Lada did not play in the KHL for five years. And when the team returned to the top of the hockey world, they had to rebuild it. Oleg Bratash, who worked for many years in the youth and junior hockey systems, was appointed head coach. Bratash practically did not undergo training with adults – in the 2021-22 season he led the first Russian national team at the Eurotour stadium, but this experience was very short-lived.
We also knew Bratash as a wonderful expert who shared his opinions on websites and spoke on air.
And at the end of April last year, he took over as head of Lada, signing a two-year contract. It was rather unexpected. What are you waiting for? This is a challenge for Bratash himself.
A year has passed. Lada not only reached the playoffs, but also fought well in the series with Avangard. After the final match in Omsk, I spoke with Oleg Vladimirovich.
From the interview with Bratash you will learn:
“My humor is a way of hiding information”
— After the last match of the season, you gave a half-hour press conference, like Igor Larionov.
— I spoke as much as questions were asked. He never refused to speak to journalists, neither when he was a player nor when he became a coach. If people are really interested, I’m always willing to talk about our work.
— At press conferences, you know how to joke with a serious face, and some of your phrases have become memes.
– Jokes are usually serious business. And it’s impromptu – I don’t plan any jokes. Another thing is that there is not always a desire to return it. To say what really is, what we discuss with the players in the locker room. Our conversations should stop there. If I need to say something through the media, I will say it. But this rarely happens. And this is an extreme case that can be described as an exception.
All my jokes and humor are a way to protect myself from topics and information that I don’t want to reveal to the public.
— Did you think about running Lada for a long time when you were offered an offer a year ago?
— I immediately accepted. I’ve already stayed too long. Over the past three years, there have been almost no competitions if we talk about national teams. I was ready to work in any conditions.
— Many people know you as a television expert. And then – the head coach of the KHL!
“Unfortunately, this is the opinion that has developed. But it’s wrong. I have never been a commentator. He worked as a part-time expert in his spare time. I have been working as a coach for the last millennium – since 1999, without interruption.
If you live and work in Moscow and work with young people and youth teams, why not go on air in your free time? What’s surprising here?
“We diligently ‘gave birth’ to this team”
— The new Lada was very surprising. Before the season, many said Togliatti shouldn’t expect to make the playoffs. When was a team born that went through the championship with a lot of confidence?
— The team was born throughout the pre-season period. We carefully “gave birth” to him. And I won’t say that the birth was very difficult. All the guys responded. The overall work began with an individual conversation with each player. It was an acquaintance with someone.
I immediately spoke openly about what I expected from them in terms of work and attitude towards business. Everyone agreed. And it was decided by everyone that we would start the season for a reason, but that we would try to do everything in our power not to live up to the expectations of the skeptics.
— In the fall, Lada was first in the league. You looked at the table – what emotions did you feel?
– Fuck me! Do not look ! Because it could have a negative impact on us. And I think to some extent it had an effect. Maybe not immediately, but in the future. Not all the guys appreciated this enough. Even though we have warned and reminded every day how we achieve this result. If we stop doing this, we will immediately fall to the table. And the higher you climb, the more painful it is to fall. We talked about it every day.
And you remember, we weren’t the only ones to start the championship well…
— Yes, there were also Kunlun and Sochi. They didn’t make the playoffs.
– And we held on. We may not have remained at the top, but in principle we retained important positions.
— How did you manage to give a second wind to certain hockey players whose careers were already put on hold?
– Only work and what we agreed on. And don’t think everything went well. We constantly reminded, asked, demanded this work. That was the attitude towards everyone. If they saw something was wrong, they immediately tried to tighten the nuts.
In no way do I take credit for what our players showed this season. But only work – there is no other secret.
“I even had nervous breakdowns, then I apologized”
— You give the impression of a Democratic coach. Polite, calm. Have there been times this season where you could have yelled at someone in Lada’s locker room?
— Yes, there were conflicts, and even I had nervous breakdowns. Things happen. Because when you are honest and frank, anyone can lose their temper somewhere. Yes, I even had to apologize to the guys later.
— Were you outraged by the decline that Lada experienced in the second half of the championship?
– It was the most difficult period for me. I saw that there was no expense and focus with the “super” prefix that we had last year. I think this can be explained first of all from a psychological point of view. We finished the year with a good margin. Maybe the guys had a good rest for a few days for the New Year – and decided that it was no longer possible to give 150 percent. And the season will unfold on its own. But that’s not our case. Therefore, I had to swear, persuade and take various measures.
— What was the role of the captain in this Lada?
— Misha Fisenko is a great guy. We first saw him as our assistant, who would present our ideas and requirements to the team using his example. And he tried his best to do it, for which we are very grateful to Misha. He played his role honestly.
— Do you now see a scenario in which Lada could participate in a series with Avangard?
— If we take each game separately, then yes. If one player doesn’t make any mistakes in one match, if someone else doesn’t make another mistake in another episode… then yes, ideally we could have taken this series, of course.
But still, it must be admitted that it is difficult to resist an opponent who currently has no problems. “Vanguard” is in perfect condition. Now, if the people of Omsk had given a little breathing space, we would have had more opportunities. But it seemed to me that Avangard took us seriously.
— Will Lada be able to maintain its squad for the new season?
— The analysis is still in advance, so I will not answer this question now. We’ll see who we want to keep. And we don’t yet know the possibilities – if there will be any to keep the one we want. But this is a separate topic that is more about the internal kitchen.
— Share your opinion: who will win the Gagarin Cup during these playoffs?
— I said during the season that for me the main favorite was Lokomotiv. But this does not mean that Yaroslavl will definitely win. After all, Avangard, SKA and Dynamo Moscow are very strong. All very worthy contenders for the cup. And I can’t say for sure.
But if the chances are as you asked, it seems to me that the most preferable candidate is Lokomotiv.
– Of course, after a spectacular victory in the series with CSKA.
— As I said, this is an observation for the whole season. And the series with CSKA did not go like that, if we evaluate Lokomotiv during the championship. I don’t see any weak points in the Yaroslavl team. Although the team is a living organism. Maybe we can play some matches stronger and some matches weaker. Maybe a game will fail. But when the series is up to four victories, Lokomotiv enjoys high reliability.
— If they invite you now to work on television as a pundit during the playoffs, will you agree?
— When I worked in the national team and the federation, I came to the broadcasts as a guest. It’s for God’s sake. But not as a television worker. Giving an interview and participating in the program is no problem.
Watch live broadcasts of the Fonbet KHL Championship playoff matches on the Match Group channels, 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.
