Russian attacker Mikhail Maltsev told who the captain was SKA was Ilya Kovalchuk emphasizing that the world champion truly united the team.
Maltsev was born in Saint Petersburg and studied in the SKA system. He then played for several years in North America. On Wednesday, Maltsev was loaned to Spartak from the Los Angeles Kings, signing a one-year deal. A few days earlier, the “red and whites” announced the signing of a contract with Kovalchuk, who played for SKA from 2012 to 2018.
— Remind me, when you played in a trio with Ilya Kovalchuk at SKA?
— I was a limiter then. I was placed in units whenever necessary. When you are the thirteenth striker, and if someone plays badly, they can let you go. So he dated Kovalchuk.
— Did Ilya talk to you when you were thinking about returning to Spartak?
– He didn’t speak to me. He has more important things to do. I may have spoken to my agent – they are in constant contact.
—Would it be cool for you to play as a team with Kovalchuk?
– Yes, I really missed you. I always remembered those times at SKA, when Ilya was a real captain. I brought the whole team together before the weekend or at the first opportunity. How can this happen? Americans communicate with their people in English, everyone is divided into groups. But Kovalchuk brought everyone together and we went somewhere as a team. It was such a team spirit, that’s how the spirit of the dressing room was created,” Maltsev said for .
Spartak is first in the Western Conference standings, winning 56 points in 41 matches.
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Source : MatchTV
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