Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - [Trade] Flames acquire rights to Nikita Zadorov for 3rd acquired in Rittich trade

gvitaly · 08-02-2021, 07:25 PM

Navigation
Part 1 – Offseason Training, Max Ivanov, Toughest NHL Moment, Trade to Colorado
Part 2 – Moving teams, Clobbering people in the NHL, Easy/Hard players to play against, Contract Demands, Zadorov’s Education
Part 3 – 2021 World Hockey Championship, Olympics, Taxes and Escrow, Barkov, NHL game management, Zadorov’s injuries
Part 4 – Best players in the NHL, MacKinnon, Keith, Vasilevskiy
Part 5 – NHL superstitions, Zadorov’s pre-game routine
The Original interview in Russian:

Part 4 – Best players in the NHL, MacKinnon, Keith, Vasilevskiy
• Who are the 3 best NHL players in your mind?
o I was ready for that question.
o I have a first place is a tie between MacKinnon and McDavid. Then there’s a huge gap with second place.
o Those guys are just on another level, it’s crazy. McDavid always has more points, but I think that MacKinnon would’ve put up similar numbers in the North division.

• What makes them so good?
o They are very different players.
o McDavid is very light out there, he can fly all over the ice. He doesn’t really get involved in the physical battles too much.
o Nate is a tank; he goes through people. He is a power skater, much more agile on his turns. McDavid has wider turns, but crazy acceleration.
o I have never played with McDavid, I only trained with him for a week in Toronto. He knows how to do everything well. I have no idea how he achieved it, you’ll have to ask him.

• Nate Mackinnon
o I saw the progression in Nate’s game. He is such a pro. He has a dietologist he pays $50,000 a year. He has a live in doctor/physiotherapist in his house during the season, he pays him $1,000 each day, in addition he rents him an apartment. He has his own chef, who he pays another $100,000 a year. He simply invests in him self and his own body so he can play at the highest level.
o He’s crazy that way, he eats right. He doesn’t drink. He drinks only water. Two years ago, in Colorado, he got rid of all the pop/ice-cream/deserts. He got rid off them from the dressing room, and pre-game meals. He even got rid of white sauce(carbonara) for pasta. He replaced the actual pasta itself with chickpea pasta, that has more protein and so on.
o He made pros out of our entire Colorado team. That’s one of the reasons that Colorado got such an improvement in performance over the last couple of years.
o He says: “Guys if you want to eat that crap, you have the off-season for that. When you come here, there will be none of that because we’re winning the cup”. All the young guys see it, look up to him, and try to do their part.
o Nate is like MJ, I don’t want to make a direct comparison, but his way of thinking is very similar to MJ. He can be a jerk to his teammates/linemates. You need to accept that, and it would improve you as a hockey player as a result. If you can’t accept it, well you’re off the team.
o He is always the hardest working guy. He comes out 30mins before practice, constantly working on his hands. Young guys see that he’s the best player in the NHL, and he still works to improve. It motivates them to work even harder.
o If you miss a pass in practice he would skate over and literally scream at you. You can’t pass him the puck without hitting his stick. We had young players come over during the playoffs. If the puck ends up in his skates, not even his skates, if it misses his stick by a tiny bit, like 15cms in front of the blade of his stick. He doesn’t move his stick to catch the puck. He stops everything, turns around and slaps the puck back at you. He is not going to try to receive any puck he doesn’t like during practice. Just to show you, that you made a ####ty pass.
o He is a guy that demands that everyone leaves everything out there, to maximize their abilities.
o There are many players that didn’t get along with him, or don’t get along with him still.
o For me we always had a good relationship. I could always answer him/push back. It energized both of us.
o We had it come to fights/and almost fights, a bunch of yelling. He absolutely hates to lose. I have a story from a pre-bubble intersquad game, our team with the 3rd and 4th line won against their team with the 1st and 2nd line. Mostly because the ice was terrible after the summer, and it was very difficult to make a play. So I end up celebrating our win in front of him, showing off a little bit. He got so mad, began screaming and swearing at me. We ended up screaming it out at each other a bit. Long story short after the shower, I go to my car sit there and get a text from him. “Sorry, Z I was out of line, you know how much I hate to lose”. He’s crazy that way at the moment he just sees red, and can’t control himself, then he comes back to earth. It’s all because of the competitor he is. Personally, it energizes me being around him.

• What about Duncan Keith?
o Keith is also crazy but in a different way. For example, we all have 1-2 pairs of skates for a game. He has 9 pairs! He has them all numbered. He can come to a guy and ask him to try on his skates. He tries them on and says: “oh they're nice, today I’m playing in your skates”.
o He can change everything before a game. He has 9 sticks. We were making fun of it – each of his 9 sticks has a different curve, different flex, and different length. In the pre-game the equipment manager takes out all his sticks puts them on the bench, he tries out each one to see which one he’ll pick. He tests the flex takes a couple of shots and so on. Calvin De Haan and one of the doctors would gamble on which stick he would pick before each game, as they were all numbered. After Keith picks a stick, he plays with it for the entire game. However, if he misses one pass, or makes a mistake. He skates to the bench yelling to the equipment manager: “Jamie, give me a new stick” breaking the old one.
o He uses a whole roll of tape to tape his skates. Then mid game he says it’s not tight enough and uses a second roll of tape. It’s hilarious when you watch it.
o He is a very cool person. A great guy. He likes to prank the young guys.
o He travels with a suitcase of vitamins/tablets/supplements. He knows exactly which supplements he needs to take and when. He has a portable sauna he takes with him. You build it in your hotel room plug it in, and it covers your whole body up to the neck.
o He is always in shape and ready physically. He plays at an amazing level especially for a 38-year-old.

• Back to the 3 best players. Who gets second place?
o I think it would have to go to Vasilevsky.
o I was shocked this year. We played Tampa 8 times this year. We outplayed them in 5 or 6 games. He was just winning games for them.
o We had no chance of scoring on him.
o His team was playing like ####, and he just decides to take over a game.
o Tampa didn’t even bother playing their A game in the regular season. Now that they started playing their A game in the playoffs, no one is going to beat them.
o 3rd place goes to Barkov. I already explained why.

There was more stuff, but I think I will stop here. Hope you all enjoy the interview as much as I did.

08-02-2021, 07:25 PM	#550
gvitaly Franchise Player Join Date: Jul 2010 Exp:	Navigation Part 1 – Offseason Training, Max Ivanov, Toughest NHL Moment, Trade to Colorado Part 2 – Moving teams, Clobbering people in the NHL, Easy/Hard players to play against, Contract Demands, Zadorov’s Education Part 3 – 2021 World Hockey Championship, Olympics, Taxes and Escrow, Barkov, NHL game management, Zadorov’s injuries Part 4 – Best players in the NHL, MacKinnon, Keith, Vasilevskiy Part 5 – NHL superstitions, Zadorov’s pre-game routine The Original interview in Russian: YouTube Video Part 4 – Best players in the NHL, MacKinnon, Keith, Vasilevskiy • Who are the 3 best NHL players in your mind? o I was ready for that question. o I have a first place is a tie between MacKinnon and McDavid. Then there’s a huge gap with second place. o Those guys are just on another level, it’s crazy. McDavid always has more points, but I think that MacKinnon would’ve put up similar numbers in the North division. • What makes them so good? o They are very different players. o McDavid is very light out there, he can fly all over the ice. He doesn’t really get involved in the physical battles too much. o Nate is a tank; he goes through people. He is a power skater, much more agile on his turns. McDavid has wider turns, but crazy acceleration. o I have never played with McDavid, I only trained with him for a week in Toronto. He knows how to do everything well. I have no idea how he achieved it, you’ll have to ask him. • Nate Mackinnon o I saw the progression in Nate’s game. He is such a pro. He has a dietologist he pays $50,000 a year. He has a live in doctor/physiotherapist in his house during the season, he pays him $1,000 each day, in addition he rents him an apartment. He has his own chef, who he pays another $100,000 a year. He simply invests in him self and his own body so he can play at the highest level. o He’s crazy that way, he eats right. He doesn’t drink. He drinks only water. Two years ago, in Colorado, he got rid of all the pop/ice-cream/deserts. He got rid off them from the dressing room, and pre-game meals. He even got rid of white sauce(carbonara) for pasta. He replaced the actual pasta itself with chickpea pasta, that has more protein and so on. o He made pros out of our entire Colorado team. That’s one of the reasons that Colorado got such an improvement in performance over the last couple of years. o He says: “Guys if you want to eat that crap, you have the off-season for that. When you come here, there will be none of that because we’re winning the cup”. All the young guys see it, look up to him, and try to do their part. o Nate is like MJ, I don’t want to make a direct comparison, but his way of thinking is very similar to MJ. He can be a jerk to his teammates/linemates. You need to accept that, and it would improve you as a hockey player as a result. If you can’t accept it, well you’re off the team. o He is always the hardest working guy. He comes out 30mins before practice, constantly working on his hands. Young guys see that he’s the best player in the NHL, and he still works to improve. It motivates them to work even harder. o If you miss a pass in practice he would skate over and literally scream at you. You can’t pass him the puck without hitting his stick. We had young players come over during the playoffs. If the puck ends up in his skates, not even his skates, if it misses his stick by a tiny bit, like 15cms in front of the blade of his stick. He doesn’t move his stick to catch the puck. He stops everything, turns around and slaps the puck back at you. He is not going to try to receive any puck he doesn’t like during practice. Just to show you, that you made a ####ty pass. o He is a guy that demands that everyone leaves everything out there, to maximize their abilities. o There are many players that didn’t get along with him, or don’t get along with him still. o For me we always had a good relationship. I could always answer him/push back. It energized both of us. o We had it come to fights/and almost fights, a bunch of yelling. He absolutely hates to lose. I have a story from a pre-bubble intersquad game, our team with the 3rd and 4th line won against their team with the 1st and 2nd line. Mostly because the ice was terrible after the summer, and it was very difficult to make a play. So I end up celebrating our win in front of him, showing off a little bit. He got so mad, began screaming and swearing at me. We ended up screaming it out at each other a bit. Long story short after the shower, I go to my car sit there and get a text from him. “Sorry, Z I was out of line, you know how much I hate to lose”. He’s crazy that way at the moment he just sees red, and can’t control himself, then he comes back to earth. It’s all because of the competitor he is. Personally, it energizes me being around him. • What about Duncan Keith? o Keith is also crazy but in a different way. For example, we all have 1-2 pairs of skates for a game. He has 9 pairs! He has them all numbered. He can come to a guy and ask him to try on his skates. He tries them on and says: “oh they're nice, today I’m playing in your skates”. o He can change everything before a game. He has 9 sticks. We were making fun of it – each of his 9 sticks has a different curve, different flex, and different length. In the pre-game the equipment manager takes out all his sticks puts them on the bench, he tries out each one to see which one he’ll pick. He tests the flex takes a couple of shots and so on. Calvin De Haan and one of the doctors would gamble on which stick he would pick before each game, as they were all numbered. After Keith picks a stick, he plays with it for the entire game. However, if he misses one pass, or makes a mistake. He skates to the bench yelling to the equipment manager: “Jamie, give me a new stick” breaking the old one. o He uses a whole roll of tape to tape his skates. Then mid game he says it’s not tight enough and uses a second roll of tape. It’s hilarious when you watch it. o He is a very cool person. A great guy. He likes to prank the young guys. o He travels with a suitcase of vitamins/tablets/supplements. He knows exactly which supplements he needs to take and when. He has a portable sauna he takes with him. You build it in your hotel room plug it in, and it covers your whole body up to the neck. o He is always in shape and ready physically. He plays at an amazing level especially for a 38-year-old. • Back to the 3 best players. Who gets second place? o I think it would have to go to Vasilevsky. o I was shocked this year. We played Tampa 8 times this year. We outplayed them in 5 or 6 games. He was just winning games for them. o We had no chance of scoring on him. o His team was playing like ####, and he just decides to take over a game. o Tampa didn’t even bother playing their A game in the regular season. Now that they started playing their A game in the playoffs, no one is going to beat them. o 3rd place goes to Barkov. I already explained why. There was more stuff, but I think I will stop here. Hope you all enjoy the interview as much as I did. Last edited by gvitaly; 08-04-2021 at 08:46 PM.