"The young guys at Lokomotiv are lucky to be coached by Hartley."

Two-time world champion and Olympic champion Ilya Kovalchuk said in an interview with Izvestia and Sport-Express that he would soon end his playing career, but had not yet thought about holding a farewell match. Also, one of the brightest forwards of his generation shared his opinion on the events of the KHL offseason.

— What was the most unexpected news for you this KHL offseason?

— It's hard to isolate something. I am very happy that Bob [Hartley] has returned to work in the KHL. The fact that such a specialist will help develop our young boys is very cool.

— Can players like Egor Surin open up under Hartley's guidance?

— Definitely. Arseniy Gritsyuk and Klim Kostin opened up under Hartley. Few people knew about them, but after two or three seasons with Bob, they made themselves known. I know how Bob works. All the young guys at Lokomotiv are lucky to have such a specialist. I think he's very similar to Igor Nikitin in style, so it's going to be easy for the boys to adapt to Bob's demands.

— Did he invite you to his "Locomotive"?

— Sasha Radulov is there. (Smiles) I think he can handle the role of locker room leader with an A-plus. He proved it last year and this year he will be able to do the same.

— Nathan Todd came to Spartak. How would you rate such a signing?

— Cool transfer service. Let's see, because Moscow is a city of contrasts. It can very easily lead you astray from the sporting path, so the most important thing is that the guys who come here understand that hockey should come first. If hockey comes first, then there will be no problems with professional qualities.

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— Were you surprised that Spartak put Michal Tchaikovsky on waivers in the draft?

— Yes, because he is a very good defender. I had a great relationship with him when I played at Spartak. He had injuries. It is quite possible that a transfer to another team will benefit him.

— Can Spartak make it to the semifinals of the Gagarin Cup?

— I am sure that this is exactly the goal. We won't guess, but we can say for sure that the team has strengthened and the depth of the squad has appeared. There are no questions about the goal line either, because Dmitry Nikolaev has been signed to a long contract. Everything is in their hands.

— How important was it to extend the head coach Alexey Zhamnov?

— It's very important. Alexey Yurievich is the core. He's the head coach, the general manager, and the soul of the whole team. I think it's very difficult for him, but he chose this role himself, and he's coping with it. For our part, we will always support him. I think he's one of the most charismatic coaches in the league. It's worth a lot.

— Did he invite you to join the team as a non-hockey player?

— Let it stay out of the public space.

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— You have not officially announced your retirement. Do you still want to play?

— I think that everything will be officially announced soon. I've said many times that I'm not preparing for the season as seriously as I used to. I have more free time, so I get to play padel (the interview was recorded after one of the exhibition tournaments in this sport in Moscow. — Ed.).

— Vasily Koshechkin recently had a farewell match. Would you like to arrange something like that?

— I've said many times that I don't quite know what it should look like yet. Therefore, when I have any thoughts, I will definitely do something interesting.