and Konovalov didn’t even return to the club. But now the situation for Russian goalkeepers is chic. From now on, the foreigners will be much less numerous. Many professions are emerging. Here all the cards are in hand for our guys to show themselves. Now, after all, someone is coming back from AHL and Europe. About five people have already arrived, and even the locals have grown.

And Igor’s example is inspiring. He had great formative years in St. Petersburg, where he grew technically, tactically and mentally. He had to prove it, overcoming some resistance. And that toughened him up. The last year at SKA before leaving, we paid a lot of attention to psychology, so Igor was ready for it. Because the NHL had to survive. Before leaving, I told him: “Igor, don’t worry about technique and tactics, you’re doing everything well. Just take it there. And everything will go just fine.”

And when he arrived, the Rangers told him, “You’re the first Russian who doesn’t need retraining.”

You remember, Shesterkin played 25 games for the Hartford farm club, saved 93.4% of the shots. And he grew up in the NHL, and he went there, went there. It was predictable. But it’s good that it happened in practice. After all, all sorts of factors can interfere. And it’s a great example of motivating young goalkeepers on how to achieve their goal. The fact that our Russian goalkeepers receive such awards becomes the best goalkeepers in the league. This means that the training system of our goalkeepers is effective and at times we are even ahead of our colleagues. This is not bravado, but a fact. Foreigners write to me and admit it themselves.

“Askarov was marking time this season”

– Shesterkin said that her family is expecting a child. You see he swears like a man?

– You are right. I noticed this last summer. I haven’t seen him for two years, he left in 2019. And it was striking how Igor matured, became more sober.

I know the Shesterkin family is expecting a child. God bless everything is fine. Unfortunately, because of this, Igor will not be able to come to Russia this summer. But such a moment is extremely important in the life of any person.

“By the way, what do you think will happen next with Yaroslav Askarov?” What awaits him in Nashville?

“The Predators have very capable coaches. And the mentor who manages the training of the goalkeepers and who takes care of the goalkeepers. When Askarov was drafted, they immediately contacted me and we talked all year, while I was still working in St. Petersburg. They began to study Yaroslav’s game in detail, to analyze it. We were constantly in touch. The guys there are really smart. This is not the case everywhere.

I think Askarov is in good hands with Nashville. It will be developed there and conditions for growth will be created, everything will be planned correctly. So I don’t worry much about Yaroslav.

– A bad season didn’t knock him down?

“No, no, I don’t think so. He too has matured. Married. Yarik does everything on time. True, I have already said that the last year in St. Petersburg for Askarov is marking time. We had to create the conditions for him to play more in the KHL, and not in the tower. And it didn’t pay him much.

I think Askarov is now heavily inspired. He took the right step. He leaves and will play in Nashville with different emotions and guidelines, with different demands and under different conditions. I have no doubt that he will develop and show himself again.

“In the top three goalkeepers of the Russian national team, Vasilevsky and Shesterkin are definitely”

– Imagine that tomorrow we play the final with the strongest Canadian team. Who should be at the gates of the Russian team?

– I have a very good relationship with all our goalkeepers. And imagine if I now name a surname … It will be incorrect. You have to look at a specific day, a specific match, which was shown over a short distance. Who is in what form, at what physical peak.

– Well, tell me who should be among the top three goalkeepers of the Russian national team?

– Definitely, Andrey Vasilevsky and Igor Shesterkin should be included in this brigade. They are at the top. The third candidate is under discussion – Ilya Sorokin, Sergei Bobrovsky … Several candidates at once.

Sergei is fine. This year, he reached his good level in Florida. I adapted to the club, where the first season turned out to be very difficult. Gradually he came back to himself, is now in good condition.

I don’t know if he will be traded from the Panthers or not, but he has great seasons ahead of him. It’s 1000 percent. The same goes for Ilyukha. He picks up the pace, he plays very well. Great keeper. It remains to be seen if Semyon Varlamov of the Islanders will be replaced or if his contract will end there in a year. But the club can fully rely on Sorokin. And he’ll show up there again, get to the top in a year or two.