Chairman of the Board of Directors of HC “Spartacus » Alexander Yakushev told in an interview with when the striker will play his first match for the “red and whites” Ilya Kovalchuk .
Kovalchuk, 40, last played in the KHL at the end of April 2021, when he won the Gagarin Cup with the Avangard. Since then, he has not played for two and a half seasons as an active hockey player, but as a coach he traveled with the Russian national team to the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, where the The money was won.
— Ilya Kovalchuk returns to Spartak, but will the 40-year-old forward be able to fit into the game of the fast KHL club?
— I feel good about Ilya Kovalchuk’s return to Spartak. He started his career at our club and it is symbolic that he continues his performance at Spartak. I’m sure it will be a big help to the team.
Because Spartak now has a very short bench. Additionally, Ivan Morozov withdrew due to injury. It seems to me that Ilya will help not only on the ice. He is a sociable person and enjoys great authority. He will also be a big help in the locker room. He has proven this more than once in other teams. So, Ilya, welcome back! All hockey fans are waiting for you at Spartak.
— So you attribute the series of recent defeats of the “red-whites” to Morozov’s injury?
– Indeed, it turns out that the team gave a lot of physical and psychological strength at this moment of the championship. As I said, there was a short bench, there was no rotation, we played with the same formation. And when the injuries began, especially Morozov was knocked out, the Spartak players got hooked somewhere. The guys just need a break.
— Is it true that we already know when Kovalchuk will play his first match for Spartak?
— Yes, it will happen on December 24 in a home match against Kunlun. It will be a retro game at the Small Sports Arena in Luzhniki. It will be very nice to see Ilya in this match as part of Spartak Moscow,” Yakushev said for .
Spartak is second in the Western Conference standings with 52 points from 39 matches.
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Source : MatchTV
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