“I am incredibly happy that another club with a long history and a rich tradition is back in the league.” Interview with Andrei Altybarmakyan

Andrey Altybarmakyan, 25, became one of the many hockey players who replaced the rain in St. Petersburg with the sun in Tolyatti this summer. Together with Vladislav Podyapolsky, Nikita Popugaev and eight other former soldiers, he will play for Lada at least next season.

But it seems that the bartender (as Andrei wondered at one time that he is called the American commentators. – Approximately “”) is more suitable than others for the color of the Volga city: in 2018, he toured St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg in a VAZ-2114, advertising the Russian automotive industry to hockey players.

correspondent spoke with Altybarmakyan after the match with Traktor, asking him about the car and much more.

“I PURCHASED A NEW ’14th’ IT WILL DRIVE IN CHICAGO!

“How did you get used to Togliatti?” Not hard after St. Petersburg or Sochi?

– When I moved, I thought it would be difficult – after all, I’ve never been here, I haven’t even reached the “tower”. But I loved the city, I didn’t even expect it.

So my parents came to the tournament, they also liked Togliatti. We lived in a hotel near the Volga, it’s very beautiful there. The fans here are friendly, warmly treated, while my father sat on the podium, they approached to get acquainted, to say hello. It’s calmer, the weather is nice, so everything is fine.

Do you live near the arena?

– Yes, it’s 15 minutes from the palace. I rented a nice big apartment. The dog rejoiced: in St. Petersburg she had nowhere to walk.

“What are you driving?” This legendary “14th”?

– “Lada 2114” already bought here, went to Samara for her. But my father had to give the car away, he drove it to St. Petersburg, everything is fine. It’s like in the movie: “It’ll take you to Chicago!” But everything is fine, “Lada” got away with it. As the season has started, there is no time for a car, so long as my dad has it.

“CLANS ARE ONLY IN KAZAN”

– How do you feel? It is clear that he is not fully recovered yet?

– I think I notice that I missed the tournament in Chelyabinsk a bit. Before that, I felt good, I was in good physical shape. But this ten-day break, when it was even impossible to skate, unsettled me a bit. We will increase.

It turned out to be chaotic with Traktor, the game was also delayed, we stood in the sub-stand for 15 minutes, so we didn’t roll immediately. Even though they played well, I think everything will be fine.

– What do you think of the talk that Lada is another branch of the SKA?

– I once said that I don’t like changing teams. If I play for Lada, I’m ready to sign a contract with the team for several years. Because I want to do this club a favor while it’s here.

I’m calm when I talk about the SKA, it’s up to the fans to discuss it. But it’s obvious that all the guys who came strengthened the team and showed good hockey.

– Do you have interest groups in the locker room? Corner of the SKA, corner of the others?

— No, the clans probably stayed in Kazan (smiles). All our guys are friendly, everyone gets along well. There is a captain, he gathers us and we help him. We have a good team where they understand each other.

– Is anyone else joking about downed pilots?

– They joked in the summer. But I think we have already proven in pre-season that Lada can beat the right teams. Hopefully very soon we will start doing that in the regular season.

– Will it be difficult for Lada to reach the playoffs, given the fierce competition in the East? And “Admiral”, “Amur”, and “Neftekhimik”, and other teams look strong.

– It’s my first time playing in the East, but last year I saw how tight the table was before the last matches. You look, everyone’s pitched in, and telling the fans, ‘Yeah, we’ll easily be in the top eight’ is tough. But we are confident in our abilities, we can do it.

– I see you have four games with Traktor in September alone. Fun calendar!

– And in two months – six. Too much, yes. These questions are not for me. What to do? Turns out, like the playoffs, we’ll be playing a series. But we see each other after the matches, before the match we have nothing to say to each other, so we don’t bother each other much.

“ARMENIAN CLUB AT KHL – WOULD BE GREAT”

– You must have crossed paths with Ivan Fedotov in Saint Petersburg? Has he changed a lot?

– Yes, we trained together before he moved to CSKA. There’s not much to say here: I’m just happy for him, happy that he can finally play hockey. To overcome what he overcame… Vanya is a professional, he was constantly in the gym in the summer, I watched how he deliberately prepared for CSKA. Sometimes you say, “Van, finish already, let’s go!” He’s a young man, only happy for himself.

— Do you follow Russian football? Now there are so many guys of Armenian descent in the RPL…

– I heard something, but, honestly, he’s not such a great football master. If there are big matches, like the Russian Super Cup Zenit – CSKA, then I watch them if possible. When the guys train me in football, I can also go there: the same Lyosha Melnichuk in St. Petersburg regularly tells something, shows. I can watch something, but it doesn’t seriously interest me.

“Spertsyan, Sevikyan, Tiknizyan, you don’t know them?

– No, they didn’t meet. They have more salaries, probably, we shoot in different circles (smiles).

– Now there is such a trend that footballers of Armenian descent strengthen the Armenian national team. Maybe it’s time to organize something similar in hockey too?

– A complicated problem. Why not, if even in Chechnya they wanted to organize a hockey club? Why not create a team in Armenia? If there is such interest, I will go and help them. But of course, it’s too early to talk about it seriously. There are enough clubs in the KHL and I’m incredibly happy that another club with a long history and rich traditions is returning to the league. The more often this happens, the better. I hope that Novokuznetsk and Yugra will sooner or later come back after Lada. It will be better for us and for Russian hockey.