At the beginning of the championship, Spartak justifies all the gains it received in the summer. Although Alexander Khokhlachev quickly became the leader of Amur and is scoring points for the new club, the successes of the red and white made them quickly forget this strange transfer. Alexey Zhamnov’s team plays beautifully and expansively, which sometimes leads to failures in defense (2-6 from Admiral), but at the same time it can block for a long time even an opponent like SKA at home in positional attacks.
The key role in these successes belongs to Spartak’s first three, made up entirely of players who joined the club just this summer. The line of Nikolai Goldobin, Ivan Morozov and Pavel Poryadin has 13 goals and 27 points between them. The main prop of the trio’s attacks is Goldobin, who has already scored eight goals in seven games at the start of the championship. How is the rebirth of a talented but monstrously unstable striker going?
Nikolai Goldobin
Photo: Maxim Shmakov, foto.khl.ru
At one point, CSKA got rid of the forward because Nikolai clearly did not fit into the mechanical hockey they have been playing in Moscow all these years. Goldobin was supposed to be revealed in Metallurg, which in the fall of 2021 surprised everyone with the ease of his attacks and the instant transition from defense to attack. However, Nikolai in his new place combined excellent goals with surprising episodes, such as a great penalty in the match with Sibir out of nowhere. Then Ilya Vorobyov entered the scene and emphatically hit his helmet with his forehead.
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I. Vorobyov slammed his fist on Goldobin’s helmet. The player kicked an opponent and was sent off
After the shocking first season in Magnitogorsk, there was clearly some kind of rift between the club and the striker. In September, Vorobyov left Nikolai in the reserve several times and soon it became known about the player’s desire to change teams. “We have a guy sitting here, did he play bad for Metallurg last season or is he a bad hockey player? This season he was just imprisoned, that’s all. Nobody really explained anything to him, they just don’t give him time to play. We are not satisfied with our current position at the club. We want an exchange,” the player’s agent, Sergei Isakov, was outraged.
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Goldobin requested a trade from Metallurg. Why it happened?
Goldobin returned to the lineup, scored points, but his personal productivity decreased, however, like that of all of Magnitogorsk. It is difficult to understand the reasons for the depression that overtook most of the Metallurg players last season without being in the team, but not only Goldobin did not play at his level, but also the vast majority of the team’s highest-paid forwards. . In the playoffs, Nikolai was silent, but scored the winning goal in the series with Avtomobilist in overtime of the seventh game.
The change of coach and strategy did not help Goldobin, and the striker himself, apparently, wanted to return to his native Moscow. In the summer, Metallurg bet on other players, which angered the agent again. “We believe that the qualifications with which they renewed their contract last season do not correspond to Nikolai’s level. They signed Mikhailis for 80 million rubles. We don’t want to count other people’s money, but we don’t sign the contract. So let Mikhailis produce results as a team. So the questions here are: Is Kolya needed in Magnitogorsk and why is this attitude towards him? – said Isakov. Andrei Razin later said that he convinced Goldobin to stay at Metallurg, but the striker was traded to Spartak.
In hockey circles, the policy of the Spartak management, which introduced an internal limit in player contracts, is known. Goldobin became the highest-paid player on the team; according to SE, he earns 45 million rubles a year. And the talented forward immediately began to justify Spartak’s investments, scoring in almost every match.
It is worth highlighting the synergy with new partners. “Everyone replaces each other, they give advice. Pablo [Порядин] We have a very fast one, Ivan. [Морозов] He can win, clean up in defense and score brilliantly. I can also, as they say, cast the fishing rod in different places,” Nikolai said after the match against CSKA. It is possible that he forgot about Morozov after the forward played unsuccessfully for the Las Vegas farm club; However, the “gentlemen” system is unique in terms of requirements for the style of hockey players. We saw that Morozov has talent as a playmaker in both the national team and SKA. Poryadin, despite his position on the flank, also knows how to speed up the game, and Neftekhimik’s problems show what an important role the hockey player played in the team.
Spartak’s first-line players
Photo: Vladimir Bezzubov, photo.khl.ru
Goldobin’s goals at Spartak are varied. It can be seen that the coaches found him an ideal position in the majority: in the right circle. Nikolai’s brilliant shooting allows him to make unobvious moments, for example, attempts from tight corners, as in the match with Vityaz.
Video rights belong to KHL LLC. Video of the goal can be seen on the official KHL website.
You can also watch the records, where you can see the interaction of the entire trio. For example, in the match against Severstal, Nikolai met with a luxurious pass, and then Goldobin with his technique confidently faced the opposing goalkeeper.
Video rights belong to KHL LLC. Video of the goal can be seen on the official KHL website.
However, there is one question about the forward that has not yet allowed him to establish himself in the NHL: stability. Igor Nikitin put it rudely at that time, when Nikolai played for CSKA: “He scored a goal, now he will play super hockey for two months? “Hockey is not just about goals and assists, but also about a lot of work to do.” In Goldobin’s former club, bright periods alternated with moments of melancholy, but there is a feeling that “Magnitka” as a whole depended too much on the mood. “Spartak” at the beginning of the championship seems a little stricter in terms of emotions.
Some coaches don’t like players who alternate between fireworks and goalless games: they value the player’s stability. However, players like Goldobin, in top form, grace the KHL, which has fallen in terms of stars, and even neutral fans will surely be happy to see Nikolai’s form throughout the season.
