Last season ended for Dynamo with a disappointing Gagarin Cup first-round loss to flamboyant Torpedo Igor Larionov. Alexei Kudashov’s team, at the decisive moments of the series, lacked the realization of new moments and ideas on the pitch.
The “White-Blues” have built up a working team throughout the season, which achieved results through hard work and high-quality implementation of the coach’s instructions. It was not enough to fight for the Cup. Dynamo drew conclusions and had a powerful transfer campaign, signing great defenders Igor Ozhiganov and Daniil Pylenkov, as well as forwards Nikita Gusev, Cedric Paquette, Yegor Petukhov, Artem Ilyenko, and extending the contract with their best player from last season – Eric O. ‘Dell.
On Thursday, the heavily reinforced Dynamo will start the Moscow Mayor’s Cup. The general director of the Moscow club, Sergei Sushko, gave an interview to , in which he told how the offseason went for the team.
From this conversation, you will learn:
– How did you manage to agree on a new contract with Eric O’Dell?
– Firstly, Eric himself wanted to stay at Dynamo, he likes it in Russia, in Moscow. There were no problems in negotiations with him.
– Throughout the offseason, rumors circulated that he was asking for a contract worth almost a hundred million a year.
“The offseason is always full of rumours. That’s why it exists. If there are no rumors, you won’t have to do anything. Collect and comment. Rumors arise: someone said something, someone misheard – and away we go.
In this case, it was O’Dell’s own wish. He likes the club, likes the attitude towards him. Eric is very fond of the fans. Saturday, there was a presentation of the team. When announcing the player profiles, it was O’Dell who drew the most applause. I think it’s important for a player when he feels loved by a torsida. Eric has been in Russia for a long time, he spent more than one season with our club. The player sees that all promises are kept, understands how they treat it.
– Will the fact that he missed part of the pre-season not play a role?
“He’s not the only one in the league. Hockey is an injury prone sport. We are confident that Eric’s health issues are behind him and his best hockey is yet to come.
– Last season, Dynamo did not work in terms of results. Is it possible to talk about the merit of trusting head coach Alexei Kudashov?
– Literally before the press conference dedicated to the start of the Mayor’s Cup, I was in the team’s locker room, I was in the coaches’ room. Alexey Nikolaevich is completely calm. Since he is the head coach, the shareholders trust him. Kudashov works fruitfully and efficiently. He sees for himself what the shortcomings of last season were. I think Alexei Nikolaevich has done some work and will change something. I don’t want to get into coaching. Kudashov is a coach, and that is his area of responsibility. My task as a leader is to protect the team as much as possible from rumors that the chair is shaking under the coach. Make sure the team is comfortably working in regular mode and not distracted by superfluous comments.
Usually rumors are started in order to undermine the situation and lead the team in a different direction. And we have a good working process, we don’t want Alexei Nikolaevich and the coaching staff to be under outside pressure.
– Due to the peculiarities of the preparation, Kudashov’s teams often have problems with the results in late October – early November. Did you tell him about that?
– I think that Alexei Nikolayevich himself knows very well in which segment of the championship he experienced failures. Like any reasonable person, he is prone to introspection. I think Kudashov analyzes all these moments and takes steps to avoid failures. Maybe he changed something during pre-season training or during the championship, he will work on the physical form of the players. This is an in-house coaching kitchen, its own business. I’m sure Kudashov drew conclusions.
– According to Nikita Gusev, they said he would wait out for an NHL contract, but in the end Dynamo signed him early. He spent the whole pre-season with the team. Did the club initially aim to sign Nikita in advance so that he was fully prepared for the season?
– Yes, it’s true, Nikita left with the team for a training camp in Nizhny Novgorod on July 14. He did a very good job. It was clear that Gusev was preparing on his own – he came to the team in good physical condition. He did not only come after a vacation, but as a real professional he came ready and worked out all the training cycles beyond praise.
Was Gusev expecting offers from the NHL? You should probably ask Nikita about this. For my part, I can say that we are very happy that such a player is in our team. Gusev is a grandmaster, we are sure he will bring great benefits to the club. I think he’s going to try to pull the palm off for the love of O’Dell fans. Gusev is a KHL media personality, a great player. I’m sure the fans will go there.
– Did they ask if he still wanted to come back to the NHL?
No, I didn’t tell him. I can say that we quickly agreed on a contract. Dynamo Moscow has been a good stable organization lately. Everything the shareholders promise comes true in the club. Everyone understands that. There are certain conditions here: we are playing in one of the best, if not the best, arenas in Moscow. We have a great location, a large number of fans. Dynamo fans are already a certain mark.
I think it will be interesting for Nikita to participate in our project, to show herself. 30 for a hockey player under current conditions is quite a young age. We hope the brightest moment of Gusev’s career is yet to come. If Nikita shows such sparkling hockey, after which he leaves for the NHL, we will only be happy.
– Dynamo also signed a longtime friend of Gusev – Igor Ozhiganov. Was that his request?
– Nikita played with a lot of people and probably wanted one of his partners to be on the team with him. But the signing of Ozhiganov is above all the wish of the shareholders and the technical staff. Igor is one of the best defenders in the KHL, I don’t think anyone doubts that. In addition, he is a right-handed hockey player who plays very well on the blue line. We understand how badly there is a shortage of defensemen with the right grip, not just in our league, but in general – in hockey. The fact that we managed to sign a contract with Ozhiganov is a very big achievement.
– Gusev, Ozhiganov, Cédric Paquette, Daniil Pylenkov – a serious reinforcement for Dynamo. Did I understand correctly that the management sought to increase the skill level of the team with such signings? Nevertheless, Dynamo was seen more as a work team, which sometimes lacked ideas and implementation.
– These signatures indicate that the technical staff carried out an in-depth analysis. In addition to Gusev, Paquette, Ozhiganov, Pylenkov, who know how to play on the blue line, they also took Yegor Petukhov, who scored 17 goals last season, Artem Ilyenko. The most in-depth analysis led the coaching staff to the conclusion that the team needs a balance between those who carry the piano and those who play it.
– Maxim Dzhioshvili had a good time in the previous championship, but got injured in the pre-season. When will he be back?
— Max really wants to start the season with the team. I think he can do it. He is already training, gaining in condition. Dzhioshvili is a very responsible young man who plays hockey thanks to his great desire and hard work.
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On August 24, Dynamo will play with CSKA in the Moscow Mayor’s Cup. Watch the live broadcast of the match starting at 6:40 p.m. (Moscow time) on the channel, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.
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.
