“A Kaprizov ‘pulled’ from the younger generation”
“The generation in which we grew up good defenders is over,” says Alexei Tereshchenko . “Everything comes from school, from learning from an early age. The problem with defenders has already surfaced and soon there will be no attackers. How many forwards have we recently played in the NHL? A whim ! I’m not taking the generation born in the 80s and early 90s. Which of the young forwards did well in the NHL?
– That is, is it fair that ours are not in the top 30?
– Sure. This is only a statement of the current state of affairs in the hockey world. Not only do we have no defensemen in the NHL, but we also don’t have center forwards. Only Zhenya Malkin remained. So far, only wingers and goalkeepers are entering the stars. Yes, and with them in the future there are difficulties. Because the problem is the staff. And now I’m not talking about players, but competent children’s coaches. They just don’t exist.
– Misha Sergachev was 31st in the standings. Is this its legitimate place? Still, the man has won two Stanley Cups and is fighting in the Finals again.
– For Sergachev, this is quite a worthy result. He really is the best Russian defender today. Of course, I would like Misha to be on top. But even 31st place is very respectable. It is awesome. In this rating, after all, all indicators are taken into account. I’m sure Makar is in the first place.
“Romanov likes to play too much in the body”
– In other words, if you were asked who is the best defenseman in the NHL, would you name Makar without hesitation?
– Absolutely. He is a team player who can do everything. Sometimes criticism is heard against him that Cale doesn’t know how to play defensively. But that is absolutely not true. Able, and how! I read how Makar was systematically developed. He went through all the stages of sequential training. And mentally ready to be the best.
– Does 22-year-old Sasha Romanov have a chance to add and become one of the NHL’s top defensemen in the future? So far he is not in the top 50.
– It seems to me that now Romanov is too fond of playing in the body. He tries to hit the opponent in any situation. And that prevents it from developing more systematically. It turns out a bias in one direction, which prevents the manifestation of other qualities. In modern hockey, a defender can’t just hit. In general, what is the task of a defenseman in hockey?
– Stop attacking opponents.
– Not only. The defender must take the puck from the opponent, launch the attack and then support it. If you touch an opponent in the body, then you no longer play the puck, you rely on a partner who will pick it up. And to win yourself, you need to play much more subtly – it is more correct to roll, to adapt to your opponent.
Here we are talking about Makar. There’s a video of the episode, how he takes the puck from McDavid. There too, there was a situation where Conor flies to the gates of Colorado. Makar could have hit him, he could have exposed his body, but he did no such thing. Instead, Cale took the puck clean and went on the offensive. That’s the difference. Makar took the middle and, so to speak, steered McDavid to the side. Then he rebuilt with his feet and played the puck. And McDavid, no matter how brilliant he was, walked out without the door puck. This is where the defender class is visible. Of course, hitting McDavid was easier. But other skills also need to be developed. Also, Romanov’s data is excellent.
“Our hockey needs qualified coaches. Such as Bilyaletdinov and Hartley “
– But we had Zubov, Gonchar, Markov …
“These are all guys from other generations. Take the same Andrey Markov. Bilyaletdinov taught him. He left Bill for the NHL. Like everyone who has been there. Each had a coach behind them polishing the player.
– Tell me how to prepare a class defender?
– The head must be developed. Hockey is not just a hit and run. You have to read the game. That is, it is correct to roll towards the opponent, to turn over correctly, to put on the skates correctly. It is a huge and laborious job.
Again, back to the episode with Makar and McDavid. Cale did not meet the opponent face to face. He rolled towards him at an angle, took the middle and opened the fairway for Conor to the side. Even if McDavid had tried to push Makar and kept the puck, he still would have gone to the side, out of the gate.
But to do this on the ice, you have to be able to instantly calculate both the opponent’s speed and your own, to predict the reconstruction. All this is defined in the formation, during the formation process. At the same time, you need to see both your partners out of the corner of your eye, and your opponents – who is where. This is the design of hockey. Nothing will work without it. And coaches should explain and tell all this.
Yes, it is hard and monotonous work. And to do this, you also need to be functionally prepared. And here you can’t just pump. After all, the body must be developed precisely from the point of view of hockey. Muscles don’t have to be huge, but they are needed to do some necessary work on the ice. That’s why I say – it all starts with a children’s hockey school. And all these skills need to be instilled, and children need to be functionally trained already there. Do it competently, gradually, over the years, not striving for a momentary result in children’s competitions. Then there will be meaning.
Now we have to start not with the players. And with the restructuring of the coaching economy. We need to train specialists there. And don’t be afraid to invite strangers. Like Bob Hartley. Look how many players he has flourished in Avangard. Including defender Sharipzyanov. It is not like that. The trainer was involved in training and development. Just like Bilyaletdinov, when he worked at Dynamo and Ak Bars.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
