Deputy head coach of Nizhny Novgorod “Torpedo” Mikhail Vassiliev, on , answered the question at what age a hockey player is no longer considered young.
At the moment, the Nizhny Novgorod team is playing an away match with Spartak Moscow as part of the Fonbet KHL championship. This game is the 1000th for Torpedo in the KHL. On this occasion, Igor Larionov’s team plays in the form of the 2008/09 season.
— In what state does the team enter the playoffs? The latest results are not very good.
— The result is certainly necessary, especially on the eve of the playoffs. Positive emotions are necessary, even if they are sufficient. Of course, going into the playoffs with a win is always a good thing. We are working on this. Let’s not forget that, unfortunately, injuries have not yet allowed us to play a single match with the optimal squad that we had imagined at the start of the season. There are all the prerequisites for this. The guys are recovering. You have to reach a good level.
— How do you find a balance between brilliant hockey and good decisions on the ice?
— To do this, the team must not only rely on veterans, but also on experienced players who can assure and advise the young people at the right time. We have such players, they are not even veterans, but experienced. Among them I can include Konyushkov, although he himself is 21 years old. There are young people in the offensive line, but they have already tried the playoff experience: Kovalenko, Goncharuk, Igor Larionov Jr. There is a balance, but we need to pull ourselves together and go into the playoffs with the optimal lineup . Young people develop and make us happy too.
— In your time, at what age did a young hockey player stop being young?
— He ceased to be so when he entered the first team of CSKA. The guys came in different ways. I played my first match in February 1980, I was 17 years old. I was young, but they didn’t look at him anymore. Larionov arrived in 1982, he was 21 years old. They have already torn the whole world apart. Everything is relative here. You have to deliver results, after all, you were given a place in the team, you earned it. This means you are not young, you are a member of the team. Now work and earn.
Fans, thank you very much! We play for you, we know you will support us in any way. “Torpedo”, go ahead,” Vassiliev said on the air of the show “Everyone for the match!”.
“Torpedo” is in sixth place in the Western Conference standings and has already secured a place in the KHL playoffs ahead of schedule.
Watch the match “Spartak” – “Torpedo” live right now on the channel, as well as on the websites 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.
