"We always have a bone-in-the-bone game with Belarus"

The Russian national ice hockey team has been preparing for a series of matches since the middle of last week as part of its traditional May tour. On May 1, Roman Rotenberg's team will meet with the national team of Kazakhstan in Astana, and a day later they will play with Belarus there. Then we have three more matches against the Belarusians — on May 5 and 6 in Tolyatti and on May 8 in Minsk.

In an interview with Izvestia, the striker of the Russian national team and SKA St. Petersburg, Marat Khairullin, shared his expectations for the upcoming games, expressed hope for the national team to return to major tournaments soon, and also appreciated the debut of former club partner Ivan Demidov in the NHL, commented on Alexander Ovechkin's record for goals in the strongest league in the world and shared his impressions of going to football. in Moscow.

— Last weekend you attended the Spartak – CSKA football match. What are your impressions of this derby?

— It was my first time at this stadium (Lukoil Arena in Tushino. — Ed.). The game turned out to be great, the atmosphere was great too — emotions, fans, full stands. Good football — I hope there will be many of them in the Russian championship. And there will be even more fans coming.

— Did you go to the Zenit match, which was played against Dynamo in Moscow on the same day?

— We didn't have time, because at that time our national team was training in Novogorsk. Zenit's match was in the afternoon, and by the evening, when Spartak and CSKA were playing, we were already free, so we had the opportunity to go. We would love to go to Zenit and support our guys from St. Petersburg.

— Now it's clear, but when I saw you at Spartak – CSKA, I was surprised why a SKA St. Petersburg player goes to such a match, and not to the Zenit game.

— Yes, it's all about the training schedule. Well, I was also invited to the Spartak and CSKA derbies by my friend Pasha Ordin (a Spartak hockey player who played with Khairullin for many years at Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. — Ed.). I thought, in principle, why not? As a result, we watched good football.

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— Is the atmosphere at Spartak's home stadium in Tushino similar to what you see in St. Petersburg at the SKA Arena during your matches?

— Both have full stands. Spartak had a loud stadium, and the fan sector was especially impressive. As it was, there were probably only similarities in the weather — it was cold at football that evening, and at hockey, too, due to the specifics of the sport (smiles). Slightly different sports in general, of course. And I like hockey better.

— What do you expect from the upcoming series of games for the Russian national team?

— The most important thing is to enjoy the game. Of course, we need to win and please our fans, especially since they miss the games of the national team. Therefore, there is only one goal — to win.

— Recently, some of Roman Rotenberg's assistants were replaced in SKA — Evgeny Koreshkov, who was responsible for the forwards and the majority, and Albert Leshchev, who worked with the minority, left, replaced by Maxim Semenov, who came from Lada. The same headquarters has now started working with the Russian national team. What are your first impressions of the new assignment of responsibilities?

— We've known all these people for days. But now there have already been changes — they have begun to play in a different way in the minority, for which Semenov and Evgeny Ketov are now responsible. We will refine these details further. Well, Konstantin Valeryevich Shafranov is again working with the special teams of the majority (in the last season of the KHL, he was responsible for the defense. — Ed.). The new coaching staff has its own vision, and we will stick to it. God forbid, the result will be better.

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— Kazakhstan is preparing for the World Cup, and Belarus almost took away the Channel One Cup from Russia in the winter. Are you looking forward to intense matches with them?

— Of course, there will be very interesting games. We will face difficult opponents. Belarus is a very strong team, and we always have bone-to-bone games with them, like at the Channel One Cup. So we will take them seriously, but we will only play to win.

— The Russian national team will play in Tolyatti for the first time. Are you waiting for a special excitement in the stands?

— Basically, wherever we go, there are always full stands. Moreover, the matches are held on May holidays — it's a wonderful time when people come to the stadium. And we must give him only positive emotions.

— Do you expect that in the near future you will have a chance to play for the Russian national team not only in such matches, but also at major tournaments?

— Of course, I would like to play internationally. We are all waiting for this moment — the whole country and all the players. I hope we will be disbanded soon and we will play at the next World Cup and Olympics.

— Almost a month has passed since SKA's departure from the KHL playoffs. What conclusions did you draw for yourself on a cool head?

— In principle, our coaches will draw conclusions, but now we are in the national team — we will not talk about the club yet. In any case, we all need to draw the right conclusions, because more is expected of us — not the first round, but the victory in the Gagarin Cup. Therefore, next season will be very important, and we will go only for this — for the trophy.

— Which of the remaining teams in the playoffs - Lokomotiv, Dynamo Moscow, Traktor and Salavat Yulaev — do you see as the favorite in the fight for the Gagarin Cup?

— All the teams are good. I don't even know who to single out. Everyone is equal this year. Therefore, we will cheer for beautiful hockey, and it doesn't matter who wins.

— How did Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alexander Nikishin, Ivan Demidov, Arseniy Gritsyuk and Zakhar Bardakov react to the departure from SKA?

— I can only wish the guys good luck. As for the guys leaving for the NHL, they deserve to play in the best league in the world. We will keep an eye on them and cheer for them. They're great guys, good luck to them.

— How did you like Demidov's game for Montreal in the NHL playoff series against Washington?

— I watched the highlights of the matches. Vanya did well, he made two assists in the last game and is generally playing well. Basically, he does everything he knows how to do. I'm sure Vanya will continue to play even better. I wish him good luck personally. The main thing is to avoid injury.

— Next season will be your fourth season in SKA. Do you feel a special responsibility for future results, given that you are already one of the main old-timers of the club?

— In general, everyone in our team is a leader. All the players are important. Of course, it's nice that I'm in my fourth year at SKA. But we need to show good results. Something else is expected of us — we will train and play for it.

— During the sixth game of the SKA series against Dynamo Moscow (2-5), which was your team's last of the season, Alexander Ovechkin scored his 895th NHL goal, breaking Gretzky's record for this indicator. How did they react to this?

— The same as everyone else. He was delighted. He's a great guy. This is a great event for our Russian hockey and the whole world. We all congratulate him and wish him good luck, so that he can last as long as possible and without injury, continuing to score so regularly.

— How did he achieve such success?

— It's no secret that he's in good health. Well, talent — you can't achieve anything without it. In addition, fantastic performance. He's just great that he's working so hard on himself. And due to this, I have achieved such success. God grant that he will continue to please us with his game for as long as possible.