Sochi is one of the main sensations at the start of the KHL regular season. The team, which until recently was the main outsider in the West, is now in the top 5 of the conference. The southerners demonstrate brilliant hockey and bravely fight with the favorites – on the road they overthrew the powerful Ak Bars (3:1) with Lokomotiv (5:0), scored ten goals in two matches of the creative Severstal (5:4 OT and 5:3), and they beat Traktor at home thanks to a double from Matvey Michkov, who returned to the team (4:3).
“Sochi” has an interesting young coach Dmitry Kokorev and a cool first three, in which foreign players Michal Kristof, Borna Rendulic and a technical dreamer are on fire Dmitry Zavgorodny who last season became the team’s fourth sharpshooter with 11 goals.
At the start of the current regular season, Dmitry fell ill and missed several matches. Now he is back and in an emergency match against CSKA (1:7) he scored the only goal for Sochi. In an interview with , Zavgorodniy said:
“WE SEE THAT KOKOREV’S TACTICS ARE BEING FRUIT”
“Sochi has changed this season: the team was on a six-game winning streak and occupies a high place in the Western rankings. How was this possible?
– Everyone listens to each other. The coaches talk a lot with the players, there is good communication within the team. The guys this season are a little more experienced, the team is more united. We are trying to find a game that will bring us results.
— Dmitry Kokorev is a mystery coach at the KHL level. Everyone saw that he showed excellent results with “Captain” in the MHL, but he managed to prove himself at another level.
— Dmitry Alexandrovich began to instill in us a different type of hockey and we immediately achieved positive results. It may not be quite true to the end of last season, but at the start of this season we see his tactics pay off. We hope that in the future everything will only get better.
— What are its main requirements? What is his tactic based on?
– It’s simple: you have to play correctly, defensively. Everyone is equal in their zone, in the middle everyone must play actively according to the instructions, and in attack they must be creative.
— This season, Sochi shows itself as a patient team, which knows how to defend for a long time without the puck in its own zone, and then run into sharp counterattacks. How to train endurance and positional discipline?
“We have been training like this all summer and continue to improve at the start of the season. Everyone understands that we have to play proper defense no matter what. There were matches where we were returned to our own zone, but we used counter-attacks. Patience is trained, you need to understand that you cannot get lost in emotions, the main thing is discipline.
— Does the fact that this tactic works give you confidence?
– Certainly! Every victory, every good match gives us confidence. In the next matches, this gives a breath of fresh air, a burst of energy, which allows us to endure difficult moments.
“THE VICTORY OVER AK BARS INSPIRED US”
— At the same time, Sochi had a bad pre-season tournament Puchkov – four defeats, including 1:7 against Severstal and 2:8 against Avtomobilist. What happened? Did the charges have an impact?
– I don’t know. A bad horse starts with a gallop, I can say that. Of course, the charges were serious, at the beginning of the season we only started to move away from them.
— That is to say the Sochi Hockey Open, where they had a great fight with SKA, Avangard and the Russian U-23 team, who were coming back on new legs?
— We were the hosts of the tournament. After an unsuccessful season, I wanted to please the audience, show the fans that this season Sochi is a completely different team.
— Again, the start of the season turned out to be difficult for you – you lost to Severstal (3:6) and Kunlun (3:0), but then you came to Kazan and created the main sensation at the start of the regular season – they defeated the powerful Ak Bars. (3:1). Was there an explosion of emotion in the locker room after that?
– Certainly! This victory inspired us. Yes, we didn’t start very well, but when we won against Ak Bars, we realized that we could handle all the big clubs. I think now all KHL teams can compete on equal terms.
— Soon you arrived in Yaroslavl and destroyed the “Lokomotiv” system – 5:0. what was that? Aren’t you surprised?
– Actually, we are just trying to play hockey fast, there is no explanation. All the guys give everything, we try to find a common language on the ice, and it pays off. Lokomotiv still plays their hockey consistently, nothing changes for them. Maybe they were undertuned somewhere, but we didn’t think about that, we just played our own hockey.
— This season, Sochi skillfully adapts to its opponents. Against Spartak, you deliberately blocked their exit from the area through the center, intercepted them and made breaks. Is this the job of tactical coaches?
— Yes, of course, we sort our opponents before each match. Every team in the KHL does this. Sochi tries to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses and show its strengths.
“RENDULIC – CROATIAN OVECKIN”
— Now you play in a trio with Michal Krystof and Borna Rendulic. Krystof is simply the best in his zone: he wins the faceoffs and wins the entire fight. What is it like to play with such a center?
– Yes, absolutely magnificent! Michal and Borna are playing good hockey. They are older, they have experience and it is very pleasant to play with them. There are situations – you see there’s some kind of struggle, you think you have to curl up and run to your zone, but the guys are winning, taking the puck, creating good chances. I am very happy to have the opportunity to play with Krystof and Rendulic on the front line. I try to develop myself and reach their level. We communicate and do everything to make our unit play better and better.
— Rendulic makes an unreal shot: a short, imperceptible movement of the wrists, and the puck flies away at a terrible speed. How does he do this?
– I agree, Borna has a crazy shot, it’s the Croatian Ovechkin. He throws very well on the move. He has a long lever, which he uses very well. All we can do is bring shells to Rendulic. I think he will score a lot.
— It follows the “points per match” scale. How does Rendulic behave in the locker room? Does he talk a lot?
– Everything depends on the situation. It’s not like he’s constantly giving motivational speeches. Borna will tell you where it is needed. He is a good and kind man. Speaks a mixture of Russian and English. Everyone on the team understands that.
“MICHKOV DON’T TURN YOUR NOSE. IT WILL INCREASE”
— Matvey Michkov, who is a young star in the league, recently joined Sochi. Was the team excited about his return?
– Yes of course! Last season he came to us, immediately gave results, scored a lot of points, despite the poor results of our team. Matvey has shown that he knows how to play hockey and has excellent scoring instincts. He has everything: a shot, a head, a good skate. It is very interesting to follow. Matvey is an incredibly talented guy.
— Is his progress visible?
– He’s definitely making progress. It’s just the beginning of the season, I’m sure Matvey will improve from match to match, they have good relationships with Garayev and Tyanulin.
— Michkov sometimes throws 10 times per game. Doesn’t it bother your partners that you can’t question the transmission from them?
– Of course not. If there is a throw, why not use it? Michkov is a guy with a head, he knows how to hold the puck and can make a good pass. Everyone understands that he is very goal-oriented and always wants to score. It’s good for the team, I think my partners are understanding. The guys in their troika communicate and find a common language.
— Michkov initially positioned himself as a star of Russian hockey. What is he like in the locker room? Is your nose not turning up?
– There is no such thing. Yes, on the ice, he is often overwhelmed by emotions, but in hockey, you cannot live without emotions. Off the ice, Matvey is a calm person with whom it is interesting to discuss various topics.
— Didn’t he say anything more to the judges after his expulsion last season?
“Everyone understands that emotions are running high on the ground. Matvey is a very young man, a maximalist. I think everyone has been in their place when emotions boil over somewhere. In this regard, Michkov is definitely becoming better and more disciplined.
“I AM ALREADY HEALED, GETTING BACK IN SHAPE AFTER AN ILLNESS”
— This summer, there were rumors that Avangard really wanted you. Did you pay attention to that or did you ignore it and just prepare for the season?
— I kept in mind that I have a contract with Sochi for another year. I focused on the fact that I came here to prepare for the season. I tried not to think about the rumors. I cannot control what is not in my control. I didn’t call the agent to tell him to work on the option with Omsk.
— You missed several games this season due to illness, but you are now back in the lineup. How do you feel?
– I feel good now. We had a long trip, apparently I caught a cold somewhere or caught a virus and missed several days. Everyone gets sick, we are all human. Now I’m recovered and getting back into shape.
— Last season, you set yourself a goal of 20 goals. They got a score of 11. Do you have any plans to perform now?
– The bigger the better. I try not to think about it. If I give more passes, so be it. My answer is trivial: the main thing is to benefit the team.
Watch Fonbet matches of the KHL championship on the channels of the Match holding company, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
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.
