On Sunday, the hockey city of St. Petersburg hosted a presentation of SKA for the 2022/23 season. The team’s head coach answered questions from reporters in detail Romain Rotenberg.
– Do you still have in mind the option of signing Nikita Gusev?
We communicate, we think. Of course, such players are needed. He did a lot for us. He is the player who brought us victory at the Olympic Games in Korea. Let’s talk – time will tell.
– Share your expectations for the season which starts very soon.
– A good foundation has been laid. Not everyone has recovered from such serious charges. But we see the speed, the dedication. There were good sparring partners, powerful opponents. We are very happy with the way we prepared. The work continues.
The next step is the start of KHL games. It is very important to us that we have a good week.
– Evaluate the work on the recruitment of new hockey players, which was carried out during the off-season.
We have chosen the best. Guys who fit our system have character. They have a sporting anger, they are physically strong players, psychologically strong enough to withstand expectations. Playing SKA, all hockey players understand one thing: they have to go out and win every game – both on the road and especially at home.
We chose the players according to these criteria and are satisfied with the way we spent the offseason, the way we prepared, the way we managed to negotiate. We have strengthened the team, closed all the gaps we saw last season and we are very satisfied. We have good competition, there is a depth of composition.
We played four matches in five days, won the Puchkov tournament. Deliberately almost did not change the composition to give the maximum load to hockey players. The game is the best training. It was important to see the guys in the context of a strong and fresh opponent. We have some good food for thought.
– Now we strengthen the team spirit, raising the emotional background all together. It is very important that the spouses who have supported our players continue to do so. Today is a wonderful day where everyone, with families, with children, all united and moving forward.
– Why was Dmitry Yashkin made captain?
“Personal qualities are important here. We watched in training how he does what we ask, especially when he plays with a penny: winning the fight, scoring goals – Yashkin showed his best qualities.
Now he already leads the team in matches. We have 25 captains in the team. All the guys are ready to support each other. There are a lot of young people in the team, and there is always a need for someone to unite everyone, and Dmitry is like that. He knows languages, he has a good attitude towards partners. Yashkin, by his example, shows how to train correctly, how to lead the right lifestyle. It is very important for the team spirit.
– Salavat general manager Yulaev said his club was interested in Alex Grant, but he chose St. Petersburg because the city is closer to the borders. Aren’t you worried that if something happens, the player will just leave?
– We look at the sporting principle. Alex studies Russian, loves St. Petersburg.
I did not read the interview with the general director of Salavat Yulaev. They probably had their own negotiations, but I don’t know.
We see a team, we do not divide anyone on a national basis, we are all one. Grant is a great player. He integrated well into the team, very positive. Thanks to him, the guys learn English, communicate. He studies Russian himself, he already knows many words well. Alex is a solid defender, we are very happy to have him in our team.
– Alexei Morozov said that in mid-September there should be an agreement on the playoffs. Are you in favor of a crossover or standard scheme for the Gagarin Cup?
– Of course, we want hockey to develop, and we see that from the second round the cross playoffs would give everyone a boost, so that there are more fans. We are constantly working to attract a new audience, so that there are more young people, so that hockey is a competitive product compared to all other sports. We are ready to accept any option, but our opinion is that we must constantly develop.
– What is the condition of the injured players – Michkov and others?
“Everyone who’s been injured is recovering. Needs time. We’ll get everyone back to a common denominator. The guys are going through a serious rehabilitation program. When they’re ready, they’ll go out on the ice. I think it’ll be very soon. At the same time, we have a very serious competition. Everyone is ready, everyone is in the cage. Good team. We need competition in all positions.
Will Prokhorkin be ready for the first game?
I don’t think so yet, but miracles happen. The team for the first match will be announced one hour before the match.
– You presented 41 hockey players. Do you have enough players for such a long season? Will everyone have the chance to play?
– Guys play all over the system – for SKA-1946, and for SKA-Neva, and for us. Before the playoffs last season, we had ten defensemen at the same time. We took advantage of our reserves, the whole month of December we played with the guys from the “tower”. The whole defensive line was made up of just them. And at the same time, we achieved the best result in the history of our club – we only lost one game in regular time.
Therefore, the reserve system is very necessary for us. All the guys train in SKA system clubs.
For example, Buchelnikov is now ready to play in the main team – thank God. We believe in him, he goes on the ice. If, for example, there is a situation in which he needs more playing time or more training, there will be other conditions, he can easily play for SKA-Neva, for SKA-1946 and even for the Varyags. There are always plenty of development options.
– Buchelnikov is compared to Panarin. Do you see anything in common in their game?
— To be honest, he’s a very interesting player. He has such energy that he reminds me of Syroezhkin from the adventures of electronics. Where does the energy come from – the question always arises. Because he endures the fight, as in “Electronics”: he takes a bar of such weight that no one expected him to be able to hold it. It was in the preseason, at the Puchkov tournament, he won the fight against the guys who are taller, bigger, more powerful than him – it speaks of courage. He also has technical qualities, he has a serious talent, but he needs to work on him every day.
– Who invented the slogan “All or nothing!” with which SKA enters the new season?
“There has always been such a position in life. There is a common work here. It suits SKA – we need it all or nothing because we have to win every game. We will strive to achieve this. Only SKA, only victory!
– In which matches will Grigory Leps appear in the locker room, who received the SKA shirt with the first number?
– We hope that Grigory Viktorovich will support our guys, talk to them today – there will be such an opportunity. It is very important for players to evolve, feel the culture, communicate with such personalities. We think he will come to our locker room and give us a set for the game. Maybe today we’ll have 3×3 hockey, a charity game.
It is very important that Grigory Viktorovich supports the team. The guys appreciate it a lot, it inspires them with exploits and victories.
– There are disputes about the limit of legionnaires. What format are you?
– In our situation, as we are playing now, we are happy with the option with three legionnaires.
There are a lot of young guys at SKA. Even in yesterday’s game we saw that Marat Khusnutdinov, a guy born in 2002, plays on equal footing with Korban Knight, with other leaders of opponents, wins confrontations – the progress is already very noticeable . We remember how Marat came out in the playoffs against Andronov and other serious guys.
– We see those who are with us now, and we don’t need legionnaires today. But the situation can change, so whatever regulation comes from above, we will work according to that. We’re happy with any option, but we’re all for our guys developing.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
