Yevgeny Svechnikov spent more “AK Bars” only three games, and that was back in the 2013/14 season. Then the striker went to the junior league of Canada and a year later, in the rookie draft in the first round, he was selected by Detroit.
Eight years in North America, 172 league games and 45 points (20+25). During his NHL career, Svechnikov played in Detroit, Winnipeg and San Jose. And now I’ve decided to come full circle by going back to Ak Bars.
On Friday, the Kazan club announced that they have signed a two-year contract with the striker. And right away, right next to the arena under the hot Tatarstan sun, Evgeny and I talked.
Read in the interview:
– How did the decision to return to Ak Bars come about?
– Why in the NHL, in principle, it is impossible to find logic;
Why is Erik Karlsson so good?
– How will Brother Andrei change?
Did Carolina give me a contract? Where does this news come from?
– How did you decide to move to Ak Bars? I don’t think you accepted it right away.
– It’s true. But I am very happy, and one word will not suffice. It was a difficult decision for me and for my family.
I waited a long time for the best option. And I was even tired of waiting, but Ak Bars was still in touch. I am grateful to the club’s management, general manager Marat Valiullin, for helping with the transition. Thank you for your understanding and no haste. And in the end I landed here. Kazan is my home, I grew up here as a player, as a young man, I came here when I was 14… And now I’m back. An incomprehensible, but strange sensation. But I’m happy with this turn in life.
– Is it true that you had a contract ready with Carolina? But playing in the same team with his brother Andrey Svechnikov is a unique moment.
I don’t know where this news comes from. I really don’t understand where they come from. Is it working insiders, the yellow press?
There have been discussions about this, of course. I had an interest. I don’t know the interest of the Carolinas themselves. All of us in the family have always wanted and want me to play on the same team as Andrey. It is our dream.
But some things didn’t fit. There have been negotiations, and not only in this off-season. And before that, there was a lot of communication from both my side and my agent. But we have not reached the optimal variant. I wouldn’t want to discuss now what ultimately didn’t happen. But we did not give up on our dream. Maybe one day we will.
– When will Andrey also move to Ak Bars?
“Ha, well, let’s think about it,” Svechnikov smiled.
“The last few years I kind of lost the rhythm”
– Your career abroad was like a roller coaster, when a fall followed a rise, injuries pile up, you were put on a rebound project… When you said that in Russia you would like to reboot mentally, did you mean that?
“You can’t say in minutes what I went through. Along the way I picked up all the stones! And there were injuries and new teams every year. And that means a new city, a new coach , each time you have to integrate into a new team, and everything takes time.
I don’t blame anyone and I’m just happy with how my hockey destiny turned out. It’s not that I need to restart. But I know what kind of player I can be and what I can bring to the team. But in the last few years, I kind of lost my rhythm, kind of a core was lost. I want to get back on track and show what I can do. I hope I can find myself in Ak Bars, I will take it a notch higher. The team has huge goals.
– Kazan has the best selection of strikers, tied with SKA, if you look at the KHL. Does this turn you on?
– Certainly. It’s very nice to understand that you can play with legends and great professionals. Are you tired of listing the names…
Is it cool to play with Alexander Radulov?
– And what do you think? Since childhood, I watched how to play Sanya, Shipachev, Kagarlitsky … There are so many masters in the team, and not just “hit and run”. You enjoy playing with them.
“We didn’t even listen to what Hasek said about us”
– Last season you played for San Jose with Erik Karlsson. How is it for you? And how do you like the scene in the Sharks?
— The defender scored more than 100 points for the championship. It is unique. One of the best in hockey history. He sees the site like no one else. And the possession of the puck, and the skating, and the technique… We can talk about Karlsson for a long time. And not just because he scored so many points.
He has already won numerous individual cups. I think that’s enough – now it’s time to win the Stanley Cup.
Well, I liked everything about San Jose. Of course, some misunderstandings can always arise…
– It’s strange that at the club you break personal bests, and at the same time you suffer a repechage refusal.
“There is no logic here, and I can never answer that question. How long I spent in the NHL, I couldn’t find the answer. In general, I had a good season for me in San Jose. Scored 14 points (8+6) in 59 games, setting a personal best in goals and averaging 10 minutes in the field. If you look at the stats, it’s not that bad.
I was happy with the season, with the team. It is clear that there are always pitfalls, and each new coach must be approached, find a common language. Words cannot describe it. It must be lived. Especially when the team loses a lot, then the negative accumulates.
Well, I don’t know… At least after each meeting, they would tell me: “It’s fine”. And then they could be sent to the agricultural club or promoted to the base. It’s hard to be stable when you don’t play a lot. It’s fine when you’re in the top 6. And I mostly played in the lower tiers. It’s so hard to find the balance of a stable game.
So you ask, “What am I doing wrong? What is the problem?” Where is the justice? But people don’t look at it. There is no justice. And in principle, it will be nowhere.
Yes, I will never find logic in the NHL. But I will say that I would not change anything. I went there and had a great experience. Enough for a lifetime. And I’m definitely not going to bite my elbows.
– I liked how the team adapted to you when Dominik Hasek and the Czech radicals started demanding that Russians not be allowed to attend the San Jose exhibition match in Prague. So the Sharks said: “Either we will all come, with Yevgeny, or no one will leave.”
“It was good to have such support. On the other hand, I was new to San Jose, the only Russian was Sanya Barabanov. Maybe the Czechs weren’t thinking of me specifically, but somehow another to Russian hockey players in general, but we perceived it as: “Not much.”
Everything is political. Let Hasek say one thing, and we do our job. Formed, preparing for the trip. And the hype in the press was on the drum for us. But the words of the general manager and the guys were pleasant. Well, what, they will say quite a bit: like, pick up our reader.
They could have been silent.
— I’m not arguing, it was a nice moment when we were supported.
“One day my brother will score 100 points in the league”
– Will your brother Andrei Svechnikov ever score 100 points for the regular season?
– 100%. I think so. Now hockey is changing – more goals, more assists. At the same time, it is difficult to score points. But Andrew can do it. They believe in him, they see him in the right roles, he’s the leader of the team. And if you watch his hockey, the brother doesn’t just cruise around the site, but comes to the door like a train.
– He was knocked down by a rupture of the cruciate ligaments of the knee, received in March? You yourself have experienced this, taking off for almost a year.
– When Andrei crosses this stage and looks back, he will smile. So a trainer said to me: “Let 10 years pass…”
In principle, yes. At this moment it is difficult to understand, you find yourself in a difficult psychological situation. But you will get through it with patience and you will gain experience.
Andrey has been playing in the NHL for several years. He has a contract with Carolina, there is stability. His internal condition is good. I was the one who had nothing in the league when I arrived. You cannot compare here. But time will pass, and it will make him much stronger as a person and a player. If you look positively, Andrey will change – you will see.
– During Carolina Cup matches, he acted as a commentator. Did you like it?
– Yes, I saw it – it was cool.
You said you have a strange feeling now. How is it expressed?
In the summer, I always come home to relax, go out. Go to a restaurant, see friends. And then I came to Kazan to play hockey, and I haven’t adjusted my mind yet. I live 500 meters from the arena, I usually ran home to eat. And now I’m going to play KHL games. Still have to get used to it.
But when I arrived at the airport from America, got in the car, I had a special feeling of being at home. Time will pass, I will acclimatize and everything will be fine.
The FONBET regular season of the KHL Championship kicks off on September 1 with an Opening Cup game between CSKA and Ak Bars. Watch live broadcasts of tournament matches on the channel and thematic channels of the holding, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.
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.
