"There is no concept of "passing matches" in the KHL right now"

The new KHL season kicked off on September 5, and on September 6, the Shanghai Dragons will play their first match away against Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. The Chinese club, based in St. Petersburg, changed its management during the offseason and significantly strengthened the squad.

One of the newcomers was 26-year-old goalkeeper Amir Miftakhov, who previously played for Ak Bars and the Russian youth national team, with whom he won bronze and silver medals at the World Cup. The goalkeeper also spent two seasons in the AHL, and last season he reached the Calder Cup finals with the Chicago Wolves.

In an interview with Izvestia, Miftakhov spoke about his return to the KHL, the season in North America, a visit to the Carolina location before its Stanley Cup victory, life in Chicago and the atmosphere of the World Cup in Toronto.

"Shanghai has everything to solve serious problems"

— What is your mood for the season? What can the Shanghai Dragons claim?

— A lot of things. We are optimistic about the season. I think the KHL is a very even league. When I returned to Russia, I talked to many of the guys who played here recently. And everyone says it's difficult in any match, no matter which opponent. If earlier people had the concept of "passing matches" in their heads, now there is no such thing. Everything is unpredictable. But we have a good team here. We can feel the skill we have in training. And we are obliged to fulfill the tasks set by the club. So there's an interesting season ahead. We will try to do everything to win.

— If the club returns from St. Petersburg to Shanghai in the coming years, are you ready to move there?

"Why not?" It's a good city, a good country. I haven't heard yet what the club's immediate plans are, or when exactly it might move to China. But I am under contract with this organization. Therefore, I must play where I am told.

— Why did you decide to join Shanghai Dragons in the first place?

— The agent called and said that there is such an offer. Everything was quickly resolved for me. And now I'm here. I'm glad to be on this team. Good organization, good coaching staff. Everything is there to solve serious problems.

— Was it in favor of this club that Vladimir Kulikov, whom you know from the Russian youth national team, is working as the goalkeeper coach at the current headquarters?

— Yes, I was under his command, we went through the 2019 World Youth Championship in Vancouver together, when our team won the bronze medal. Then we were preparing for the 2020 World Cup in Ostrava, a month before which Kulikov was replaced by Nikolai Khabibulin. But even after the national team, Vladimir Nikolaevich and I were always in touch. I've always enjoyed working with him. We achieved good results. I am happy that now I have the opportunity to work with him again. His training system and understanding of how a goalkeeper should act are very close to me.

"I told the head coach that I was ready to fly back at least at night and play"

— In June, shortly before the start of the final series of the Calder Cup, you were called from the Chicago Wolves to the location of Carolina, which was preparing for the fifth match of the Stanley Cup Finals. How did you feel the atmosphere inside the team before it won decisive victories over Vegas?

— They have been building this team for a very long time. That's why we came to such a result as winning the Stanley Cup. It's hard for me to say anything else, because I didn't stay long at the Carolina stadium during that final to get a feel for the atmosphere. I flew to the main team for literally one game of the finals, after which I almost immediately went back to the farm club, which had its own finals on the nose. Early in the morning after the fifth game of the Stanley Cup Finals, I had a plane to Chicago, where I already played the first game of the Calder Cup finals. In general, it seemed that the mood was the same there and here. After all, the teams are from the same system, the same organization. Both reached the finals of the playoffs of their respective leagues. And everyone probably felt the same way.

— Did this visit to the main team of "Carolina" somehow affect you morally?

— It's always nice to get a call to the main team. Even if this challenge is short-lived. Of course, when I was told that I was being called to Carolina for the fifth match of the finals, I had a lot of emotions. But I also understood that we have our own game with the Chicago Wolves. And he told the head coach of pharma that he was ready to fly back even at night and play his game. Moreover, I had such an experience in Kazan.

Did you have a chance to win the Calder Cup final?

— Yes, there is always a chance. It's not for nothing that we reached this final. It would probably be trite to say that we were unlucky somewhere. But the strongest wins. So we were inferior in some ways.

— Is it a coincidence that in the final there was a confrontation between goalkeepers from the Ak Bars system — you and Artur Akhtyamov, or are goalkeepers trained so well in Kazan?

— I would not say that it was specifically a confrontation between the Kazan goalkeepers. For the media, most likely, yes, but personally I didn't even think about it. I guess Arthur didn't think about it either. Anyway, we didn't talk about it or discuss anything like that. It just so happened that we met in the final. It's probably a big plus that the Russian goalkeepers ended up in the decisive series. And since we both come from Kazan, it means that we have a strong goalkeeper school. I think our hometown should be pleased that we played in the AHL finals.

"AHL is a good experience for any hockey player"

— What is the main specificity of this league, based on your experience last season and your previous visit to the AHL with Syracuse?

— This is a great experience for me, which will always be beneficial. Hockey is a bit different there. It's more difficult for goalies in the AHL, because everything is focused on the attack. And you just have to catch any puck. Sometimes something very unpredictable happens. But you adapt to it at first, and then everything becomes commonplace for you. You play, you get high, you have fun. And you do everything that depends on you.

— Can you compare the AHL and the KHL now?

— It's hard to say, because hockey gets faster and better every year. I haven't been to the KHL in a year. And a lot could have changed during that time. Let's see how hockey has progressed here. In any case, the KHL and AHL are different leagues. But, probably, the best hockey players play in the NHL, although I only played preseason games at the level of this league and looked at it more from the sidelines.

— Does the fact that KHL clubs have signed a lot of AHL players in recent years and brought back Russian players from there mean that the levels are comparable?

— There are many players in the AHL who can strengthen the KHL. Most of the guys who come to Russia now are guys who may have played in the NHL, but still ended up in farm clubs - some due to injuries, others for some other reason. In general, these guys are professionals in their field. And they help our hockey to develop, to make it more international, international. It's always interesting: our guys have something to strive for — to outplay foreigners in order to get into the main teams. Also, foreigners have something to strive for, because, as it seems to me, playing in the KHL is more prestigious than in the AHL.

— In Russia, they often argue whether players should go to the AHL or progress to the KHL and go overseas only when they are sure that they will have a place in the NHL team, and not have to get there through a farm club?

— It all depends on age and perspective. In fact, the AHL is a good experience for any hockey player. Both in everyday life and in sports terms. There's a longer queue for the squad — you need to understand this and, accordingly, rebuild and switch your brains to this mode, when everything depends only on you. It seems that everything here in Russia depends only on you, but when you are away from your family and friends, it makes you think a little about many things. You have to fight for yourself — it only makes you stronger.

— Do famous bus exits also make you stronger?

— AHL is basically a bus league. But we had the best location, in Chicago. Give or take, the longest bus ride is five hours to Iowa. But mostly we skated for one or two hours, because all the rivals were nearby. If anything, we've already flown on airplanes.

"I liked downtown Chicago the most"

— How did you live in Chicago in everyday terms?

— I liked this city. There are a lot of Russian speakers there — a lot of our people, cafes, shops. This is a huge plus. I was lucky enough to meet good people there, with whom we are friends and still in touch. It made me feel better.

— Favorite place?

— There are a lot of good places there, but I liked it the most in Downtown Chicago, somewhere closer to the lake. It was very relaxing walking there or sitting next to each other in a restaurant. Overall, it's very sunny, nice, pleasant people.

— You left for Russia at the end of June, when the World Cup was already underway in North America. Did you feel the atmosphere of this event?

— Yes, we just caught it in Toronto, where the last match of the Calder Cup final was held. Our hotel was located next to the stadium where the World Cup was held. And we felt the atmosphere. We saw a lot of fans, busy streets. Just like in Kazan during the 2018 World Cup.

— A year ago, you left Ak Bars overseas, when Anvar Gatiyatulin was already the head coach in Kazan. Were you surprised that his staff and some of the players you know reached the Gagarin Cup final last spring?

"Why should I be surprised?" I think we should have played in the finals back in the year when I was on the team. We just missed the 2-0 advantage in the quarterfinal series with Dynamo Moscow (2:4). It's hard to say what stopped us then, but the team was building and logically got to the finals a year later. I'm very happy for the guys, I was worried about them. And I was upset when they lost to Lokomotiv.