“Metallurgist “Won the final of the Gagarin Cup, defeating Lokomotiv in four matches. In the decisive match which took place on Wednesday in Yaroslavl, the Magnitogorsk team defeated their opponents with a score of 2:1. The goalkeeper of Ural’s Ilya Nabokov was recognized as the most valuable player of the playoffs.
Andrei Razin, as head coach, won his first Gagarin Cup. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov and Oleg Znarok have each won three such trophies in KHL history.
— What was the toughest moment of the playoffs?
— This is probably the second match of the final, where Lokomotiv finally played well. But we survived. And of course it was very difficult in the decisive fourth game.
— You were able to get through this season without penalty for criticizing the judges. How did it happen?
– But the season is not over yet. Maybe I’ll say something at the final press conference?
— Is it true that when you arrived in Magnitogorsk a year ago, you were given the condition that you must win the Gagarin Cup in two years?
– Yes, such a condition existed. And now we can surpass this plan.
— You have a unique team. You built it from scratch and immediately became champion.
– Well, why from scratch? We have good veterans who are at their best. There are some good promising young people. Yes, indeed, the team has been updated to 60 percent. But it’s not a reset.
— How did you decide to bet on Nabokov, who had no experience in the KHL? But he ultimately became MVP.
– You know, it didn’t work right away. The guy walked quietly, proving. We believed in him and above all, the team believed in him.
— Saratov was offended after your speech at the press conference, when you said that you came out of there as if out of your ass.
– I didn’t talk about the city! Namely about the club itself and the conditions that were created there. The city of Saratov itself is beautiful. Very beautiful, stands on the banks of the Volga.
– Your team could collapse. The same Nikita Grebenkin leaves for the NHL.
– That’s life. Some will leave, others will stay. As they say, no one is irreplaceable. Everyone has their own choice. We have now done an excellent job. And then the guys will decide for themselves which path they should take.
— Is this the pinnacle of your coaching career?
— I have big ambitions, honestly. There is a desire to move forward, to move forward.
– Where is it higher? National team?
– Well, you see, there is room for improvement. I would like to win another Gagarin Cup. We have coaches in the KHL who have won several cups at once. There is an incentive to catch up with them.
— Are you going to continue to trust young people?
– I don’t have the idea that I only go with young people. My principle: whoever is strongest at the moment plays.
—Do you feel like you’re in a fairy tale now?
“I have been working on this for a long time and it seems to me that this is how it should be.” Everything is done in stages. Everything is natural.
— What didn’t work for you this season?
– What could have gone wrong? We won 4-0 in the final. Could it have been better? Even my favorite Avtomobilist won in the third round. I remember very well my first conversation with the director of Avtomobilist, Maxim Ryabkov, when he told me that the basketball team and I had been heading to the championship for six years. And the first thing they did was fire me. Eight years later, I won the Gagarin Cup. But “Avtomobilist” is not there yet. I’m not really happy about it. But I’m happy to have proven that I can do it.
— You talked about coaching ambitions. If they call you to the NHL, can you work there?
– I don’t know English well. We must learn it.
— You had Magnitka do an exercise with balls before the series with Spartak. But that won’t work in the NHL!
— I will immediately write the cylinders into the contract. Nowhere without cylinders.
– Overload the team!
— I have special cylinders. This name is the same, but the filler itself is very different from the others.
—Aren’t these the Krikunov cylinders?
– Absolutely not. Ask any hockey player and there won’t be a disgruntled one among them.
— You kept saying that you worked as a correspondent. When was it?
— I remember very well how I worked as a commentator with Roma Skvortsov. I came as if to work, playing the role of a television pundit. You could say that I am the originator of this profession.
— In other words, for the first time, a corresponding coach won the Gagarin Cup!
– That’s what you said, that’s what you said! But journalists can therefore also be congratulated.
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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.
