"I played well for the first season, but I want more"
Arseniy Hrytsyuk has signed a one-year contract with the New Jersey Devils after two full seasons at Avangard and two at SKA. He immediately played 66 games for the club, in which he scored 31 (13+18) points. The striker finished the championship ahead of schedule — the club offered him surgery to get rid of the effects of the injury. After our conversation, the Devils forward underwent successful surgery, and before that, he managed to share with Izvestia the details of his NHL debut.
"In the NHL, a lot is built on trust in the player"
— Is there any disappointment from not making the playoffs? The line-up wasn't bad.
— Yes, of course. To be honest, I didn't even really follow the table during the season. But at some point it became clear that the situation was getting worse. After a good start, after about the 30th game, we started to lose ground dramatically, and a series of defeats began. I thought then that the ending would be difficult. Plus, Hughes' injury — he was out for about two and a half months — also hit the team hard. There were still chances after the Olympics, but they were very small. We lost our advantage.
I remember, after the first 20 matches, I told Dadonov's wife that we would simply end the season. He then replied: "Wait, there are 62 more games ahead." In the end, it turned out the way it turned out.
— Dadonov, by the way, is also having a difficult season.
— Yes, both he and Max Tsyplakov have. In general, it's a difficult time for the guys.
— At the same time, it was obvious from the outside that you were enjoying the game. At what point did you realize that this was a completely different level compared to the KHL and you needed to work a lot harder?
— There was no such moment when I thought: "Now the hard work has begun." On the contrary, I really liked everything here — both the organization and the approach. A lot of things are left to your discretion. For example, gym workouts are not strictly mandatory: you are given a plan, but you can adapt it to suit yourself. If you feel that you shouldn't strain your legs today, you can change your workout, and they treat it calmly. Everything is built in such a way that it is comfortable and you show the maximum.
For example, I realized that hard work in the gym the day before the game was too much for me. It is better to do a more extensive workout after the match. I discussed it with the coaches, and there were no problems, everyone supported me.
— But it can lead to the fact that at some point you just stop doing the right things. Putting everything at the mercy of a player is not always a good thing, because coaches understand better what is needed.
— Yes, there is such a thing. A lot of things are really built on trust in the player. It is clear that you may be underperforming somewhere, but in any case, you perform at least the minimum amount - the same basic exercises.
Because you quickly realize that it's hard without it. The foundation you laid in the summer is not enough for the whole season. And there are 82 games here — I'm totally blown away by how much that is.
— Have you ever encountered this before?
— No, everything was simpler with us.
— But there are also tight periods in the KHL — 15 matches per month.
— It's like this every month here. It's not comparable at all. Plus constant back-to-back (matches every day. — Ed.). On the one hand, you get tired faster. On the other hand, you forget games faster. There is no such pressure that you are afraid of making a mistake. There's no 13th striker or 7th defender here - you just go out and play.
And the game itself is different. In the KHL, you're often expected to create a moment in every shift. Here you can just work out several shifts in a row without moments, but then there will definitely be an episode of "three in two" or "two in one" — and there you have to decide. The game is more direct: you throw in, run, impose a fight, take away, pick up the puck, throw — and you're waiting for your chance.
— Does this indicate the primitiveness of hockey in the NHL?
—No, that's not the point. It's just that if you make mistakes here, as they sometimes do in the KHL, the scores would be ten goals per game.
— So the marriage rate is lower?
— Yes, it is a technical marriage. At the same time, the attackers have more freedom for creativity. And the defenders here are a different story altogether. I have great respect for them: the level is very high.
"The first month was very difficult"
— Now it is often said that the key quality is skating. Do you agree?
— Yes, it is very important now. I've played against defenders like Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar, and of course it's hell. You go to the blue line, everyone plays tight, then you get space and run at the defender. And at that moment you realize how hard it is to act against them: they ride well and constantly control the situation.
— What didn't you like about the NHL game?
— Probably because the first majority can play all two minutes without a shift. When I went out in the first special team, I tried not to do that — I played for a minute and changed. We're more used to it. I understood that I was temporarily assigned, and if I couldn't create a moment, it was better to give way. But when the other player was brought back, he didn't do that anymore. And there is probably an element of selfishness in this among Americans.
— Does the coach not control shifts? Not screaming?
— You understand yourself: they tell who needs it, and who doesn't need it.
— Many people were worried about how difficult English would be for you. How did this stage go?
— Honestly, the first month was very difficult. I was preparing a little bit, but when I arrived, I just got lost. New locker room, people, speech, dialects. You seem to be listening, trying to translate, but you don't understand much. I still understood the coaches somehow, I could answer with simple phrases. Then the preseason started, and it gradually got easier. And already during the season, it happened that Evgeny Dadonov was injured, and I was the only Russian left in the team.
And here the guys helped me a lot — Andrei Palat, Jesper Brat, Shimon the German. They pulled me in, invited me to dinners, and talked to me all the time. The chambers helped a lot, both in everyday life and in the locker room. I always said: if you don't understand something, come ask.
— Does he understand Russian?
— No, we spoke in English, he just tried to speak as simply as possible. At first, everyone talked to me like that. I started spending more time with them, started listening, got used to it, and pretty quickly began to understand almost everything. But at the same time, he stopped talking for a while: he was shy because he couldn't formulate it the same way they did.
It's easier now. I understand almost everything and can explain myself, but I speak in simple words. Conventionally, not in complicated phrases, but in essence. "Give me a drink," that's it.
— So you don't have enough English for an interview yet?
— It's enough for basic things. You can answer, mark someone, say something simple. But if we talk about some game details, nuances - it's more complicated, there are not always enough words.
"I stopped blogging because I was tired"
— You don't have a contract for next season right now, do you?
- no.
— Is there at least some kind of outline?
— I think if the club is ready to undergo surgery now and release me for recovery, then they see the situation in a certain way.
— You used to have a fairly popular Telegram channel, but lately you have stopped actively running it. Is it due to lack of time, or was the club asked to be more careful?
— More likely because of fatigue. By the end of the season, he was burned out, both emotionally and physically. I just didn't have the energy for it.
Although the content came in, people liked it. And the team as a whole reacted normally. Sometimes they could say, "Let's not shoot in the locker room today." But without strict prohibitions.
— So there were restrictions after all?
— Rather than restrictions, but requests. There was a moment when we were losing, and the guys said: "Let's not do this today." Then we won, and they offered to take a break. I honestly don't see a direct connection, but I tried to respect the team. In the end, he realized that he was tired. Plus, life here is pretty monotonous: arena – home – family – sleep, and so on in a circle. There are not many moments that can be shown. And some things from hockey life should not be in the frame at all.
— But your audience has grown very quickly, including in America. How did the fans react?
— Very positive. They wrote that it's interesting to watch, I like the format. There were even suggestions, for example, that someone take pictures of me from the side, add a different angle. Of course, this is also interesting, but for now I decided to take a break. Maybe I'll come back to this in the summer — life in Moscow is more intense, there are more events. It's a monotonous life right now.
"The coaches saw that they could trust me"
— Is such a monotonous life plus 80 matches emotionally difficult? After all, hockey is a game of emotions, and here there are constant flights: Vancouver, Toronto, Florida. Doesn't it make you dizzy?
— Yes, at some point it really hits. But then you get into the rhythm. I even noticed that if there is a break of three days, you get out a little bit — you start living a normal life. And when you have a busy schedule, three games in a row, you just turn on and live according to plan.
Everything happens automatically: I woke up, ate, came to the game, and so on every day. There are rituals and traditions of your own, and you keep an emotional background due to this.
— At the same time, you had a very strong season. We played much higher than expected. Are you surprised how things turned out?
— I won't say that everything was perfect. There were stretches when I dropped out of the game. Yes, maybe it's not bad for the first season, but I see it differently. I want to play more, understand my role in the team. The third link, the second majority, is not so bad.
I know who I have to compete with for a place. The guys I'm losing to now are playing for 18-20 minutes, not 14. It's clear that this is my first season, they don't give me that much time at once, especially with such a schedule. By the way, I played in the third tier with Cody Glass. Born in 1999. The kid is fine both as a hockey player and as a person. At first he didn't understand what kind of plan I was playing, but then at the end of the season he came over and we agreed on how to proceed. He'll practice a little more from behind and give me passes more often.
— At the same time, you played not only in the third tier, but also rose higher. And most importantly, they consistently went out on the ice, and did not sit on the podium.
— Yes, I think the coaching staff played a big role. Apparently, they saw that they could trust me. I was even considered for playing in the minority — I was on the list, but it almost never came to a real exit. Except at the end, for the last seconds before the shift. I think I went out with Hughes once. But to play full shifts in the minority, there was no such thing.
"The first links in the NHL are a different league altogether"
— Everyone knows that the NHL has the highest level of players. Has anyone particularly impressed you?
— I'll say this: the second and third links in almost all teams are a level that you can play with. But the first links are a different league altogether. It's just like they say: Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar — they can play just like you, but as soon as they add a little bit, you just don't understand how to take the puck away from them. Skating and endurance decide a lot. They continue to operate at the same level in the third period.
I remember the match against Edmonton: we were leading 2-1, I was released two and a half minutes before the end. I couldn't even change shifts—we were just kept in the zone the whole time. When the siren sounded, I thought, "Thank God it's over." There's one player picking up the puck, attacking, throwing, giving — and all in a circle. They just can't be stopped if they turn on.
— What did you have to get used to the most compared to the KHL?
— To the defenders' game. In the KHL, they are more likely to be reinsured, take a step back. Here, on the contrary, they play very closely. There are pros and cons to this. If you get the puck moving, you have a chance to beat it, to slip through. But if you take it without speed and the defender rolls up under you, there's almost no chance. Plus, the power struggle here is a very significant thing.
— Were there moments when you realized that in the KHL they would definitely have been sent off for this, but not here?
— In every game. A lot is allowed here. The same jackets. They can actively use a stick, squeeze, hold by the shoulders and above the waist — and this is not considered a violation. In the KHL, such episodes are often given expulsions. As soon as you put your hand on someone, you fell on top of them - immediately two minutes.
— Then why are there so many productive matches in the NHL — 5:4, 6:8, and more often 2:1 in the KHL?
— There's a lot more abandonment here. There are no unnecessary pranks. If you try to keep the puck in the zone for a long time, you'll just get hit. If you start to tighten up, you'll probably just lose the puck.
There's a lot of fighting under the gates, getting things done. Due to this, effectiveness appears. Dinamo Minsk and Avangard play in a similar way here. It's not very spectacular, but it does cause a lot of goals. But the fact that they score 7-8 here, I myself am shocked.
Plus the quality of the moments: a two—on-one exit - bang, goal. There is no such thing that the puck fits uncomfortably. Everything is done quickly and accurately. And goalkeepers, by the way, are also more interesting.
— By the way, how do you feel about the fact that the Russian goalkeepers started fighting? For example, Igor Shesterkin.
— It's spectacular, of course. I tried to fight once myself — I stood up for my partner. But in general, this is not my story. If the situation requires it, yes, but I will not specifically look for such moments.
— The biggest mistake of the season?
— There was a moment in the game against Florida. The very beginning of the match, my first shift. I read the episode incorrectly: I thought I was in the position of an attacker, but in fact I was in the defender's place, I didn't see that our defender was involved.
As a result, the opponent's attacker jumps behind my back, and they stick a two-on-one into us. I immediately realized that I was mistaken. I drove up to the coaches, said: Sorry, my bad ("Sorry, my joint"). They replied, "Okay, but be careful—you can't do that."
— When you make such a mistake, is there a risk that you will be imprisoned?
"Not as a punishment. There was no such thing. It could happen that you don't go out for half a period, but more often it's related to game situations: the majority, the minority, the endings. For example, at the beginning of the season, I didn't play in the five-on-six format at all until about the 25th game.
— But it's not like Zakhar Bardakov in Colorado, when they give 3-4 minutes per match?
— No, there was no such thing. His situation is really bad. There have been games for 12 minutes — sometimes it seems like it's not enough, but this is a working situation.
— The head coach of the Devils, Sheldon Keogh, praised you, saying that you have no weaknesses and can be used in different roles. How do such words correspond to reality? It happens that journalists are told one thing, but in fact everything is different.
— I've seen this before, for example, when working with Bob Hartley. They may say that you played well, but at the same time give you little time. This is normal: the coach will not publicly say that the player is weak. And how long you've been playing depends on his decisions. I'm generally satisfied: I played consistently, without any extremes. Yes, 12 minutes is not so much, but there was no such thing that went out for 3-4 minutes, like the same Bardakov.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
