Former defender of “Salavat Yulaev” Nikita Shields in an interview with RB Sport share opinion on the prospects of the Bashkir club for the new season.
– How do you find the selection of Salavat in this off-season?
– We also played with Stanislav Bocharov at HC Sochi – a guy with a throw, very diligent, can score from a penny in the majority. I think it’s an improvement. A guy who plays has to fit into the team. Evgeny Timkin will be a good assistant in the locker room and can take the lead in terms of play. Defender Ryan Murphy is an average player, should play in the first or second pair.
I don’t know if he can replace Andrei Zubarev, who for some reason didn’t stay at Salavat. The team’s defense, from what’s on the market, is pretty even. Moreover, Shakir Mukhamadullin did not leave for America. Among goalkeepers, I think Andrey Kareev will be the number one, because he played successfully in Finland, and Ilya Yezhov will help him. The team must go through the season smoothly and compete for third or fourth place in the East draw. The head coach has changed and it will be interesting to see how Viktor Kozlov performs.
– But the formation now lacks brilliant scorers, which were the Finnish strikers.
– Bocharov can score goals and I think he can be used in the majority. And it’s hard to find scorers and snipers now, because the legionnaires are gone. Therefore, local players need to open up. It will be the highlight of the current championship, – said Shields.
RB Sports
Source : MatchTV
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