“We want to take players who will really strengthen us. But today the player market is empty” — sports director of “Spartak”

Athletic Director of HockeySpartacus Roman Belyaev spoke about the team’s goals for the next KHL season, foreign players with whom they managed to sign contracts, as well as the club’s vertical.

In the offseason, Spartak decided to bet on promising youngsters, but there are also legionnaires in the list.

– Compared to last season, the composition of Spartak has changed a lot. Tell us how the team was recruited?

– After last season, Spartak left 13 players from the main team. We broke up alone with some of them, some simply preferred to accept more favorable personal conditions from other clubs. For obvious reasons, the strangers left. But at this point, we’re happy with the guys we’ve brought in this offseason. We understand that they need time to join the team, to play with partners.

“There are a lot of young players in the squad. Are Spartak ready for the team to suffer fluctuations in play during the season?

“It is part of our strategy. We haven’t had many active youngsters in recent years, and we’ve been trying to catch up. Now we have talented and promising guys, many of whom are on the national team’s coaching staff. But to declare themselves, they need time, they need to listen to what the coach says, they need to progress. Of course, the youngsters will have the chance to prove themselves. We are ready to take risks.

— What can you tell us about the foreigners with whom you nevertheless managed to sign contracts?

– We were looking to strengthen the line of goalkeepers and chose Patrick Ribar. An experienced goalkeeper who has played in North America, in Finland, in the Czech Republic. At the Beijing Olympics, he won a bronze medal as a member of the Slovak national team. In addition, he is suitable for our hockey – he played in Minsk. We understood some risks with his invitation, but so far we are happy with his form and attitude.

Guard Joey Keane is a young man who decided to take a big step in his career after leaving the Carolinas. He had an offer from this club, but it didn’t suit him. And several seasons in the KHL – the strongest league in Europe – will allow him to return to the NHL in a new status.

Forwards Shane Prince and Philip Varone have already played in the KHL, we quickly agreed with them. I can only thank them for accepting our offer at such a difficult time.

– It is known that in the application of “Spartak” there are still places for two legionnaires. Is the search for newcomers continuing, for what positions?

“I’m looking for a defender, maybe two, or a defender and a winger. We want to take players who will really strengthen us. But today, the player market is empty. We communicate with agents who interact with foreign players – and there is only one answer: there is no one. When these players will appear: today, tomorrow, in a month or in six months, we do not know.

– Apparently, hockey players could appear on the market closer to the start of the NHL season?

– Now there are guys who have received offers from NHL clubs, but haven’t signed contracts yet. Then it will be the turn of the NHL training camps, when the players will be thrown. And they have to decide where it is better to continue their career – in the minor leagues of North America or go to the KHL.

– And what is the situation with Latvian striker Miks Indrashis, who signed a contract with Spartak, and after a negative reaction at home, he started to deny it and then moved to one of the European clubs?

– I think everything will become clear soon, we have consulted the KHL and the FHR. It probably won’t be in the KHL. We will settle the situation with the signed contract in the legal area.

– Spartak became a participant in the most unusual exchange this summer, having received 9 SKA players for Alexander Nikishin at once. How are the team deal participants adapting and how do you plan to use them?

– We thought that today the exchange would be beneficial for the club. We have young and promising players – they are good assets for the future of Spartak. This exchange must be evaluated in a few seasons.

What are the team’s goals for the new season?

– Win every game.

— Tell us more about Spartak’s club vertical — how many teams are included in the club’s system and how do you interact with them?

– The Spartak system provides for a KHL team, Major League club Khimik, as well as Spartak’s youth team and two MHL partner clubs – Krylya Sovetov and Atlant. The task of the three youth teams is to prepare players for Spartak. We interact with every team and with every head coach – we are in constant contact.

Players who for some reason do not qualify for MHC Spartak can play for Atlant or Krylya Sovetov. Those who have proven themselves in these clubs can try their luck at Khimik or Spartak. Our task is to build up a large pool of young players so that the best of them have their chance in the first team. And we will give them that opportunity.

– What interesting things can you say about Spartak Academy? In recent years, few young stars appear in the team.

— The club’s academy, with the support of the management of HC Spartak, received a new impetus for development. Now playing for Spartak and being an academy hockey player is getting prestigious. And many children from all over the country dream of going there. But everything takes time. And we will be able to feel the fruits of the current work of the academy in 3-4 seasons.

I will say without too much modesty that the Academy of Spartak is one of the best in Russia in terms of infrastructure. We create all the conditions so that the children are comfortable both for studying and for playing hockey. We can be proud of what the club and the academy have achieved together, and we can only wait for our talented guys to appear in the main team,” Belyaev said in an interview.russian newspaper “.

Last season, Spartak reached the playoffs, where after Finland’s Jokerit was knocked out of the tournament, they qualified for the quarter-finals. At this stage, he lost in series against SKA Saint Petersburg (1-4).

russian newspaper