Moscow “Dynamo” completed the pre-season training camp in the Nizhny Novgorod region, where Alexei Kudashov’s team first appeared in an updated form. One of the newcomers to the capital team was a participant in two world championships in the Kazakhstan national team, 29-year-old forward Yegor Petukhov, for whom the last regular season was the best of his career.
Last season, the former Barys striker scored more goals (17) in one regular season than in the previous four (16). Even Petukhov became the author of one of the most beautiful records of the KHL season, when in Ufa he managed to score in the style of lacrosse, which brought victory to Barys in the away match with Salavat Yulaev.
However, after moving to the Moscow club, Yegor is ready for the fact that he will be used here as a player in the bottom three of the attack. In an exclusive interview with the ‘Campeonato’, the ‘Dynamo’ rookie shared his feelings since the transition to the blue and white field, spoke emotionally and very vividly about the memorable goal against ‘Salavat’, and also summarized his performances for the national team from Kazakhstan, in which he will no longer play.
“At the age of three, I became the team’s mascot and moved to Kazakhstan without an agent.” “I want to thank Skabelka, who gave me the opportunity to prove myself in the KHL,” he shouted at the judge: “! Yes, here is the disk! But he doesn’t see it.” “Every person who was touched by history in Kazakhstan has a mental breakdown.” “Dynamo has a completely different level and completely different tasks. Of course, this is a responsibility.” “The fees turned out to be absolutely adequate. Not like before, when, if you didn’t throw up, then it’s a bad exercise.”
“At the age of three, I became the team’s mascot and moved to Kazakhstan without an agent”
– Egor, tell us how and why, having been born in Barnaul, you decided to play hockey in principle? – My parents and brother sent me to hockey. My brother was involved in this sport, so they brought me. I started skating at the age of two and a half, and at three I became the mascot of the motohockey club. There were no pets then, and if you look for photos, you can find how I slide on the ice before games when I was little.
First he played in the children’s school “Motor”, then moved to the Khabarovsk school “Amur”. Then the youth team in Barnaul, at the age of 15 began to play in the First League. He then he moved to Berdsk “Crystal”, where he also played in the youth team. He had a bilateral contract, and at that time Kristall was Admiral’s farm club. I was also there for a while, but I never played a single game for the club. And then he went to Nomad.
– It’s an interesting story. In the last season in Berdsk, you were the team captain and showed excellent statistics, scoring 51 points in 52 regular season games. Was there really not a single option in Russia? – I don’t even know how to say it (smiles). Maybe they were. But you understand that in hockey there is also the work of agents, who should help hockey players. And at that moment I did not have enough.
– Did you get information only about the Nomad proposal? “I have already gone there myself.
– Without agency assistance? – Yes. Of course, now I have a different agent, so I haven’t worked in a long time. And in Kazakhstan I spent wonderful years of my life.
“I want to thank Skabelka, who gave me the opportunity to prove myself in the KHL”
– And they began to play for the national team of Kazakhstan. How did the idea of obtaining citizenship come about? – The Kazakhstan Hockey Federation proposed such an option, with which I agreed.– At that time, the dream of the Russian national team no longer existed? At least about the game for the second team of the country. – Well, I saw my career and the offers I receive (smiles). And how other guys perform at the highest level.
Egor Petukhov in Barys
Photo: Pavel Tabarchuk, photo.khl.ru
– After Nomad came Barys, where you showed amazing stability until last year. In each of the first four seasons, four goals were scored, and suddenly an incredible breakthrough: 17 goals. – (Laughs.) Yes, I know these statistics well, that’s how it happened. When I first entered the KHL, and here I want to thank Andrey Vladimirovich Skabelka for taking me out of the Nomad and giving me the opportunity to prove myself and perform at the KHL level, we immediately had a conversation with him. He told me what he wants to see from me on the ice, how he sees me as a player and how he’s going to use me. We talked and we understood each other well. And, in principle, then I did everything that he wanted and demanded.
“Foreign players in the top 6 in the KHL play for fun, not for running and crashing”
– And what has changed so radically in the last season? “To put it bluntly, this is how things turned out. You understand that when you play on the fourth line, you perform certain functions on the ice.
– Basically, it is containment and minority play. – Yes, and at the same time you cannot take risks, but you try to act from simplicity. So, back to your question: someone left the foreigners, I was promoted to the legionnaires in the second link, and they have completely different hockey. Those legionnaires – who come here in the first two links – play more in passing, to rent. They play hockey for fun, not for running and crashing. And so we played one game with them, scored, the second – again scored. And somehow everything was so easy and simple. And then it worked with my regular partners.
– Who was the best Barys legionnaire during your stay at the club? Who was the most watched in the training process? – I cannot highlight a player. But I liked how Roma Starchenko skates and throws.
– Another legionnaire for Barys… – He is not a legionnaire, but if we talk about Barys in general, I will single out Roman. Speaking specifically of foreigners, I liked Cormier. He is big, strong, powerful, excellent in fighting. I also watch Korban Knight.
Egor Petukhov celebrates the record with Barys
Photo: Marat Akimzhanov, foto.khl.ru
– Did you focus on the center forwards? – No, I’m just listing it like this. I also liked Andre Petersson, as clear as he was, but from eight shots he scored seven.
– It’s funny that you called it “crystal” yourself, because this is how many journalists and fans characterize it. Did the team notice how suspicious you are about his health?“It’s just his mentality. If with us you understand that after receiving a microtrauma and paying close attention to it, you can fly out of the team, then the psychology there is completely different. But I liked Pat as a player.
Another of the foreigners, I really liked defender Ohtamaa. Great player. And his attitude towards hockey was reminiscent of Kevin Dallman (smiles).
– Chill out before games? – No stress at all. It was all purple (laughs).
“I yell at the judge: ‘Yeah, here’s the record!’ But he doesn’t see
– One of the highlights of the entire previous KHL season was his lacrosse victor against Salavat Yulaev. How did you decide such a trick in an away game with the score 0-0 at the end of the second half? – (Laughs.) Yes, I did it many times in training. We did some kind of exercise, and he used to slide which turned out to be lacrosse. And in that situation in Ufa, it also happened.
– In my opinion, even the referee at the gate did not immediately believe that it was a goal. You were the only one who immediately saw where the disk went. – I’ll tell you how it happened. It is not seen in the video, but initially the referee was not located behind the goal, but on the board in front. It was then that he approached me. I scored a goal and I look at the referee, and he looks at the players and looks for the puck.
He begins to drive closer to the goal and does not see the goal. He yelled at her: “Yes, there it is!” He gets even closer, and still doesn’t see. He yelled at her again: “Yes, there it is!” And only then he saw and lit a goal. And I kept thinking that he was not whistling.
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– He was disappointed that the puck had gotten stuck in the net below the bar. – Yes. It is clear that if the puck flew into the goal, it should fall on the ice. He was looking for her there, but she was trapped under the crossbar, and he didn’t see her.
– Dynamo’s young striker Yegor Rimashevsky spoke about his ability to perform lacrosse. Will you challenge it? – Yes, well, well, what challenges (laughs).
– Right now, what is the most memorable moment of your career: lacrosse against Ufa or still a goal against the Canadian team at the World Championship? – Both goals are really the most memorable. They are the first that come to mind. In the match with Canada, even in the first turn, we managed to excel.
“Every person who was touched by history in Kazakhstan, the psyche was shaken”
– Going on to the subject of the national team. At the end of December last year, a well-known story began in Kazakhstan about Russian players who received the country’s citizenship. Dmitry Shevchenko was the first to get hit, but he hurt you too. How did the team react to this story? – Of course, we discussed this topic. I don’t remember who exactly and what specifically said about this, but, of course, it was unpleasant.
– Did the atmosphere in the locker room affect Barys’ results? – I don’t think all this affected the atmosphere in the locker room, if we have a big team. But still, all affected people thought about what was happening, and the psyche shuddered. It’s unpleasant. You need to go out on the ice and think about the game, but I remember how everything went in Novosibirsk with Dima Shevchenko. We wake up in the morning, watch the news, and ask him what’s going on. And he himself does not know. He starts calling everyone, but no one says anything.
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– Do I understand correctly that your refusal to participate in the last World Championships followed on your part, and therefore the history of your performance for the Kazakhstan national team is closed at this point? – Yeah.
– How satisfied are you with this period of your hockey career? – The best and most positive memories remain in my head. We have always had a good team in the team. Good coaching staff, great staff. Everything around was fine. And there isn’t even such a bad time that one can remember.
“Dynamo has a completely different level and completely different tasks. Of course it’s a responsibility.”
– In the off-season, you changed teams for the first time in a long time and moved to Dynamo Moscow. How does the transition feel? – I like the club system and the hockey that Dynamo Moscow plays. I like the coaching staff. I like that the club can fight for the highest places.
– And even Skabelka is in the coaching staff! – (Laughs.) Alexei and I crossed paths in Kazakhstan. I think he was already at Barys when he played at Nomad.
– Do you feel additional responsibility after moving to such a club? “Of course I do. Here is a completely different level and other tasks.
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– How did you manage to join the team so quickly? – I didn’t go to the new locker room that often, because I rarely changed teams. But I have no problem adapting to a new team, because I don’t have a high opinion of myself.
– I heard that you are already teaching new words to foreigners. That Jordan wheel. – (Laughs.) Yes, let him also get a passport. The main thing is to pass the test.
“The rates turned out to be absolutely adequate. Not like before, when, if you weren’t throwing up, then it’s bad exercise.”
– How would you rate your physical condition at the end of the preseason training camp? – The training camp turned out to be absolutely adequate and it went very well. I did not notice any overload, as it happened some time before, when if he did not vomit, it means that the training was bad. I won’t say it was easy. Of course, it was difficult, but in moderation.
– Judging by the training, you constantly continue to play in the same trio with Kudryavtsev and Ilyenko. Can we already talk about only one “chemistry” in their combination? – To say that we have already found the “chemistry” would be too loud. We discussed certain points, and so far everything is pleasant. But more, more. We haven’t spent much time together yet.
Egor Petukhov prepares for the season with Dynamo
Photo: Marat Akimzhanov, foto.khl.ru
– But do you understand that this is the third or fourth three of the attack, and they are not going to expect a hail of goals from you? Wouldn’t it be a problem for you to go back to solving the same problems on the ice as in the last season for Barys? – It’s not a problem at all. The main thing is that everything goes to the benefit of the team and your piggy bank.
– You moved to Dynamo at the beginning of the offseason, when Gusev, Ozhiganov and many others were not yet in the team. How satisfied are you with this strengthening of the team? – Of course, they strengthened the team. These are cup fighters who played a lot in the KHL and won a lot of things. It’s great that such hockey players joined the Dynamo team.
