Mikhail Kravets has been leading Avangard for the past two years, leading the team to medals, but last fall his stay in Omsk was abruptly cut short: the coach was fired after a 7-0 loss in the second game of the quarter-final series against Lokomotiv.
It is true that Mikhail Grigorievich did not remain out of work for long – he was already in charge of Kunlun on May 1. In an exclusive interview with Championship, the coach said:
why he quickly accepted Kunlun’s offer; why he did not call Vladimir Tkachev after his injury;
“From a conversation with the CEO I realized that we would hire a solid team”
– The training week has passed. What is the mentality of you and your team?– Good attitude, I liked the way the boys trained, everything was positive, with good energy. Everything is fine.
– How long did you think about Kunlun’s proposal?– I accepted almost immediately, because it was the second time they approached me. So I didn’t think for long. I like the coaching profession, so I accepted straight away.
– Many coaches sometimes take a year off to watch hockey from the sidelines. Have you ever had that thought?– I didn’t think about it because I wasn’t tired of hockey. It’s part of my life.
– Were there any other proposals besides Kunlun?– When Kunlun invited me, I accepted almost immediately. They might have been there later, but I had already given my consent and we signed the contract almost immediately.
– Is the fact that you quickly agreed to lead the team related to the fact that you have already worked in the Chinese team before?– This has more to do with the fact that he wanted to work there himself, and secondly, he knew the direction from the time he worked at the VHL. In addition, from a conversation with the general director, I realized that we would form a strong team, all together we would try to change the situation and fight for the highest places.
– Can you tell us more about the experience you gained with the Chinese national team in the 2017/2018 season?– In the season when I was invited, we almost immediately went to China and trained mainly there, in the city of Harbin. There were a lot of Chinese players, we had to train a lot, but there were also five or six Russian players. It was like always: I came, I got to know each other and I started training. Then the season started and they started playing.
“Kunlun Red Star Heilongjiang” hockey team
Photo: Artur Lebedev, foto.khl.ru
– Was the treatment of Chinese players different? Still a different mentality.– This is the first time I have met such hockey players. Yes, they have a different mentality somewhere. But those guys really wanted to play hockey, they wanted to develop, so there was only one approach: support, help and training. Because you understand that it is the first time people are playing hockey at this level. And naturally they turned to Russian hockey players, who could give them some advice and help them in some way.
“We looked at a lot of guys and decided on those who showed consistent play in the AHL and NHL.”
– Has the way of working at Kunlun changed because most of the team are North American?– Everyone has the same task: to win. Knowing the best qualities of the American players, he is determined to develop them, give them the opportunity to demonstrate them and support them. So that the idea of winning is in your head and everyone is a good family that will fight together for victories. That is why I hold individual meetings to find out what the boys want from this season. I have already spoken to 12 players and they all want to improve their game in their position, improve in training, in the game and also reach the playoffs.
– Kunlun had a very good transfer campaign. Was this part of the agreement when signing the contract?– Yes, we discussed this issue with General Director Nikolai Feoktistov. We may not be able to recruit players for large sums of money, but we hire experienced players, who played with those who were there before, some played against them. We looked at a lot of guys and settled on those who showed a consistent game in the AHL and NHL; several of them played there. Maybe they didn’t take leadership positions there, but they played anyway. In addition, we considered those who later went to Europe and showed good hockey and were productive.
Mikhail Kravets at a Kunlun Red Star training session
Photo: Vladimir Bezzubov, photo.khl.ru
– Were the transitions of Yurcho and Pautov initiated by you?– Tomas, maybe I didn’t know much, but I understand what kind of striker he is. Naturally, I had a question for Nikolai. [Феоктистову]Can we move forward like this? We agreed and he himself wanted to come to see us, knowing how I train and what my needs are. The same thing happened with Yura: he called me, told me that they were offering me a contract and asked me how I saw it and what I wanted from him. He was with me at Vityaz and Sochi, so I know him very well. I think he will feel comfortable when the coach gets to know him and takes advantage of his best qualities.
Yurcho rejected the vanguard
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“We will prepare the team to win medals. That is the task facing the coaching staff.”
– How do you feel about the fact that there are no young players in Kunlun? The two youngest will turn 24 this month.– It doesn’t matter to me who I work with: young or more experienced players. The main thing is that they play good hockey, respect themselves, their partners and the coaching staff, and that we understand each other. Then it doesn’t matter. But right now we are looking and we want to take on one or two limiters, so I think they will appear in the near future. Perhaps these are the ones who have already smelled gunpowder in the KHL, aged 20-22.
– What do you think about the fact that you previously worked with a team that was fighting for medals and now you are facing a team that is fighting for the playoffs?– I don’t see any problem with this, we will prepare the team to win medals. The task of the coaching staff is the following: we will not retreat anywhere, we will keep this positive in mind and we will improve our game both in training and in the game.
– What kind of hockey will Kunlun play under your leadership?– Nowadays, a lot of people write about aggressive hockey (laughs). Naturally, we will play like this, spend more time in the attacking zone and not rush to the defense faster, because in previous years there were 45 shots on goal for Kunlun. Jeremy Smith fought everything with Jurasik, so we want to make it easier: make more blocks, play more and faster in attack, get out of pressure. This is what we are working on now.
– What do you think about the Chinese team playing in Mytishchi? Ryan Sproul said six months ago: “Mytishchi is a good place for us right now.”– Yes, it is. It’s practically Moscow, 15-20 minutes away, and you’re in the city, all the kids like it: there’s somewhere to go, something to see, learn something new about the country. So we’re all happy to be here and to have the opportunity to be at this conference and live in this city.
The same interview with Sproul
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– Is there any talk of Kunlun playing scheduled matches in China this season?– I don’t know yet. But if the management makes that decision, I don’t see anything terrible, because the team is still Chinese, so to speak.
– What do you think is Kunlun’s value to the KHL?– Look, our KHL was formed for such purposes. There were Lev, Jokerit, they wanted teams from Sweden, for example. Didn’t anyone say that they should have played in the Finnish championship? This is our league. This is useful for China, because this team is known and the popularity of hockey is growing. If the team we plan and want to make is competitive, then it will be useful for other teams to play with such an inconvenient team.
“I yelled at someone in the locker room, maybe once.”
– It’s been quite a while since your dismissal from Avangard; emotions should have subsided; has the perception of that event changed?– That’s history now, I work in another team, now I have different tasks and goals. I don’t remember those moments in my head, that’s how we work. We continue working and doing what we love.
– How much pressure did you feel when you worked in Omsk? You yourself have repeatedly stressed that you were on the verge of dismissal before.– I think this is the case for any head coach of any team. No one is safe. You can lose 10 matches against another team or score no points, or what? Anyone can be under pressure here. It happens that in serious teams they come to this conclusion faster, for example, after six or seven matches if you have lost in a row. Pressure is normal, it is a demand imposed by the leader of a particular team. Here your task is to show character, patience and find a way out of the situation.
Mikhail Kravets on the Avangard bench
Photo: Vladimir Bezzubov, photo.khl.ru
– Was there any contact with Damir Sharipzyanov after the exchange of words?“He told everyone that he didn’t have time to call me.” He didn’t call me at first, of course. But a person can have his own business. As things stand, we always communicate pretty well, I have no complaints against Damir, I wish him a good match and no injuries.
– Vladimir Tkachev suffered a serious injury before the start of the training camp, did you contact him?– To be honest, I was very busy. In this situation, a person would probably be very worried, I think, that everything would calm down a bit. And then I would definitely talk to him.
– Many people notice your excessive emotionality at work. If this is not true, where do these conversations come from? And if it is true, does it hinder or help?– What does emotionality mean? So I can feel emotional when I experience injustice. I have always stuck to my views on life, that’s why I always fight for it. Maybe this is wrong, but it is purely my decision and my understanding of the game and life. I yelled at someone in the locker room, maybe once. And then I realized that it was wrong. Everyone has emotions: without them it is impossible to play hockey or work as a coach. The only thing is that they must be expressed correctly and on time, that’s why I always think and remember these things. Where, for example, they could not be shown. You continue to learn every day.
– Do you regret choosing Avangard over Kunlun last year?– Of course not. I worked for two years in a good team, achieved a certain result, enjoyed the great fans who came to every match, the atmosphere during and after the match. I was happy to see their attitude towards me.
“I think a very important point is that hockey players and coaches spent more time with their families in the summer.”
– How do you assess the changes in the KHL related to the fact that teams now start training camps later?– I talked about this last year, because it seems to me that our guys are already mature enough to prepare in July, or someone could start in May. People hire specialists, go out on the ice in groups and work individually with a coach. When we were working in the preseason, there were so many people, each one had to be assigned an individual task, one had to be given so much weight on the bar, another so much. It’s a bit inconvenient. Before we did all this anyway, but I think that now the guys have become real professionals, they train themselves and, when they go on the ice, we are already working on other qualities that we should use during the games.
Details of reforms
Playoffs until summer and salary cap tightening: What do the big changes in the KHL mean?
– How do you feel about the fact that the championship will continue until May 31?– Yes, it may not be very convenient for Kazakhstan because of the World Cup, but I really liked this schedule. It is time to give the guys more rest, because the last schedule was very difficult. Kunlun itself had a difficult schedule. I think that now there are good breaks when you can rest, in addition to training, change and correct something. This is important. When games are followed by flights, people are not yet made of iron, it is necessary to rest at least a little.
I think that a very important point is that hockey players and coaches spent more time with their families in the summer. This is also very important. This only gives you positive emotions, you miss hockey and being with your family even more. All players and coaches are working with great pleasure and looking forward to the start of the matches.
– You experienced last year’s innovation: the crossover playoffs. Do you think this idea was a success?– I think so, it was a success. Everything is fine, they have changed. This doesn’t really affect anything. We have to beat the others too (laughs). I think it is necessary to make these changes.
