[gvitaly]

01:22:52 Additional perks for NHL players

- Do you have any other deals or sponsorships with various brands?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

I have a contract with CCM. You sign a contract every year, and they give you a certain amount of money you can spend with them and on their brands.

This year I could spend, on hockey equipment, golf clubs, there was a fishing and hunting store.

- Do the things you get have to be a part of the CCM brand?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

No. I just have a contract, that's why most of the things I wear on the ice are CCM.

- Yes, and they(CCM) let you get their partners' brands as well?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Yes, pretty much. They just give you gift cards. For example, I have a $500 gift card to a fishing store.

- So you just buy things for $500?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Yes, they send you the gift card, essentially a number and a pin code.

- And how much does it all come up to in total for the year?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Less than 10 grand.

- If you don't need something, you can still get something, give a gift to someone.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Yes. Before I had the benefit of working with Adidas, and Lululemon. If you ever heard of it, it's a brand in Canada and the US, and they had a good selection, the same as Adidas. We spent a lot of the money buying our family a bunch of things as gifts.

- How much money did you make signing hockey cards? Just so we understand how that business works in the NHL. For example, you get sent so many thousands of player cards, you have to sign them all. Each card gets you an x amount of dollars.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

I can't remember exactly, but it's between $4 and $5 per card.

- For each signature? And how many cards do they send you?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Yes, but I have to sign less and less cards each year. Usually, you sign a bunch of cards when you begin your career. The most I had to sign was 5,000-6,000 cards during one sitting.

- That will keep you busy in the evenings, just like LEGO. I mean, it must take a lot of time.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

That signing happened in LA. We were 3 or 4 players together. We sat there just signing cards. It took us about 5 hours.

- So you just dedicate a whole night to it?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Yes, that how it worked out for such a large batch. They only send me 1,500-2,000 cards I have to sign from home.

- Did you see your hockey cards anywhere? Where do they go?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Upper Deck, it's a company. Any person can buy a pack of cards.

- So it's a mix of cards.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Yeah, it's a mix. They have different prices depending on the mix, and value of the collectibles.

- It seems that sports lore in general is pretty popular in the US.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Yes. There are always a bunch of fans waiting for us by the hotel. Even if we fly in late and get there by 3am, people are still waiting for us.

01:29:35 A Like after a coach got fired

- You said that you don't read comments on your game on any social networks. Neither twitter or X, not while you're over in NA or Belarus.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

I used to read twitter before, but I stopped doing it in NJ.

- While we're talking about twitter and NJ. I Let's talk about the firing of Lindy Ruff. It's a famous story in the hockey world. They found your like on that post, as well as Dasha's like. What did you think when you did it?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

It was an accident. My finger must've twitched

- I guess you haven't been on Twitter for a while, so you probably forgot how to work it.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Exactly

01:30:06 Historical record for Belarus
- You move to Calgary, you find plenty of success. You had a lot of on ice combinations. It took you a while to develop chemistry. As a result, you made history. You broke the record for Belarusian hockey. You pass both the Kostitsyns and Mikhail Grabovski. Now you're the person whose record someone will have to break one day. Other Belarusian players in the NHL aren't as productive as you, so that record can stand for a while. Do you feel as a part of history?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

Honestly, I don't, not yet. I'm still an active player, so I don't think about it. It feels nice to break the record, but Protas could break it again at any point.

- I agree, it could be Protas, Sidorov, or someone else. Here we were talking about the Kostitsyns for many years, we were doing the same about Misha Grabovski. People that follow Belarusian hockey understand that those are legends. Very productive hockey players, and they were productive for a very long time. A couple of months ago that changed, now Sharangovich is higher than those guys. Since they're not active players, they won't be catching you. At least for the single season records.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

The most important record is in aggregate.

- Are you passionate about beating them? Do you feel as though you can beat them on aggregate?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

I don't think about it. I don't think about getting more total points than them. I just get ready for the next season, I don't want my game to plateau, but simply keep growing and getting better. I want to prove that I can better my game with every season. It was a good statistical season, but I don't even think that it's entirely true. There's a good side, but there's also one component I think about, that keeps bugging me. I mean my -29 in the stats. Yes, I beat the record, but that really takes away from it.

- That's something you will work on next season. You know you what you have to work on.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

The most important part is not standing still. It's improving each year. It doesn't matter what age you're in, you still have to work harder and harder each year.

- Do you have a number that you think to yourself that you can score? For example, do you think you can put up 70 points? Or 80?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

I concentrate on playing a good game. The points will come as long as I keep myself accountable when it comes to preparation. I put in the work in the off-season and in practice. All the details you work on become factors during the game.

If I don't put in the work in the off-season and only think of points, then I won't get any points.

01:34:00 Jonathan Huberdeau

- Let's talk about your line mates. Huberdeau is one of the biggest names in the NHL. How close are you on and off the ice?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

In the locker room we always talk, joke around, he's a very good person. It's always fascinating to have a conversation with him. We're on the same wave-length. I think it shows up on the ice as well, because we think the game alike. It's always easier to build a relationship/friendship when that happens.

- Is Huberdeau the guy you had the most chemistry with in the NHL? At least as far as thinking the game.

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

NJ also had guys. Jack [Hughes] was fun to play with. They have a completely different style of game, but I think I have more chemistry with Jonathan.

- Does Huberdeau have any quirks?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

No. He's similar to me that way. We don't listen to music, not wearing headphones all the time. We prefer to have a conversation instead. We could just sit together and talk.

- Do you have any game rituals?

Originally Posted by Sharangovich

No.