Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo Attacker Dmitri Kagarlitsky in an interview with , he explained why “AK bars » was eliminated in the first round of the Gagarin Cup in the 2023/24 season.
Kagarlitsky, 34, played for Ak Bars last season and scored 25 points (15 goals + 10 assists) in 64 matches. The Kazan club was eliminated in the first round of the Gagarin Cup, losing to Avtomobilist (1–4). On Monday, the striker signed a one-year contract with Torpedo.
— Is it true that Vadim Shipachev is slow?
— Now they teach you to run with the puck. And in my childhood, it was said that the puck moved faster than the player ran. Vadik can make such a pass in a split second that it will cut the entire field. He doesn’t need to run anywhere.
So you say that its average speed is low. But remember how Kazan played last season. Vadim wasn’t really allowed to attack. He had to provide insurance in the attacking zone and defend in the defensive zone. Where was he supposed to run in this situation?
That’s one thing – Shipachev can throw me the puck on the move, and I took the pressure. But this was not asked of him. He plays the role of a third defender, he has nowhere to run. It ensures statically. And there’s no need to talk about the type of passes he can make.
I remember how we played in Chelyabinsk. From the corner of his zone, he makes a pass under the far blue line to Sanya Radulov, and he passes it to me further. That says something. Who else can constantly carry out such programs in our KHL? Created a moment from nothing.
— “Ak Bars” after the seventh final match with CSKA changed its game model, switching to defensive. For what?
“I wouldn’t bother coming here now looking for a logical explanation.” It just happened like that. I don’t even want to rant. I will definitely talk about it, but later.
— What did last season bring you? You still scored 15 goals. True, there are only ten speeds.
“The best part is that I became stronger psychologically and emotionally. Well, there aren’t enough gears. But I was not the leader of the majority. This is where passes are collected. And a lot depends on the game model.
If we take last season, then in 12 matches at the start I scored nine points. When we played with our line with Shipachev and Dima Yashkin, and we were already used to playing together, everything was fine, I scored the first goal of the championship and the statistics were great. If I remember correctly, I scored against Torpedo, but we lost in overtime. And the next day our unit is down.
– After that ?
– And then that’s all. Everyone’s season went differently. The stats turned out to be ripped and I managed to play with literally everyone. As a result, we lost to Avtomobilist in the first round,” Kagarlitsky said in an interview with .
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