Forward of the Eastern and Siberian teams Vladimir Mikhalev in an interview with , he explained what he expected from his trip to St. Petersburg for the KHL All-Star Game.
On Sunday, the meeting for the MHL Challenge Cup ended in Tula. The Western team won with a score of 5:3, and the best players who received the right to participate in the 2023 Fonbet KHL All-Star Game were Sergei Kolesnikov (Tolpar), Vladimir Mikhalev (Siberian Snipers), Matvey Polyakov (SKA-1946) and Igor Chernyshov (MHC Dynamo Moscow).
— A very cool match, everything happened at the highest level. A big thank you to the organizers. And I thank the Western team for the match. It was very unexpected that I was chosen for the KHL All-Star Game. I thought Phil and Koleso (Alexander Filatyev and Sergey Kolesnikov) would make it. And I was surprised that they called me. It’s really unexpected.
— Which team would you like to join in St. Petersburg?
— To be honest, I don’t even know what teams there will be in the Tarasov division.
– Let’s focus on the fact that the assistant head coaches will be football players – Alexander Mostovoy, Dmitry Sychev, Andrei Arshavin, Roman Shirokov. Who is closest to you?
– I am more attracted to Archavin . Plus, I like football, I often watch the Champions League. Therefore, I want to ask Andrey specific questions about football, about how he played for Arsenal.
— Do you feel like media attention to you has increased recently?
– Yes of course. There were more comments from journalists. And people started following me more often on social media. Around 300-400 new subscribers were added. At the same time, I understand that I have not done anything yet and I just need to work – to move forward.
— It turns out that the KHL is such a simple league that you just have to go there and score in every game?
— I won’t say that the KHL is that simple. But I do the right things on the ice, as our head coach Lev Berdichevsky says, goals and assists are an added bonus. And the main thing is to play correctly.
—How did the scouts make you sleep too long? Why weren’t you selected in the NHL draft?
— This year hasn’t been very good for me. And this year I will do everything and work even harder.
— Will Sibir make the playoffs?
– Of course, I hope we enter the top eight. And I believe I can perform brilliantly in the playoffs if they let me play there.
— Do you think there is a strong generation of young hockey players arriving? What could the Russian youth team look like?
– Yes, this generation is one of the strongest. Unfortunately, we were suspended from international tournaments, and that’s a shame. Young people don’t have enough matches with foreigners to develop. But there is a powerful incentive to play in the KHL, the second strongest league in the world.
— How do you feel about being compared to Vladimir Tarasenko?
— It’s very nice when compared with Volodya. Well, I myself look more at young guys in the NHL, how they can invent something, do something unusual on the ice and create a goal.
— You are vying for the title of best rookie of the year in the KHL. Who do you consider your competitors?
— I think it’s Danila Yurov, as well as Roman Kantserov, Misha Gulyaev. I would choose these three,” Mikhalev said for .
Watch live broadcasts of the Fonbet KHL championship matches 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.
