“It’s not worth going abroad to sit on a bench there.” Rookie for whom SKA gave nine players

At the Sochi Open Stakes League, a traditional summer tournament, correspondents caught up with one of our league’s most promising defenders. Despite his young age, Alexander Nikishin has already spent three seasons in the KHL, playing for Spartak, and last February he won the silver medal at the Olympics with the Russian team.

After that, attention to the young player increased so much that SKA managed the most massive transfer in the history of our hockey. Alexander became an army man from St. Petersburg, and Spartak in return received five players playing in Russia and the rights of another four players abroad.

In SKA’s first-ever game in Sochi, Nikishin netted an assist and some power moves in the first half.

“I couldn’t believe nine players gave up for me”

– I missed the game, – Alexander explains his activity on the ice. – But at first it didn’t go very well, there were mistakes. As coaches told me long ago, you can find your game through strength. I started to act simpler and everything started to get better.

– Was the unexpected exchange at SKA stressful for you?

“Usually I keep all my emotions inside. And on the first day, it was just hard for me to imagine how I was going to leave my hometown. I myself am from Orel, but it turns out that for 11 years I have been living in Moscow – more than half of my life. Then he calmed down and got to work.

“In general, it’s a historical exchange. The last time nine players were given away was for Eric Lindros. Can you imagine how cool that is?

Of course, I was very surprised when I discovered this. To be honest, I couldn’t believe nine players gave up for me. But nothing depended on me. And so cool, yes.

– In the summer you played for the St. Petersburg team in the 3v3 tournament. Roman Rotenberg’s “tackles” were already in the locker room?

– Not. Then after all, everything also happened very spontaneously. Initially, no one invited me to this tournament. And suddenly a call: “Do you want to play?” Wow, I think. Nobody invited me to Moscow, to Tula – where the guys from Spartak played – too, but they suddenly called me.

In general, I came there very motivated. I think, well, now the opponents will get it. Friends then laughed. Like what, all this was for nothing. But then it was only laughter.

How was your first day after the exchange? In the smallest details.

– I was going to the training camp in Peresvet with Spartak. The day before the start, the sports director wrote to me: “You should report to Luzhniki. I come and find out that I am now an SKA player. But we spoke normally, everything was explained to me.

“In synchronized swimming, I’m already figuring out where my girlfriend messed up”

– Did your move to St. Petersburg create any daily problems for you?

“If it hadn’t been for my girlfriend, I would have met them. But it turned out that all the problems with the move were thrown away. She’s already ordered boxes, packed her things and is looking for a new apartment .

– Your girlfriend is the famous synchronized swimmer Varvara Subbotina. How did you tell him you were leaving for another club?

– Immediately wrote to him briefly: “I am in St. Petersburg.” “In terms of?” Here is the meaning. Then he called and explained everything in detail. Varya was happy. It’s clear that she doesn’t really understand hockey yet, but she understands that for me it’s a step forward.

– So you’re saying Varvara doesn’t understand hockey. And how many elements of synchronized swimming have you already mastered?

– Actually, I can already see if they made a mistake somewhere – the band didn’t leave, it fell apart or something. And this is what all these elements are called – “Heron”, coming out of the water … There are difficult terms, it is difficult to learn them. But I see errors. I watched the Friendship Games. I’m not an expert yet, but I already figured something out.

– Varvara has his own sports career. And the synchronized swimming base is on Lake Krugloye in the Moscow region. Won’t that cause you problems?

“We haven’t really thought about how we’ll live yet. Maybe two cities. I hope his coaches will compromise somehow. They’ll let them go a bit early, will announce the schedule in advance… When the season starts, everything will immediately become clear.

How did you spend your vacation, by the way?

– I haven’t rested like this for five years – I’ve always spent time with my family. And now Varya and I flew away… First to Egypt, but there everything happened sadly with the hotel. The travel agents promised everything would be fine, but in reality everything turned out differently. They burned there for ten days.

Then they returned home and decided to fly back to Sri Lanka. But there were strikes. Once we decided to take a tuk-tuk ride. The driver explains something to me in English, but I don’t understand anything. We will laugh, and he tells us something all the time. And suddenly people with machine guns and black flags met me. We quickly turned around and returned to the hotel! And then in our news we heard that it is better that tourists do not leave the hotel at all. They have such a law that tourists don’t seem to be affected. These holidays have been so busy.

“I also want to play a leading role in SKA”

– Did you manage to talk with the guys who left SKA for Spartak?

– When I arrived in Novogorsk, where SKA held training camps, I immediately met the coaches. And while the tactics were being explained to me, the guys had already left. It wasn’t until the next day, after chatting with the players on my new team, that I found out what the guys think of such a trade. They are also interested in being part of the new system. Novelty is always interesting.

– By joining SKA, you have changed your number. Why did you choose the 21st?

– Probably, I went through ten numbers – and all of them were busy in SKA. I usually take the 57th or the 10th. I have a spare – the 28th in the most extreme case. And they’re all busy!

I do not know what to do. I rack my brains, I just name the players I like. But their numbers in SKA are also busy. As a result, took the 21st. Because my year of birth is 2001. There are other factors that are associated with this number.

– Assess the time spent at Spartak.

– It was all very fun. And the last season was the best of my career. Boris Mironov, as a coach, trusted me. And that gave me confidence. After I made mistakes, they pushed me to something and gave me another chance. This forced me to remove all flaws from my game as quickly as possible. I want to grow further, SKA is a top club, I would like to play a leading role there, just like in Spartak.

– Experts have singled you out in junior hockey. Is it time to justify these advances?

– Youth hockey is a bit different. What I showed there is unlikely to be repeated on an adult level. They forgive a lot of things there, compared to the KHL. But last season, I felt my game and I like to show it. I hope SKA will also be satisfied with her.

“The car was not donated after the Olympics, but it was compensated”

– What did the Olympic Games bring you?

– Self-confidence. After playing the Games, your self-esteem increases immediately. The team was made up of guys fifteen years my senior. At some point I realized that I could safely play at the same level as them.

– National team players received ZMS title after the Beijing Olympics?

– The badge has not yet been awarded, but on paper the title is already there, appropriate as expected.

– And they didn’t give me a car, like at previous Games. Sad?

Nothing, we were compensated. So it’s not very sad, laughs Alexandre.

– What did Russian national team head coach Alexei Zhamnov tell you after his time at SKA?

“I just sent in a try and wished me luck.

– How did Carolina, for whom you were drafted, react to your transition?

We called the next day. The club believes that I have taken a step forward, reached a new level. In general, “Caroline” is satisfied.

– Now you have a two-year contract in the KHL. Carolina didn’t tense up on the fact that SKA might want to keep you around longer?

“I don’t have any long-term plans yet. A year ago I re-signed my contract for three years, because I understood that I had to spend that time in Russia. It’s not worth going abroad to sit on a bench there. And for this you need to prove yourself in the KHL. Now I will say the same – you must first prove in the SKA that I can play there and not sit on the bench.