The 19-year-old Russian goalkeeper, born in Bulgaria, became a revelation in the main Finnish league last season and a contender for the number one post in our country’s youth team
Petr TERESHCHENKOV
The story of 19-year-old Georgiev is a vivid example of how careless we are sometimes with our talents. In the 2013/14 season, Alexander was in the reserve reserve of Khimik in the MHL, and a year later he played 14 matches for the main team of the Finnish TPS, at the same time winning the Finnish youth league (players under 20 years old) and becoming the best goalkeeper in the playoffs.
Moreover, the legendary TPS finished the season in penultimate place, but this cannot be said according to the statistics of the young goalkeeper - 2.21 goals conceded on average per game. Naturally, the hockey player was noticed by the Russian youth team, in which he showed his worth at the recent Black Sea Cup: almost 150 shutout minutes, only two goals conceded.
At the moment, perhaps, it is Georgiev who has the greatest chance of becoming the main goalkeeper of the Russian youth team at the 2016 World Cup.
I CALLED NORREN TO TPS
- It’s not difficult to assume that Khimik, which missed such a goalkeeper, is now biting its elbows...
In fact, I have the most positive memories of “Khimik”. I spent five years in Voskresensk: I played four years at school for the team born in 1996 and the MHL. It’s not the club’s fault that coach Yuri Strakhov didn’t believe in me. He bet on goalkeepers born in 1992 and 1993.
It’s interesting to understand: did you grow to become one of the best goalkeepers in the country thanks to the wonderful Finnish methods of training goalkeepers, or did you simply not understand Khimik?
I improved a lot in TPS over the year, but I didn’t grow in a vacuum. I was in good standing with Khimik and was considered promising, but they didn’t give me a chance in the MHL, although before signing the contract they promised to let me play at least ten games a season. As a result, I didn’t get any practice at all.
- How did the third goalkeeper of the MHL outsider end up in the legendary Finnish club?
From the age of 10, every year I went to the goalkeeper camp of Frederic Norrena, whom everyone knows from his championship season at Ak Bars. Starting this season, he joined the TPS coaching staff, where he ended his playing career. At his suggestion, I was invited to watch. Moreover, there were no conversations about a possible contract then, which is understandable, because I didn’t even have statistics at the junior level - since I didn’t play a single match in the MHL. In Finland I took part in several control games - and in the end the coaching staff of the youth team decided to leave me.
EXERCISE NAMED AFTER YURZINOV
- And in your first season you joined the adult team.
The main team failed, but the youth team, on the contrary, performed great. Our coach Mika Elomo was invited to work with the main team after the resignation of her head coach in November. I came to training on January 2, and they told me: “Today you are playing.” That's how he debuted. I didn’t even have time to worry.
- Did you train with the main team before?
Yes, I took part in classes, but in official matches I didn’t even sit on the bench - there were two of my own goalkeepers. It turns out that they decided to immediately throw me into battle.
- Finland is now the world leader in elite goalkeepers. Due to what?
They work a lot on little things, paying attention to the most seemingly insignificant details. There are exercises that are not used at all in Russia.
At the tournament in Sochi you impressed with your calmness. Is serious work being done on goalkeeper psychology in Finland too?
I always tried not to pay attention to the score, not to focus on missed goals or “saves” during the game. These are basic things for every goalkeeper, but in Finland the attitude is really different from the Russian one. If things don’t go well for you during a match, they will cheer you up and say: “Everything is fine, no big deal.” And in Russia you can hear a lot of “interesting” things about yourself from a coach - and not the goalkeeper coach, but the main one, who often does not know the specifics. Here they can yell at you and try to pump you up, which is not always beneficial.
- Is Vladimir Yurzinov, who achieved great success with TPS, often remembered in Turku?
Why do they remember? He's still stopping by. By the way, I talked to him once. They treat Yurzinov with great respect. Here's an interesting detail: one of the training exercises is named after him.
- What did he tell you?
He came to the locker room with the coach and wished him success. He said: “The main thing is to work.”
NAME IN KHL, BUT ALL THOUGHTS ABOUT TPS
- You are now probably invited to the KHL.
After the season, I signed a contract with TPS for two years, and now all my thoughts are only about how to gain a foothold in the senior team. I have to withstand decent competition: I have to prove that I’m worth something. Turku believed in me, so I want to thank the management with a good game. It would be wrong for me to run away after the first more or less successful season.
- And who owns the rights to you, by the way?
As far as I know - "Khimik".
- Did you feel how attention was growing towards you in Russia?
When I played in the youth team, I gave one interview, but as soon as I started playing in TPS, my interest immediately grew. Articles about me began to appear in the press: who I am, where I came from...
- Were you waiting for a call to the youth team?
During the season, no one contacted me, so I calmly went to Bulgaria to heal my injury and think about rest. I turned off all my phones, but representatives of the youth team found me through my father. Dad came and said: they say, Valery Bragin will call now. Needless to say, my joy knew no bounds. I always watched the youth world championships very carefully and dreamed of getting into the team. I will do my best to make your dream come true.
- After the successful Black Sea Cup, you have become closer to this dream.
The coaches said that they were counting on me in the future. Although one successful collection is not a reason to relax. I won’t be able to rest - the monthly training camp at TPS will begin very soon.
You have virtually no experience playing with North Americans. You can fill the gap during the November super series, where the TPS has the right not to let you go.
Matches for the national team and the club are really different. I would like to test myself in games with the best youth in Canada. This is useful. If they call me, I hope they will let me go.
- You have dual citizenship listed in all reference books. What connects you with Bulgaria?
I was born there. But he didn’t live even a year - the family moved to Moscow. So I grew up in Russia. And, of course, I went to hockey school here too.
Usually the father leads his son into sports. If he is Bulgarian, then why did he choose hockey and not football, which is much more popular in his homeland?
My dad wanted me to become a professional athlete, and he put me in hockey, because he considered this sport to be the most developed and successful in Russia. Although I had never followed hockey before.
- Have you ever been invited to the Bulgarian national team?
- Although you are probably the most famous Bulgarian hockey player now?
Maybe so ( laughs).
Sochi - Moscow
) - Soviet and Russian checkers player, multiple world champion. International Grandmaster.
He started studying at the age of 7, at the St. Petersburg City Palace of Youth Creativity. Student of Sergei Manshin.
In the 1990s and early 2000s he lived and trained in Ishimbay. Coach - Yuri Vladimirovich Chertok.
In an interview, the first coach of Alexander Georgiev said:
Why did Alexander leave our city several years ago? - The main reason is that there were no sponsors in St. Petersburg. And in Ishimbay they allocated him an apartment and provided him with the necessary financial support.
In Bashkortostan, professional checkers sport is supported at the state level.
In 2003, for the first time, representatives of Russia, namely Bashkortostan, became world champions in international checkers among men and women.
From the congratulatory telegram of the President of Bashkortostan:
“Dear Alexander Sergeevich! I heartily congratulate you on your outstanding victory - winning the title of world champion in international checkers. It was achieved in a bitter struggle with the nine-time world champion and is truly historic. Your successes have become another convincing proof of the high level of development of physical culture and sports in the republic, our school of checkers. This is all the more significant since we again have the title of world champion in international checkers. I wish you good health, happiness, new brilliant victories in sports for the glory of your native Bashkortostan and all of Russia! President of the Republic of Bashkortostan M. Rakhimov.”
Now he lives and trains in St. Petersburg, coach of the Verkhovs, Alexander Olegovich.
His wife is Guzel Georgieva, a Russian grandmaster and multiple Russian champion. They have two children: Seryozha and Sveta.
Notes
Links
| World champions in international checkers among men | |
|---|---|
|
Alfred Dussault (1885-1894) Eugene Leclerc (1895) Isidore Weiss (1899-1911) Alfred Molimar (1912-1912) Hermann Hogland (1912) Stanislas Bizot (1925) Marius Fabre (1926, 1931) Benedict Springer (1928) Maurice Reichenbach (1933-1938) Pierre Guestem (1945, 1947) Pete Rosenburg (1948-1954) Marcel Deslauriers (1956) Iser Kuperman (1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1974) Vyacheslav Shchegolev (1960, 1964) Baba Si (1963) Andris Andreiko (1968-1971) Ton Sebrands (1972, 1973) Harm Virsma (1976, 1977, 1981, 1983-1984) Anatoly Gantvarg (1978, 1980, 1984, 1985) Yannye Van der Val (1982) Alexander Dybman (1986, 1987) Alexey Chizhov (1988-1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2005) Guntis Valneris (1994) Alexander Shvartsman (1998, 2007, 2009) Alexander Georgiev (2002-2004, 2006, 2011) |
Categories:
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- Born on July 17
- Born in 1975
- World Chess Champions
- USSR checkers players
- Russian checkers players
- European champions in checkers
- Athletes of Ishimbay
- Persons:St. Petersburg
- Born in the Novgorod region
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- Georgiev, Alexander Vasilievich
- Georgiev, Veselin Ivanov
See what “Georgiev, Alexander Sergeevich” is in other dictionaries:
Georgiev- Georgiev is a Russian (with emphasis on O) and Bulgarian (with emphasis on I) surname. Georgiev, Alexander Sergeevich Russian checkers player. Georgiev, Blagoy Zhorev Bulgarian football player. Georgiev, Viktor Mikhailovich film director, screenwriter ... Wikipedia
Dybman, Alexander
Dybman Alexander Borisovich- Alexander Borisovich Dybman (born 1962) Soviet athlete (Russia, Leningrad), international checkers. World champion (1986, 1987) and USSR (1983, 1984, 1986). International Grandmaster (1986). Trainers: Sergey Sergeevich Manshin (Manshin), Alexander... ... Wikipedia
Manshin, Sergey Sergeevich- Sergey Sergeevich Manshin Occupation: checkers player, coach Date of birth: 1929 (1929) Citizenship ... Wikipedia
Russian checkers team (2009)- Russian national drafts team 2009, a team of athletes, coaches, administrative workers, formed based on the sports results of 2008 with the aim of preparing and participating Russian athletes in official international competitions in ... ... Wikipedia
List of famous Ishimbays- information about famous people who were born, studied or worked for a long time in the city of Ishimbay. Contents 1 Heroes of the Soviet Union and Socialist Labor ... Wikipedia
Sports in Ishimbay- Ishimbay is a city with a relatively young sports history, but with already established sports traditions, professional teams and world-class athletes. Contents 1 Sports facilities of the city 2 ... Wikipedia
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Full members of the RAS- New building of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences are full members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (academicians) and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The main responsibility of members of the Russian Academy of Sciences is to enrich science with new achievements.... ... Wikipedia
State Prize of the Russian Federation- Badge of the laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation has been awarded since 1992 by the President of the Russian Federation for contribution to the development of science and technology, literature and art, for outstanding... ... Wikipedia
Books
- History of Russia, Orlov Alexander Sergeevich, Georgiev Vladimir Anatolyevich, Georgieva Natalya Georgievna, Sivokhina Tatyana Aleksandrovna. The textbook outlines the history of Russia from ancient times to the present day, taking into account the latest data accumulated by historical science. This publication contains for the first time more than 800 illustrations. For…
The Rangers sent Russian goaltender Alexander Georgiev to the farm club, who only made his NHL debut at the end of February and managed to play 10 matches. Sport24 – about the strange decision of the New York management
How did he play in the NHL?
This story started out very beautifully. Last summer, Russian goalkeeper Alexander Georgiev, who previously played three years for the Finnish TPS, signed a contract with the New York Rangers. The goalkeeper was aware that he would have to start making a name for himself in North America in the AHL, but at the same time he was very optimistic.
It happens differently for all goalkeepers. For some it takes three years to gain a foothold in the NHL, for others even a year is enough. At one time, for example, Nabokov and Vasilevsky played in the AHL. We proved, fought and eventually reached a high level. I'm ready to wait for my chance to take it. I believe that now I have more chances to get to the Olympics. In Finland I would have fewer of them. And now I need to play well to attract the attention of the national team coaches. In addition, as far as we know, AHL players will be able to go to the Games. I have not played for the national team, and so far there has been no interest from there, but I will do everything I can to make it appear.
Alexander Georgiev, goalkeeper of the New York Rangers (Sport-Express)
Naturally, Georgiev did not go to any Olympics - apparently, the goalkeeper was not very familiar with the peculiarities of forming the Russian national team. But he implemented the plan for a quick transition from the AHL to the NHL.
On February 10, Georgiev was called up to the main team, and on the 21st he played his debut match in the National Hockey League, becoming the first Russian goalkeeper in the history of the Rangers. In the game against Montreal, he took 38 shots, but New York lost 1:3.
Further more. The next day, Georgiev was again in the starting lineup, this time in a match against Minnesota, and again showed good statistics, making 33 saves. One problem - the Rangers lost again, now with a score of 1:4.
In early March, Georgiev won his first victory in the NHL - he made 35 saves, and New York scored one goal more than Edmonton (3: 2). The goalkeeper could hardly contain his emotions after that game.
I didn’t count any shots on my own goal. I just played my game and tried to be myself. I have an incredible feeling, as if this is a dream. I will remember this for the rest of my life.
Alexander Georgiev, goaltender, New York Rangers (nhl.com)
Georgiev became the first goalkeeper in Rangers history to save more than 30 shots in each of his first five matches with the team, and in the game against Pittsburgh he saved a shootout from Evgeni Malkin himself - a fact that will remain in the goalkeeper’s biography regardless , how his future career in the NHL will develop.
Before this Monday, Georgiev played 9 matches for the Rangers and won 4 victories. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.
Why was he sent to the AHL?
On Monday, New York hosted Washington, Georgiev was again entrusted with the number one spot, but he played just under nine minutes. During this time, the Russian goalkeeper missed three goals and was replaced.
TJ Oshie scored on him with a not-so-difficult throw from the right faceoff dot.
Matt Niskanen beat Georgiev in one move.
And Alexander Ovechkin hit the puck into the near corner from his “office”.
Georgiev's fault can be found in the first two goals. In the first it was obvious, in the second the goalkeeper almost lacked composure. As for Ovechkin’s puck, which goalkeeper in the league didn’t let the Russian striker in from that position? It turns out that there were two mistakes of varying degrees of seriousness, for which Georgiev was quite naturally seated on the bench.
The most amazing thing happened on Tuesday. Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton announced that Georgiev is heading to the AHL and will once again play for Hartford. I didn’t believe this news right away.
It is clear that Ondrej Pavelec has recovered from injury, but it is difficult to say how the 30-year-old Czech is stronger than the 22-year-old Russian. Perhaps New York will completely entrust the last matches of the season to Henrik Lundqvist, and give the young Russian goalkeeper full-fledged playing practice in the farm club. Then the moment was not very suitable for this: Georgiev was clearly dissatisfied with himself in the match with Washington and could regard exile to the AHL as punishment for this failure. This is not good for the goalkeeper's psychological state.
What's next for him?
He most likely will not return to the NHL this season. New York has 6 matches left to play, there is no talk of any playoffs in the case of the Rangers, which means there is no point in pulling Georgiev. Unless injuries intervene.
If we talk about the future, New York will definitely consider the Russian goalkeeper as the main contender for the backup role. Lundqvist's contract expires in two years, the Swede will be 38 years old by then and will need a replacement. The Rangers can grow it on their own - just make Georgiev the undisputed second number, consistently give him practice, and he is quite capable of becoming a quality goalkeeper at the NHL level.
If New York's managers and coaches continue to believe in Pavelets or some other accomplished but not very great goalkeeper, Georgiev and his agent need to think about changing the team. At 22, a hockey player must play, and there must be those willing to sign a Russian goalkeeper. Moreover, now his resume contains the important column “NHL playing experience.”
“The first year I played for lunches.” The story of a goalkeeper who was of no use to Khimik and started playing in Finland
Alexander Georgiev was the third goalkeeper of the youth team of Voskresensk Khimik, and six months after leaving there he made his debut in the Finnish championship.
Bulgarian
The profiles say that I was born in Moscow, but this is not true. I was born in Bulgaria, in the city of Ruse. My father is Bulgarian. When he was 17, he went to study as an engineer in Moscow. My mother studied there. They met, got married, moved to Bulgaria - and after my birth they returned to Moscow. So I have dual citizenship: being born in Bulgaria gives you the right to receive a Bulgarian passport without giving up your Russian one. This is convenient: you don’t need a visa to travel to Europe. I know the Bulgarian language at the level of simple phrases and all sorts of funny words. In summer I often visit Bulgaria.
When I was five years old, my father decided to send me to sports. At that time, Russian players in the NHL were the talk of the town, everyone was talking about them. My father took me to the hockey school closest to home – “Penguins”. This is in Biryulyovo, 10 minutes from our house on Chongarsky Boulevard. Mostly my parents drove me, but sometimes I took the train from Kolomenskoye station to Biryulyovo-Pasazhirskaya myself.
It's great to be a goalkeeper. In everyday life, for example, keys fall off the table - you just grab them. And you think: “It’s good that I’m a goalkeeper.” There is a reaction, there is agility - I can juggle four tennis balls, for example. Only the equipment is expensive: I think that now the cheapest goalkeeper kit for a child will cost at least 60 thousand rubles. My parents bought me a uniform with a spare size. The shields lasted for three years. The shell and shorts could last for five years. Only I had to buy skates every two years.
My father has a small business: he sells wholesale massagers - plastic and wooden, as well as acupuncture. It helped a lot that he had a free schedule. If there was a choice - to take me to training or to deliver the next batch - my father always drove me.
When I was 13, the option arose to move to HC “Peter” - and I went to the tournament with them. I played there against Khimik, and the coach from Voskresensk said to me: “Come join us.” And I started playing for Khimik.
Voskresensk
My father or mother took me to Voskresensk. On a good day, the journey took two hours one way. But usually it’s two and a half, and several times there were cases where we drove these 100 km for four hours. That is, at least five hours a day were spent on the road. In terms of hockey, everything was great: during my year I played almost continuously. Plus, I could go and train with guys a year or two older, which I also took advantage of. This gave me a lot in development. And Yaroslavl “Lokomotiv” took me to the Russian Championship finals twice.
At the age of 16, I started training with the youth team - and expected that the next year I would play for Khimik in the MHL. There were promises from the management: “Sign the contract, in the first season you will play ten matches in the MHL.” It was not bad - and I signed a standard contract for three years. Now I understand: I should have looked at how the team treated young goalkeepers before me. There was a clear trend: those who came from the Youth Sports School did not immediately get a place in the goal. But for some reason I thought that my case was different.
As a result, it turned out that I changed clothes for four matches during the season, but never went on the ice. I was the third goalkeeper. One guy was three years older than me, the second was four years older, both had already retired from hockey.
Everything was explained by lack of experience. But I didn’t understand how to get experience if I wasn’t allowed to play. It was good that I could still play for the juniors, but that was a level that I had outgrown a couple of years before. And there were funny moments there too: somehow we won with a junior – 3:1. And the MHL coach found out the score, came up to me and asked: “Why didn’t you play to zero?”
I realized that I didn’t need to stay at Khimik. And then one option appeared.
Norrena
From the age of 10, I went to Fredrik Norrena’s summer goalie camp every year – he was still playing in the NHL then. The camp lasted a week. The trip budget for me alone was approximately a thousand euros (five hundred of them were for the camp itself), plus travel and accommodation for my parents - my mother and father, as a rule, went with me.
What is goalie camp: ground in the morning, light snack, ice, video, discussion, lunch and more ice. Lots of exercises for agility, coordination, speed, abs, back muscles, a large number of jumps.
The video took about an hour a day: analysis of the game of NHL goalkeepers, explanation of technical actions. What’s good about this kind of work: all this is not presented in the form of an ultimatum. You can ask, challenge, prove your point of view - and the coach will not yell at you.
The theoretical classes were very valuable, where they explained subtleties that I had never even thought about before - right down to what color shields to choose. This seems like a minor detail, but it can help confuse the attacking player since he usually has less than a second to make a decision. For example, white shin guards with a grille like that of the Finnish goalkeeper Rask. This is specially done so that the grille merges with the gate net. I just have white shields. They blend slightly with the color of the ice and visually appear larger than they really are.
View
Apparently Norrena saw something good in me. Just after my first season in the MHL, where I didn’t even change clothes for games, Fredrik told my father that he wanted to see me try out for the TPS youth team. Moreover, his father did not contact him, did not ask for anything - this was precisely Norrena’s initiative. He then played his last season in Finland and became a goalkeeper coach in the TPS system.
Naturally, we jumped at this chance. In fact, I was very lucky that I was even taken to this screening. Fredrik Norrena was the only one who knew me. For others, I was an incomprehensible goalkeeper, because at that moment I didn’t even have statistics on eliteprospects. Zero matches in the MHL! I clearly understand that I was taken to the screening only out of respect for Norrena’s opinion.
The viewing began with two days of training and one bilateral match, in which many chances were created near my goal, but I played to zero. They told me: “You’ll stay for a couple more days.” Again, several training sessions and a game - I only missed one goal there. And after four days they called into the office: “Solve the issue with the documents - and we will be glad to see you.”
This is where I had to suffer. When Khimik found out that I wanted to transfer, and even to TPS, they did not want to give my documents to any one: “Stay, you will be at least second, and you can become first.” But it was difficult to believe after they had previously promised me ten matches in the MHL, and I played zero. They didn’t want to let me go for a long time; they demanded some money. But in the end, we found a way to reach an agreement: they released me without any compensation, and Khimik retained the rights to me in Russia.
It was, of course, a strong contrast: from Voskresensk to get to the TPS. A completely different attitude to planning and building training. Differences are everywhere. Gym – each player is given a program: what to work on, what exercises to do and with what weights to do. Moreover, the coach varies the program for different players depending on their role or physical condition. Goalkeepers, for example, do not put so much strain on their arms so as not to lose speed. This is in TPS.
And at Khimik we had circuit training - the same every time: you go through all the machines in the gym and do 10 repetitions. Moreover, everyone had the same weights. In Finland, they periodically calculate the maximum weight with which you can do three repetitions in a particular exercise: in the bench press it’s 90 kg, in the front squat it’s 105 kg. And then based on this they build training: the first approach is 60 percent of the maximum weight, the second is 70 percent, and so on. At Khimik there was one barbell for everyone - 70 kg. I had to do 10 repetitions. Honestly, even then I was surprised: why do I, weighing 72 kg, and the defender, weighing 90 kg, have the same barbell?
What’s also important: in Finland, goalkeepers go out early to every training session to warm them up with warm-up shots. And you yourself order what throws you need for warming up. And the training itself begins with 15 easy throws. In Khimik it was like this: we all went out together and immediately started throwing hard shots at the cold goalkeeper from a lethal position, from the “mustache”.
But I, of course, am very grateful to Khimik for the school. The problems in the MHL are only for one season, but before that everything was great. For example, in Finland they asked me: “Where did you play?” I answered: “In Voskresensk. Have you heard about Larionov? That’s where he is from,” and there was no need to say anything further.
Contract
After a year on the bench at Khimik, I didn’t care at all what salary they would give at TPS. I was only thinking about whether I would play. I was ready to move to TPS and pay for everything myself: for travel, for ice. By the way, until recently this was the case: players of youth teams in Finland had to make monthly contributions - it seems like about 200 euros per month. And then these contributions were canceled.
According to the first contract, I had nothing at all: no salary, no uniform, no housing. The only thing is that we paid for lunch in the canteen, which is good. In short, I played for these dinners. And I lived on the money my parents sent me. The contract stipulated bonuses for matches in the main team, but I didn’t even dream about it.
On January 1, 2015, an SMS came from Norrena: “Tomorrow you are going away with the main team.” The next morning I went into the locker room - there was a meeting there. And the coach said: “Today is an important match, let's start the year with a victory. At the Gates of Georgiev." Everyone started clapping. I’m like, “What-what? What did he say? And Teemu Lassila, the main goalkeeper, laughed: “You are playing!”
After the morning training we boarded the bus and went to the game in Tampere. The drive was 160 kilometers, about two and a half hours, and along the way I was shaking a little with extreme excitement. I felt something the same when I played, for example, for children against CSKA - a top team for our age. You feel as if you are about to play the most important match of your life. While I was on the bus to the game in Tampere, I received messages from relatives, whom I told that I would play for the main team. Everyone congratulated and rejoiced.
In the youth team, a hundred people came to matches, and then I skated onto the ice - there were seven thousand spectators in the stands. In that game I missed three goals from about twenty shots, but by the end of the match I felt much more confident. And in overtime he stopped seven more shots, half of them were dangerous, scoring goals. We won in shootouts - and the coach said after the match: “In overtime, you played as if you were already in your fourth season in this league. Very confident."
I repeat: I could not dream that I would get such an opportunity in my first year in Finland. That season I played 14 times for the main team, and with the youth team we won the Finnish championship.
TeamThe hockey world is a pretty narrow one. And when news broke that the young Russian goalkeeper had started playing in the Finnish league, it could hardly have gone unnoticed. They started calling me up to the youth team.
Silver at the World Youth Championship is a difficult medal. Immediately after this, of course, there was no joy. The decisive goal turned out to be offensive. Many times there were situations when someone else's player walked behind the goal - and I managed to move and cover the far corner. But then there was a collision with my own - and I couldn’t. And yet - my first medal at the national team level.
The day after returning from the championship, I, along with two players from the Finnish youth team, were called to the ice before the start of the TPS game. The mayor of the city congratulated, Saku Koivu also came out to shake hands. Then we were taken to the box, where we watched hockey. During breaks we went to the fans and signed autographs. That is, the Finns did not divide into friends and foes - and they congratulated me, even though I played in the final against their team.
The club rents me a one-room apartment in Turku. My parents come every couple of months to see how I live. Less than a year ago I got my license and now I go to training by car, but all last season I either asked someone from the team to give me a ride, or I went by bus. Taking the bus is inconvenient: it seems to take 20 minutes, but there is no stop near the arena itself, so you have to walk another 10 minutes.
I cook for myself. These are, of course, simple dishes. I bought a chicken breast, made chops, and boiled pasta for them. Spaghetti Bolognese is easy to make. Some kind of steaks. Salad. In the morning, milk with cereal or porridge.
Last year I only ate at home: I didn’t have the money to go to restaurants. Therefore, I prepared it taking into account the idea of coming home from training, heating it up in five minutes and eating it right away.
Mestis
Now I am 400 km from Turku - in the city of Savonlinna. Here I play in the second strongest Finnish league: Mestis. Even before the World Youth Championship, we discussed this possibility with Norrena, so that I would not be idle without playing practice. The situation in the main team now is that we need to get into the playoffs and score points. And the coach, of course, will put Lassila first and give him as many games as possible. So now I am the goalkeeper of the SaPKo team. This league consists mainly of young hockey players: our team has an average age of 22 years. And everyone perceives Mestis as a step up. What I would like to note is that there are more dangerous moments due to mistakes, which means I have more work. A good school for a goalkeeper.
Here I work a lot on myself, I go to the gym. What is the advantage of playing in a professional team: no one is watching you - and you decide how to spend your free time. If you want, don’t leave the hall. If you want, don’t get out of bed. I'll go to the hall now.
Text: Alexander Lyutikov
Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Kudenko