"Geniuses like Ovechkin are born once in a thousand years"

Last week, the clubs of the Kontinental Hockey League and the Youth Hockey League summed up the results of the season. After the meeting of the MHL Development Council, Izvestia talked with Alexander Semin, President of the Krasnoyarsk Sokol. The main team plays in the All—Russian Hockey League, the second most important championship after the KHL, and the Krasnoyarsk Lynx youth team plays in the MHL. In an interview with Izvestia, the two-time world champion in the Russian national team assessed the results of his teams last season, and also spoke about the future prospects in the NHL of his long-term partner in the Washington Capitals, Alexander Ovechkin.

— How would you rate the past season for your teams?

— The youth team is performing better and better every season, despite the fact that its composition is constantly being updated. As for the main team in the VHL... It's a shame when one point is not enough to qualify for the playoffs. In some cases, they themselves did not work well, and in others they were unlucky.

— What is the reason that Sokol has problems reaching the playoffs at all, despite the fact that it reached the finals three years ago?

— There is no point in talking about what happened three years ago. What was, is gone. but now, at this stage, the situation is different. Somewhere with the players, they didn't guess when they were recruiting the squad. We recently had a stage when good young people grew up. But the guys are developing further, they want more and go to other clubs. We are working to replace them with other young players.

— How stable is Sokol's financial position now?

— It is clear that everything depends on resources. But we're not complaining, we're working with what we have. This year, we have five people in the youth team approaching the main team — let's see what happens. I think they will be playing steadily this year.

"Surin will dig into herself, but she will never stop"

Oleg Tauber, the head coach of MHC Loko, talks about his pupil in the KHL, his victory in the Kharlamov Cup and the triumph of the Yaroslavl system.

— This year, the VHL was not so rich in sensations, but in previous seasons we saw how the winner of the regular season was eliminated in the first round by the team ranked 16th. Can you explain why this happened, what is the phenomenon of this championship?

— I do not know why this happened. Maybe it's because the teams that won the regular season and advanced to the 16th place are under-equipped. I've been in situations like this myself when I was playing. And I can say that it's very difficult to rebuild if something goes wrong. Because you have to show your best game from the very first minute, the game that helped you win the regular season. Some people don't do it right away — that's the only way I can explain these results.

— Every year you are asked questions about the prospects of the "Falcon" to enter the KHL. Can you tell us something new about this?

— Nothing depends on us here. The management will tell you that everything will be fine. There are no talks on this topic at the current stage.

— Is it only the lack of a sufficient budget that prevents us from having these conversations?

— I think it's about finances. That's the most important thing. If there are sponsors, there will be a team in the KHL.

— Will there be any problems with the infrastructure?

— I think we should be allowed into the KHL. We have a big arena with a capacity of 7.5 thousand people. If it is finalized, it will be 8 thousand. Then it will have to meet the standards of the KHL.

— We followed the last Gagarin Cup. In your opinion, is the second consecutive triumph of the Yaroslavl "Locomotive" natural?

— If you look at it from a player's perspective, then, of course, Yaroslavl was lucky in the semifinals with Omsk Avangard. Maybe he played better, but he lost the series 1:3, especially since he could have lost the sixth match when he lost 0:2 33 seconds before the end of regular time.

But the guys from Yaroslavl did well, they fought to the end. They proved that you always have to play until the last second. That was the case in the seventh match, which they lost 1-3. But in the end they equalized and won in overtime.

— You played against the teams of Lokomotiv head coach Bob Hartley back in the NHL. Is there an explanation for why he is so successful?

— The selection of players and the discipline that the players accept. From this, I think, the result is formed.

— How did you react to Ovechkin's historical record a year ago, when he surpassed Wayne Gretzky in goals in the regular NHL championships?

— He did well, he didn't stop and reached the record. I don't think he was initially thinking about this Gretzky score. Anyway, we didn't talk about it when we played together. But when the opportunity arose, he took advantage of it.

— In 2005, when he came to the NHL, could you have imagined that it would turn into such a record?

— No one knows what will happen tomorrow, let alone what to predict for 20 years ahead. But, I repeat, Sasha is well done for coming to this at the expense of his talent and hard work. Such geniuses are probably born once in a thousand years. To pass 20 years without injury, at the same high level... A unique person. Most importantly, his throw remained.

— Do you believe that he can still beat Gretzky's record for goals, taking into account the playoffs, and reach the 1,000th goal in the regular season?

— Oh, to be honest, I'm not interested anymore. The most important thing is that Ovechkin broke the record for goals in regular championships. Farther... How many playoffs has Gretzky played? 15? Ovechkin played five. That's the difference.