"Torpedo has a good structure of the game, possession of the puck, its control"

Vladimir Tkachev, one of the strongest central strikers in the KHL over the past 10 years, has changed clubs twice in the last six months. In the spring, the bronze medalist of the 2017 World Cup and the silver medalist of the 2022 Olympics reached the Gagarin Cup final with Traktor and, after four years of playing for him, left the Chelyabinsk club, ending up in Siberia. The Novosibirsk club is still failing the season, being in last place in the Eastern Conference. He has already replaced the head coach twice — Vadim Epanchintsev left the post in early October, Vyacheslav Butsaev, who replaced him, lasted less than a month and a half and was fired after 11 consecutive defeats. Instead, the team was led by Yaroslav Luzenkov, with whom the series reached 13 games, but then the situation began to improve.

However, at that time Tkachev was traded to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, which unexpectedly for many is in the leading group of the Western Conference. The 32-year-old hockey player has already scored two goals in the first four matches for the new team. In an interview with Izvestia, he talked about adapting to the game as part of Avtozavodtsy, explained why they are high in the table, and also shared his opinion on the causes of the Siberia crisis.

— Why did Siberia have this autumn crisis with 13 defeats in a row?

— A combination of factors played a role. The work that we have done together with the coaches has not been as effective as we expected. Somewhere something was missing, somewhere something did not work out. And injuries to a number of players have crippled us.

— And what went wrong at the beginning of the season, when there were no such long losing streaks, but Vadim Epanchintsev was fired in early October?

— It is difficult to answer this question.

— Were you surprised by his dismissal?

— Yes, it was a surprise.

— To what extent have you already adapted to Torpedo?

— The adaptation process is still going on, I'm trying to get involved. There are certain nuances in the style of the team, in its play, and in some places there are different requirements in attack and defense compared to my previous clubs. But the coaches explained all this to me on my very first day at Torpedo. So I'm slowly getting used to everything. It's already working well somewhere, but, of course, it's possible and necessary to add more. I try to fulfill all the requirements.

"We haven't been able to find our way to someone else's gate lately"

Dynamo Moscow hockey player Artyom Ilyenko — about the defeat from the outsider of the East, the sensational dismissal of the head coach and the mood for the next matches

— As a person who recently joined Torpedo, did you understand for yourself why this team is in fourth place in the conference after almost half of the regular season?

— A good structure of the game, good possession of the puck, control of it, playing passes, opening up for each other, working on each area of the court, a good "forecheck" (a tactic in which the team actively fights for the puck in the opponent's zone. — Ed.) from the beginning to the end of the match. All this combination of factors.

— You have played a lot in teams with a rigid game system, as it was in Ak Bars, Lokomotiv, and Traktor. Is the current Torpedo somewhat similar to them?

— All the teams are somewhat similar to each other, they differ in some ways. I won't reveal any secrets (smiles).

— Does Torpedo have a tough task to stay in its current position and finish the regular season in the top four of the conference?

— The task is simply to win.

— Do you believe that with such a game, which Torpedo shows in its best matches, the team can go far into the playoffs?

— Yes, of course. I'm sure of it.