Roman Rotenberg: “If Michkov doesn’t play in Philadelphia’s front line, he will return to SKA”

Last weekend in Opalikha, a microdistrict of Krasnogorsk near Moscow, a children’s tournament “Unison Cup” took place, in which Ak Bars won. In the final, the hockey players born in 2014 defeated Red Machine Junior (3:1), and three things caught my attention.

First of all, the captain of the “Red Machine” was Roman Romanovich Rotenberg, who received two individual awards at the end of the tournament: “For the best reflection on the game” and “The best player of the tournament according to fans” .

Secondly, in the dressing room of the Red Machine, a boy came to the center who played the violin wonderfully – first the classics, then the Sorcerer’s Doll.

And thirdly, Roman Borisovich Rotenberg again gave a fiery interview to . Everything we love.

From this interview, you will learn:

“Hockey of the USSR is our cultural code”

— “Red Machine Junior” took second place in the Unison Cup tournament. But I was surprised that in your locker room the children are so advanced that they even play the violin.

— We see a very high level of Russian hockey even in children’s tournaments. But this is our future, what kind of children will grow up in these hockey teams. Ak Bars, who took first place, showed himself very strong. In addition, the Kazan team announced for this tournament many players who do not even play in the Ak Bars system. They really wanted to win gold. But the guys from Red Machine Junior fought them on equal terms. We lost 1:3, but the final turned out to be a feast for the eyes.

It is very important for us that children develop harmoniously and diversely. They not only play hockey, but also music and receive education. We have a mandatory condition that education occupies at least 50% of children’s lives. It’s the only way they can play hockey.

We want to see successful children and they should be able to do anything. And not just hockey: you need football, basketball, handball, judo… All sports that develop dexterity and thinking about the game. All this is then transferred to hockey. Thanks to this, our technique improves and we spend a lot of time skating. The players of the same Ak Bars, winner of the final, skate very well. But it’s the basis of everything.

We have to work together so that children play in all regions, we need good coaches with the right methods… And the refereeing must be in favor of technical hockey, so that three opponents do not cling to one player , so that hockey players are allowed to develop, and our children play technical hockey, hockey “gave it and opened it.” USSR hockey is our cultural code. When everyone is playing with the puck, on offense, everyone is together. We have to develop this every day and take it to a new level. So that all children from all regions of the country go in this direction.

This is why we are organizing such a tournament. Thank you to all our partners and sponsors. I thank the Moscow region and Krasnogorsk, Andrei Yuryevich Vorobyov came to the opening. We also attended the first official event of the new Minister of Sports Mikhail Vladimirovich Degtyarev. Because children are everything to us. Of course, I thank PJSC Gazprom and personally Alexey Borisovich Miller for helping and financing all these children’s development programs and the hockey school. This is the only way we can advance our hockey together, so that these kids, when they grow up, beat Canada, the United States and anyone else.

It is very important for boys to play hockey. It’s a man’s game, where there is competition, where character is formed, and in this competition you have to constantly develop. The main thing is that individuals grow up in our society, that they are strong in spirit and physically prepared. And of course with higher education.

— Do you dream that Red Machine Junior captain Roman Romanovich Rotenberg will one day play in the KHL?

— It is very important to me that my son develops harmoniously as a person. Yes, there is a gaming mindset, which is great. There is an understanding of hockey. But there is a lot of work to be done. And it’s a very, very long road. Every practice and every game has so much going on that you have to give it your all. Thank goodness there is a desire. And so Roma loves it, loves hockey and wants to develop. Otherwise, we will help you as best we can.

It’s good that there is such an opportunity! There was a time when I really wanted to play hockey myself. We still lived in Leningrad, I practiced judo. But there was no way to take me to hockey games. It’s the early 90’s, we were living outside the city.

This opportunity only presented itself when we moved (to Finland). I could just go to the rink because everything was nearby. And he started playing a little hockey. It is very good that children now have such an opportunity. Not everyone, of course. But our task is to make hockey even more widespread, so that those who wish can develop. And then we will see which of them will become a professional hockey player. Who is the future Ovechkin, who is a lawyer and who will play the violin. Diversified development is the basis of everything.

Otherwise, how to give emotions to the team? You can give a motivational speech, put on the right music or activate videos. But imagine, a boy who plays on our team comes to the center of the locker room and starts playing the violin. He is a right-handed defender and a very interesting player. He makes his living from hockey and has a wonderful family. And he’s already a top musician. Can you imagine how talented a boy grows up?

“In the Mishkov affair, the main thing for us is family values”

— There is another right-handed defender who came to the Unison Cup – Nikita Zaitsev from Chicago. Is it true that he joined the SKA? How are you mentally on the same page?

– You said the right phrase – “on the same wavelength.” It’s very important for me to be on the same page with the team, with each player individually. And Nikita Zaitsev and I are definitely on the same page. It’s only a matter of time before all the legal details and everything else are worked out.

We need the best guys, talented and selfless. Zaitsev personifies all these qualities. And the game will show the rest.

— Is it true that SKA let Matvey Michkov go to Philadelphia?

— There is no official decision yet. And we can’t say we’re letting anyone go. You see, this is a serious question. We can talk about certain agreements, notably rights. You know that Michkov is a top player. And if anyone wants to buy these rights, let’s talk about it.

— Can Philadelphia technically do this?

— I don’t want to reveal any trade secrets. But you understand that we have invested a lot in Matvey. And if he does not become the leader of Philadelphia, then we will definitely wait for him back in the KHL.

And I will point out that this whole story was influenced by Mishkov’s family situation. We must support him in this area. It’s not about hockey, it’s about family. And we all need to support Matvey.

— It’s good that you have a dialogue with the Flyers.

– We have the ability to communicate. We know different languages ​​well. It is very important in our work to speak different languages. Generally speaking, I advise all children to study as many foreign languages ​​as possible so that they can speak to everyone. Communication is the basis of everything.

And we have good communication, we communicate with everyone. We are absolutely open. And we have invested a lot in Matvey, I can tell you that honestly. Personally, I did a lot to get him to play for us, to get him to come to us. Personally, I did it. I have invested a lot of time and effort into developing this player in our organization.

But we want to support Matvey as a family. We want to give him the opportunity to develop. If, for example, he cannot play in the first line of Philadelphia and does not get the first majority there, if he is sent to the AHL or even to the East Coast League, then we will do everything so that Michkov come back and play. only in the KHL.

I repeat, these questions are always the subject of dialogue. We want Matvey to receive maximum support in his family situation. After all, family values ​​come first.

— Why do NHL clubs regularly send players with their contracts on loan to the KHL, while we cannot do that?

— Legally, it can be called something else. But that’s pretty much what we do. With Mishkov, this is such an example. You can call it whatever you want. However, if he doesn’t play on Philadelphia’s front line, he will return to us. That’s all.

“We will do everything possible to make Zenit the champion”

— Are you worried about the situation with Valery Nichushkin?

“It’s just a matter of discipline.” I don’t know all the details. But of course, we would still be happy to see Nichushkin in the KHL.

– Can he come back?

– Absolutely yes. He is a player of the highest level. We would be happy to see it. And then there is a question of discipline. And this must be discussed with Nichushkin himself. To be honest, I didn’t tell him about his discipline.

— What do you think of the current World Cup? What are you interested in ?

— I don’t look at teams individually. But I study the very details of the game – zone exit, pressure, mid zone, attack zone. I look at the World Cup purely from a hockey perspective. It’s interesting to take a little bit from each, because each team shows something interesting. But here we will enter into a great professional dialogue.

We look at these things purely in terms of hockey development. Some details from a gaming perspective. What can we improve? Even from the example of this tournament we learn and grow.

— Are you curious to know the result of the RPL championship? Who will win gold?

– For our part – me personally and all of us as the Gazprom family – will do everything possible for Zenit to win. And we will support them as much as possible. The head coach and all the players. For Zenit, we will do everything that depends on us.

— A very interesting plot, the audiences are out of the ordinary.

– I agree, it’s very important.

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