In the first “hot” days of the free agent market in the KHL, the exchange between Ugra and SKA, as a result of which goalkeeper Egor Zavragin arrived in St. Petersburg, turned out to be rather imperceptible.
Yes, it is unlikely that the 18-year-old goaltender, drafted into the NHL by Philadelphia 87th overall a year ago, will be seen in the KHL next season. But scouts, agents and managers consider Zavragin the strongest in his year of birth and in the entire generation. It is not for nothing that at the age of 18 he was already called up by Roman Rotenberg to the Russia 25 team.
correspondent Alexander Rogulev met with Zavragin and found out:
— I read that you began your career in the village of Chik, Novosibirsk region. Where are you from?
— No, I myself am from Novosibirsk, I lived there all my childhood. I went to Chick to train and play for the local Sturm.
– How did it happen? Is there really no ice cream in Novosibirsk?
— I started at the Zvezdny Ice Palace, right near my house. But it turns out that Sturm’s coach invited me and a friend to play for his team when he started working there. We agreed and we both went. We traveled 20 kilometers a day – back and forth.
—Was there anything else there besides the ice palace?
– An ordinary village: apartment buildings, in the middle – a palace. There are no open fields or coolers. An ordinary village, like all the others.
— Did you also go to Khanty-Mansiysk to take a bus?
— Yes, Dmitry Sergeevich Mezentsev started working in the Ugra system. And he first invited me just to train in front of the “regions”. And then Evgeny Khvostov came to me – now he is the director of a sports school in Khanty – and invited me to the 2004 team, that is, to the guys a year older . I sat down with my parents, thought about it and decided to go for it.
—Wasn’t it scary to go God knows where in the north at the age of 14?
– What difference does it make whether it’s in the north or not? Everywhere you choose what will be best for development. I was invited to a good structure, good conditions, and even a team a year older. In “Sturm” there was only one scene for children, after which I would have hit a wall. And here there has been real development. Time has shown: the decision was the right one.
— Was there a boarding school in Khanty? Difficult, probably – in another city, without parents.
– Yes not bad. And when I reached the MHL level, I was living in a hotel. In childhood, we don’t really need conditions or entertainment; Training, studies and about five hours of free time in the evening. You come to relax.
— I read that you could leave from there for Omsk. Is it true?
– Yes, something happened, but I don’t remember all the details. It’s better to ask the agent.
“But you had Curry Ramo’s sweater over your head, didn’t you?”
– It’s still suspended!
– How did you get it?
— As a child, I loved watching Avangard matches, I don’t even know why. I just liked this team and Ramo as a goalkeeper. I followed them at every match, I tried to watch them when they were on TV. My parents knew that I loved having such a childhood idol. And they gave him a gift: they bought his sweater. I hung it up and carry it with me like a talisman.
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— Everything started well for you in Khanty. But that year, there was “second season syndrome” where it didn’t work at all. Do you understand what happened?
– There were reasons for this. I wouldn’t want to express them publicly. In any case, it came from me, I hadn’t shown the required level. It was, let’s say, an extremely bitter experience for me. I am even glad that life gave me such experience from an early age, when it is not too late to work on my mistakes, so that I understand throughout my career: I always have to work . These results motivated me to do additional work. As they say, I took a step back only to speed up.
– Star fever?
– No no. These were hockey-specific reasons, but, again, I wouldn’t like to name them.
— Your transition to SKA was not so visible, considering the first days of the market opening. Did they even ask you if you wanted to transfer? Or were they confronted with a fact?
– Of course, it all depended on me. Ugra General Director Sergei Gusev spoke: “The agent will tell you everything in detail. But we are negotiating with SKA and everything will depend on your decision. If you want to, go, if you don’t want to, don’t go. The clubs let me decide what to do in this situation and didn’t put any pressure on me. I found it necessary to move to SKA.
– For what?
— I think it’s no secret that I will start the season in Sochi. With all due respect to Ugra, this is already an opportunity to play at the KHL level. Sooner or later I had to take a step forward from Khanty-Mansiysk. And if such an opportunity presents itself now, it would be stupid to refuse it. Yes, I could spend another year in the VHL, but for my own development it is better to take a step as soon as possible.
— Is it understood that you will play in Sochi and that you will not be third?
“Everything will be done through work, no one will say anything in advance.”
— Doesn’t it bother you that there is a whole group of goalkeepers who haven’t really benefited from their time at SKA? Kochetkov, Ivanov, Brinkman, Askarov…
– For what? Askarov plays in the AHL, Kochetkov in the NHL, Ivanov in the KHL. I don’t think they’re at a standstill. The SKA system gave them some life experience that they use today. I have my own way. Let’s see how it goes, the main thing is not to stop working.
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— What do you think about the fact that on the Internet Yegor Zavragin is called the most promising goalkeeper of the generation?
– I don’t think so at all. Much can be said about it, but showing it in practice is another matter. I don’t think so myself, if you ask me. They write and they write, what is the difference? It certainly doesn’t put any pressure on me.
— What style of play do you like the most?
— To be honest, I don’t have a particular idol or role model. You can take something good from everyone, I can’t pick one or two. Look at Bobrovsky: his skating technique is simply incredible. You can remove this component from it. The same goes for the rest.
— Is it correct to compare you to Fedotov? Your dimensions are similar.
– I don’t know, it’s hard to say. You can compare with whoever you want, but I don’t admire anyone.
— Did you understand that because of the story with Ivan that year, it would be more difficult to get to Philadelphia?
– Certainly not.
— Do you have any contacts with the foreign club?
– Basically, the agent and his assistants do this, they are in contact. Personally, I don’t get involved in that, my job is to play and train, to prepare for performances in the KHL.
With the NHL, I don’t want to make assumptions. How this will happen will all be visible in due time. You will always need to consult everyone: your agent, your coaches and your parents. If I ever go there, it will be a very thoughtful and balanced decision.
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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.
