41:00 Spontaneous proposal to get married
- That was then, but in 2021 you already knew how things worked, you knew the language, but at that time Dasha was a big part of your life, from that spring onward. You make the decision that you both should move together. It wasn't just the right thing, but it would've also been easier for you. Had she stayed in Belarus, things might not have worked out. Having a person that always supports around is a big deal, which is why a lot of guys try to bring their wives or girlfriends to NA right away. It's a covid year, flights are hard to come by, work visas take time to make, tourist visas are also difficult to get. Everything is closed. How did you organize the move? How did you propose? How long did she think about it? How did it all happen? She had to change her entire life in 2 weeks.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
In reality, it was quite difficult. Dasha was working in Belarus as a part of an IT company, had a good job. You can also say that the proposal itself was a bit lacking. I had to leave within a couple of days, and I remember something she had once told me. It was about 3–4 months into our relationship, and we had discussions about a move to America, because I told her I'd have to come back there at some point. When I asked her then if she'd come along, she wasn't sure because of her work. Eventually, 2 days before I had to fly out, I proposed. We weren't married or anything, it was 2 or 4 days before I had to leave. I already said goodbye to everyone in Dynamo. At 8-9pm, I was still on the phone all day, with my agent and other acquaintances to get everything in order. I arranged everything even before the actual proposal.
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- Did you arrange the tickets and the move for the two of you?
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
No, I arranged the ceremony so they could marry us.
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- So you got everything ready for when she said yes, and then be like by the way I have everything ready for tomorrow.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
Something like that. So I proposed around 9pm, and the next morning we had to go get married.
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- Let's recap, you have to be in the States for work in a couple of days, you want to go with Dasha, you need to get the documents...
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
I was very worried about her moving with me.
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- It was an important part of your life, and you have to fly out in 4 days, and you might end up having to leave her at home.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
I just don't think that long distance relationships work.
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- So you propose at 9pm, and the very next morning you get married.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
Yes.
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- Did they quickly make a visa for Dasha?
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
I had to fly out by myself first.
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- It's just easier to make a visa for her as your spouse.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
Yes. It was also very difficult to leave at that time of the year because it was around 6 years since I last got to celebrate Christmas with my family at home.
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- It was pretty close, it was about a week away at the time.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
Yes, it was very close. I flew out on Dec. 23rd, or 24th.
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- So to this day, you still didn't get a chance to spend Christmas with them(in Belarus)?
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
That's right.
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- That's a very cool story.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
The world championships, like the Junior under 20, are always held in December and around the new years.
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- So how did you make the proposal itself.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
We were sitting in the car, just got home. I was extremely nervous, because I knew she could say no, and just wait for half a year until I got back.
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- You couldn't, not do it though.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
I told her how I felt, and how things were. I think we were sitting in the car for about 30#mins as I was getting the courage to do it.
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- Do you think that she knew it was coming?
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
I think so. She just asked me if we had to get married tomorrow after I proposed. So I told her “yes”. She still gives me a hard time about it sometimes.
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- Listen, she was still good, she supported you. It wasn't a question of romance, because you have a good relationship, it was just a technical issue. You didn't have a different day in which you could get married. You would've been gone within a week.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
Yeah, I had to fly out.
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- In that part she was great too, immediately got on board with how things were supposed to happen.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
Yeah, she had to sacrifice a lot. To this day, she still teases me about my lackluster proposal.
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- Maybe you should consider making another proposal
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
Still, she had to give up a ton, including her work.
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- It just sounds like such an unusual story. Every girl is expecting a romantic proposal. Some in the Minsk arena, others on a hot air balloon, someone on a boat, or an island, but I think that your proposal has to be pretty unique, but there are a bunch of proposals on a hot air balloon.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
It was really uncomfortable. We sat in the car for the longest time. Maybe even more than half an hour. I just couldn't get myself to do it, because it was a poor proposal on my end.
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- But she read you like a book.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
Yes.
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47:06 Preparing for the season: where is it better?
- Some think that preparing for the season in Belarus doesn't meet all the requirements. Agents are trying to get players to practice elsewhere, in Canada, or in a hockey camp. You had it both ways, you had a year when you came to Belarus, and had to fly out quickly. You also had a time when you stayed in Belarus for a while. Where's that sweet spot? Is there a difference? And can you prepare the same way here and in NA?
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
When we trained in Florida, Dasha was already pregnant, and we decided to spend the time there, because we knew all the doctors, had all the tests scheduled there etc. We just had to move from NJ to FLA, so that all the paper work stayed in order.
I'll be honest, we really didn't like Florida in the summer. It's not for us. We prefer coming home, spend time with our families and relatives. We get to spend weekends with them and have a better time in general.
Players that don't go back home to Russia and Belarus say that there are too many temptations at home. Go to a club with friends, or something similar. That's why they have a hard time getting in shape with all the distractions.
As for myself, I can't really comment on that, because we don't go clubbing.
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- I don't think that you're the type of person that changes his [healthy] lifestyle. I saw you and Dasha at the gym a couple of weeks back, I think you have a huge advantage in that regard. If you work out alone, you can get lazy, but you both are into sports and can motivate each other. I also don't think you have a hard time finding ice in Belarus, or places to train.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
I really like training at home. In Florida, you only think about hockey. There's no one there to really go out with. Dan would gather all his players to go on his Yacht. There was Mikhaev, Zadorov, Sergachev, so that was the first time I actually met a lot of the Russian NHLers. That said, home is home, my parents often come to visit. Dasha's parents as well. They get to spend time with their grandchild. You always have something to do after practice at home. For example, I finish my practice at 2, have a nap, then we have time to go out somewhere in the evening.
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- I think the weather is also a bit better than Miami, Florida.
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Originally Posted by Sharangovich
Yes, it was +38C in FLA. You couldn't go outside. You just start to sweat, and thinking about how to get back to the AC.
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