“Vityaz” is the talk of the town in October. First, Alexander Zavyalov asked to resign when the Balashikha team lost to CSKA with a score of 1:9.
She was accepted and Alexey Tertyshny temporarily acted as leader, under whom “Vityaz” won two victories. And today it was announced that the new head coach is Dmitry Ryabykin.
“Now Vityaz started playing more aggressively”
— How long did your negotiations with Vityaz management last?
— I wouldn’t say it’s very long. Everything was resolved quickly. Of course, I am happy to return as a head coach in the KHL. Doing again what I love, to which I have dedicated most of my life.
— What impression did “Vityaz” make when you looked at it from the side?
— I watched Vityaz’s last three matches closely. It seemed to me that after the resignation of Alexander Zavyalov, the team began to play more aggressive hockey.
– And after 1:9 from CSKA there were two victories – over Kunlun (2:1) and Barys (3:2 OT).
— Injuries also affected Vityaz’s departure. It’s always difficult when your center forwards are absent. I had the same thing at Avangard when Corban Knight withdrew due to injury in September. It was simply impossible to replace him. In addition, Alexander Dergachev was injured. And in Vityaz the situation is now exactly the same: there is no Vladislav Tsitsyura, there is no Vitaly Popov. Legionnaire Scott Wilson is also missing.
-How close are they to coming back?
– Today I met Wilson – he says he feels pretty good, very close to recovery. But you have to keep in mind that he still needs to condition, and that will still take time.
“We will do everything to reach the playoffs”
— You have just done your first training session with Vityaz. Why did you focus on blockages? They even showed us how to get under the puck. And tomorrow you will play against the best offense in the KHL, I’m talking about Spartak.
— It is very important and Spartak plays extremely aggressively. In general, you have to win faceoffs, there are 50 to 60 per game. There’s no play-by-play, but those are the times you can get the puck back.
— On Saturday, Torpedo beat Dynamo Moscow (7:1) and Severstal beat Sochi (10:1). But these are low budget clubs. Can Vityaz play offensive hockey?
— We will try to play aggressively, more offensively. But no one canceled the defense. There must be a reasonable balance.
— Does Vityaz still have a chance for the playoffs?
— It’s difficult to say anything at the moment. But I’m sure everyone wants to get there. And we will do everything for that.
“I have no grudge against Mikhail Kravets, we are adults”
— Was it nice to return to Balashikha to the same arena where you worked with Avangard for several years, being part of the technical staff?
– Of course, it’s nice, it’s a big part of my life. We spent four years there and won the Gagarin Cup in this arena.
— Do you have the same coaching room?
– Almost everything is the same. Even the colors haven’t changed.
– Only Bob Hartley is missing there. Did you correspond?
– Yes, we saw each other yesterday in Moscow. He was flying from Omsk to North America. We talked, he wished me good luck to Vityaz.
– You are great friends.
“We have a working and even more friendly relationship.” If I have any questions, I can always call Hartley – he’s never turned me away.
— On October 18, Avangard will come to Balashikha for a match with Vityaz. Have you already circled this day in red on your calendar?
— I won’t say that it’s a special wow-wow match for me. But Avangard is not a strange team for me. I want to defeat her. But we’ll see – we’re working on our game now, and we’ll see. Now there are matches every two days. There is not much time to work on training. The guys also need to recover, their strength is not unlimited.
— You recently told the news: “I don’t want to talk about Mikhail Kravets.” For what? Did you argue with the head coach of Avangard?
“It’s just that the reporter didn’t understand me.” I called and asked to evaluate the operation of Kravets. I said it was wrong for me to evaluate the work of another coach, and that’s what club management is for. Well, how can I be offended by Mikhail? We are adults.
— Will the Vityaz headquarters change in any way?
— The process is underway, we are working on it. Let’s look at the upcoming matches and make a decision.
— Will there be new players?
– Now I would like to see who is who. There is a lot of young talent. We have to hold them in our hands, and then we will decide.
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.
