"There's high competition in the KHL, so we'll be ready for a showdown"

Less than two months are left until the end of the KHL regular season. Chelyabinsk "Traktor" has played 52 games out of 68 and is in first place in the Eastern Conference. In an interview with Izvestia, one of the team's most high-profile players, defenseman Sergei Telegin, assessed the team's performance this season, explained why attendance is growing in the league, and also expressed hope for a speedy return of Russian hockey teams to international competitions and explained why they will be competitive.

- In the last game with Kunlun, were you surprised by the attendance in Mytishchi? Before, everyone had to play there with empty stands, but this time there were about 3 thousand spectators.

- I was probably more surprised that we have a lot of Traktor fans in Moscow and the Moscow region. In general, it's astounding. It's understandable that they love hockey in Chelyabinsk, and we're used to full stands at home. But to have so many people cheering for us on the road.... It's nice.

- It seems that usually a lot of people go to away games for Traktor.

- Yes, but it still caught my eye that we had quite a lot of people supporting us. It's kind of unusual for Mytishchi. I didn't expect that so many of our fans would gather in Mytishchi.

- Do you have an explanation for why recently in the KHL we hardly ever see empty stands even at home games of teams that recently had problems with attendance?

- It's hard to name a specific factor. Maybe it depends on the standings, on the game of a particular team and its tournament position. Sometimes, someone starts to win regularly, and more people go to the team. Although there are a lot of other factors influencing it, for example, the way we are all promoted in terms of media. Everything has a combined effect - the quality of play on the ice, and the way we promote hockey off the ice. I think it's all at a high enough level, so the interest of the spectators is high. We love the fans - they love us. We try to make it interesting for them to come watch us and support us.

- "Traktor" dominated in the first half of the season, but lately it's not very stable - bright victories alternate with unexpected defeats from "Siberia" (2:3) and "Kunlun" (3:4 OT). What are such misfires related to?

- All the teams have equalized. At the beginning of the season, it's clear that someone was in better shape, someone was in worse shape. We stood out then, now we're slipping somewhere, but overall we're still at the top of the table. Still, we try to play at our best in every game and approach the playoffs in optimal shape.

- Have your opponents learned to adjust to you?

- Everyone adjusts to each other. Everyone watches videos, studies opponents before the game - it's nothing new. We just need to correct our shortcomings in order to lead the East by a large margin. For example, we shouldn't sleep in the first 10 minutes, as we did in the game against Kunlun, which resulted in a 0:3 loss in the first period. It's good that we managed to get back on track and bring it to overtime. Even though we lost there, we gained one point. At the same time, we could have won if we had realized our chances better. But a lot of problems could have been avoided if we had played the same way from the beginning as we did for most of the game. These are the moments that make up everything. If you take them away, the results will be even better.

- Is it important for Traktor to hold the first place in the East? Is there a difference in who to play with in the first round of the playoffs?

- That's a tough question. You usually have to see how it goes. The main thing is to play our game, not to make those mistakes that lead to losing points. And then we'll see what kind of result it will lead to in the regular season.

- Do you look at the conference table and think about the fact that it's better not to get to Avangard or Admiral in the first round?

- No, I definitely don't look at it that way. It doesn't make any difference who you get on. In principle, we have a fairly even conference. And there are certainly no weak teams among those who make the playoffs.

- Has the level of competition in the East gotten higher this season?

- I think it goes up every season. The competitiveness of the teams is definitely growing all the time. Not just in the East - in the West, too. Look at the density of the table - both this season and last season. There are almost no matches where points and wins are easy to come by. Basically, through a series of games you can end up in first place or fourth or fifth. Now the teams have 16-20 games left until the end of the regular season, and it's still unclear who will be where. That's why you always have to be as focused as possible and play to win every game from the first to the last second.

- Are you following the news about the athletes' ban and that the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) is going to discuss the issue of the Russian hockey team next week?

- Not at the moment, I'm not following. We're in the middle of the season, the games are very tight, and the playoffs will start soon. But in any case, I hope we'll be back on the international stage soon.

- In 2022 you experienced what the Olympics are like. Can you estimate how competitive we will be on the international stage after three years of ban?

- I think we won't have any problems with that. We have a strong league, strong players. There are quite a few stars in the championship plus new stars are emerging. There's a lot of competition in the KHL. With that in mind, we should be well prepared for the international tournaments when we are allowed there. I think we'll be competitive there.

- Do you believe that you will still play in some major tournament like the World Championship and the Olympics?

- I hope so. I will do my best to do it, to prove with my game that I am worthy of a call-up to the national team for such competitions.