Double Olympic champion Vyacheslav Fetisov called the attacker’s transition Ilya Kovalchuk useful for Moscow “Spartacus”.
Last December, it was announced that Kovalchuk would return to Spartak, where he began his professional career. The 40-year-old striker has signed a contract until the end of the season. In the regular KHL championship, he played 20 matches for the Moscow club, scoring 8 (4+4) points with a utility indicator of “-7”.
“Ilya and I are friends, and he also consulted me before coming back. For me, Ilya is an emblematic person in the world of hockey. At the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, I called him up to the national team, as head coach. You could see his eyes burning. He dreamed of becoming champion. We then think of his winning goal in Quebec at the 2008 World Championship. After the match, he jumped towards the camera and shouted: “This is for you, Russia. »
It is impossible to do such things without dreaming of triumphing in the jersey of your country since childhood. I’m sure: the team definitely needs such a guy, a veteran, or whatever you want to call him. He can congratulate you at the right time, give advice to younger partners and find the right words.
We can’t know the whole inner workings, but I admit: Ilya plays an important role in the Spartak players’ locker room. There are two completely opposite opinions regarding resonance feedback – this is already an understandable formula. I believe the coaching staff made the appropriate decision carefully. Even the club’s owner, Gennady Timchenko, took part in the discussion. Moreover, Ilyusha himself, I am sure, came for a reason. Only the final result will show whether management made the right choice in signing the transfer. Let’s wait for the end of the playoffs – Ilya prepared for these cup matches first, RT Fetisov quotes.
Spartak’s opponent in the first round of the KHL playoffs is Cherepovets Severstal, the score in the series up to four victories is 3-1 in favor of the “red-whites”. The teams will play their fifth match on March 8 in Moscow.
Watch live broadcasts of the Fonbet KHL Championship playoff matches on the channel, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.
RT
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.
