• I saw you went to a golf course yesterday.
o Yes, yesterday I played with Yevgeny Kafelnikov (My notes: a Russian tennis player. I think he was ranked 1st overall at some point). He gave me a master class (It means Kafelnikov gave him a sound beating). I realized I still have a lot to work on in my game. Hopefully I will keep improving.
• Is playing golf your hobby, or do you go just to hang out?
o Yes, I love it. When COVID started in the US only the golf clubs stayed open. I ended up taking lessons with a personal trainer. I was going to lessons 3-4 times a week. The lessons were an hour each. I was taught technique, and we picked out golf clubs especially for me. I started liking it. The more success I had the more I enjoyed it. As a result, I started finding golf more interesting.
o After all the players got back to Colorado, it was a common place to hang out, while we were preparing for the season. I was enjoying myself, spending my time outdoors, doing some sort of activity. Then our competitive nature would take over. It’s in our blood.
o The more success you have in golf the more you love it.
Getting into Hockey
• How did you end up in hockey?
o I can only judge from the stories my parents tell me. My father always dreamed that his son would be a hockey player.
• Did your dad play hockey?
o No, dad didn’t. My dad used to be a pro (Zadorov calls it “master of sports”) in rowing. He used to be a part of the USSR national team.
• That explains why you’re so big
o No actually, my dad is a bit smaller. My mom is quite tall. I think most of my genes come from my mother’s side in that regard.
• Back to how did Zadorov ended up in hockey
o In 2003 on the Old new year (January 14th), after my parents had a good time partying on the previous night. It was nice and warm out, and I think they figured time outside would help them with the headache(hangover). We went to an outdoor rink, they rented me skates and threw me on the ice (figuratively – no child abuse here). I went out and skated, I liked it. From that moment on my dad suggested they would register me in the “Belye Medvedi”(White bears) from the year 95(My notes: I assume that the teams would group players based on the player’s birth year in this case 95).
• Did you always enjoy hockey? Or were there times you were forcing it?
o I don’t think you give it much thought as a kid. Especially until you’re 10 years of age. It is just some excitement and development in the eyes of the child. Up until I turned 10, I didn’t like hockey, but neither did I not like it.
o At that point, my parents were more pushing me. We had practices at 6am. Then I had extra practices because I had to catch up to the other kids. I only joined the team when I was 7.5(almost 8) years old.
o We had Sergei Tolchinsky and Goldobin who were skating since they were 2-3 years of age. They could easily skate backwards, while I was having difficulty skating forward. I was still skating with a skating aid.
o *reiterates* My parents put a lot of effort into it. We would wake up at 5am and have the extra practice at 6. Just so I catch up to my peers.
o After I turned 10, I absolutely loved hockey. I wanted to skip school, just so I can put in more time into practicing hockey. I remember sitting in class waiting in anticipation just so I can go to practice. I couldn’t sit still as a result.
• Look I keep coming back to the question: “who are the White Bears?”. I find it phenomenal they had you, Tolchinsky, Goldobin, Mamendzikov.
o Zadorov adds 5 people that played an NHL game.
• You’re all great hockey players, you’re all interesting, very smart, each has his own quirky interests. What is this phenomenon with players coming out of the White Bears? What sort of school is it, to produce so much talent? Secondly, CSKA-95, how do all the boys turn out so talented and smart in everything?
o As far as talents, I don’t think it happens each year. I thought that 92 was a strong year – Kucherov, Gusev, Ozhiganov, and a few other guys. 95 was another strong year. And I think there was one guy from 96 – Andrei Kuzmenko that played for the white bears if I’m not mistaken.
o It’ because of the coach. It’s not the school, it’s the coach. It’s Sergey Suyarkov. His training regime is the reason, we were the best team in Russia for our age. We held that title until we turned 16.
o From 8-9 years of age, we had 120 games a season. In the first Moscow championship you have one big division/group/conference that has 30 teams in it. You’re playing with everyone. We were winning some games 43-0(that’s not a typo).
o Our practices were set up to work on our individual skills. Each day we had one practice for hands(stick-handling), one for skating, one for protecting the puck, another for physical battles. Sergey Suyarkov was making us push each other, since we were kids.
o One exercise I remember, and I remember hating that one, was one on one. He would set up a pair of nets on one section of the ice. He would dump the puck in, and the player who scored to either net won. It led to an intense competition between us.
o Another exercise was keeping the puck inside a bordered off square until we’d hear a whistle. Each of the exercises was for 30 seconds. He was very demanding of us from the ages of 7-8. He demanded we would leave it all out there and be devoted to the craft. He was putting an emphasis on us listening to him, and always trying. Those were the contributing factors in the building of the character of our team.
o At the age of 9 we moved to CSKA, our coach took with him 11 players. He was offered the job in CSKA and took eleven of us. That way we kept the core of our team together. *Names other important players that joined the team, I’m too lazy to google how to spell them*. Despite all the additions, the white bears core was still leading the way.
o The fact that we all bonded from a very young age helped us push each other and kept improving us as individuals.
• You said the coach was mostly working on individual skills instead of team plays.
o Up until we turned 10 it was all based on individual skills. After that he started mixing in team practices as well.
o When we were 11-12 playing in Russia’s first league, our coach would use things he saw in NHL games as a part of our strategy. For example, we were the only ones playing with 1 D on the power play at the time. He kept adding and including elements of pro hockey in our games. We understood them, and got used to them from a young age.
o We already started using breakouts by using the half-boards (I might be misinterpreting it because my hockey terminology in Russian is a bit rusty). Do 12-year-olds think about doing that? We worked on all of it. A quick release for one-timers right after passing the puck back and forth.
o We had voluntary practices at 6:15am he called them “ice style”. I had to wake up at 5am, catch the first bus at 5:15am, it would be a 15 min drive to the subway. Then the subway would open at 5:30am, I would take it all the way to the airport station. Then walk for 10 more minutes, and get there at 6:15. That practice was exclusively for hockey skills. I remember working on stick handling. He would set obstacles, you’d move through 20 of them, then shoot the puck. Then you’d go through 20 more and do it on the opposite end of the ice. We just kept working on skills with a lot of repetiton.
• Are you still in touch with your old coach?
o Yes, of course. I see him every year. Recently I saw him at a birthday party. Suyarkov is a huge Patrick Kane fan, so I actually brought him a signed jersey this year.
Corruption in Russian Hockey
• It’s a continuation to the question about why Canada has that many more quality hockey players.
o Corruption also plays a role. Just like we have corruption in everything in our country we have it in hockey as well.
o Coaches would push their(paying) players forward. In almost all the top clubs if parents want their children to play on one of the top two lines they have to bribe the coach. It’s just because coaches have such a small salary and need to provide for their families somehow.
• Did you encounter it?
o No, we didn’t have it with Suyarkov. I know that many people say he takes bribes, but I think those are mostly people who are upset with Suyarkov. Perhaps their kids weren’t good enough in terms of hands, hockey sense, you name it.
o I know that there were quite a few people upset with him when their kid didn’t make the team. Quite a few were upset because he refused to take bribes. I am absolutely certain that Suyarkov didn’t take any bribes.
• What about at the world junior level? I know that there are quite a few rumors about that.
o We didn’t have that on our junior team. I think you need to ask Kucherov and Grigorenko about that. They had such an individual on their team. I won’t say his name.
o His dad was making him play hockey. He got him on the junior team. His dad was promising him a Mercedes if he played. However, that guy didn’t make it anywhere or accomplish anything (hockey wise) after that.
• Why do the coaches take players like that? Is money really that important to them? I mean they will be asked about their team’s results.
o That was an under 18 junior team. The guy was taken not because of money but more because of connections. His dad was very well connected (My Notes: I’m guessing either politics, or a CEO of a corporation).
• How can we get rid of corruption in hockey?
o We need to start by getting rid of corruption within the country first. Which is a very long discussion in itself.
Other problems with the Russian hockey program
• What weaknesses can you observe in Russian hockey aside from corruption?
o I think we have a lower level of coaches within our country. That’s from what I saw. The exercises they would give players. The approach towards players. The psychological approach toward players.
o I keep asking myself the following question- If I had a son would I have liked him to play/learn hockey in Russia? Half the current coaches (at lower levels) only finished grade 9, not even. They don’t have the right education, or the right approach towards children. They can harm the child; they can cause damage to his psyche. Especially at the younger age groups. I think that many promising player’s careers never got started because of it.
o I also think that parents play a huge role in the weakening of Russian hockey. A lot of players that turn their kids into hockey, only see their kids as first liners, or the next Alex Ovechkin. I base that solely on my observations in Moscow. Parents have unrealistic expectations from their children. As a result, parents end up pressuring their children a lot more in Russia compared to what I saw in Canada and the US.
o In Canada and the US children get to enjoy hockey until they’re 13. Then if a kid has potential, you can slowly help him improve by building up that pressure to make him into a pro. If the kid doesn’t show any promise, he can go do something else. In Russia, I don’t think children even make it to 13. Their psyche is already broken form the tremendous pressure put on them from both the coaches and their parents.
• What’s the difference in the approach in junior hockey in Russia and North America?
o When I was playing for the Red Army, I had a coach that was telling me that if I skate the puck out past the red line I would sit. I just turned 16 at the time. He didn’t want me to improve that way.
o Then we as a nation wonder “why can Sweden ice 5 lineups with 5 top defensemen?”. We only have 6-8 top defensemen, and we don’t have any offensive defensemen.
o Goes into the offensive defensemen part I already transcribed (part 2 I believe)
o We leave Russia early, so we get taught to skate the puck out overseas.
o In the Red Army, I was told to give the puck to Gus, or Kuch behind the net and that they will figure it out from there.
o If you skate the puck past the red line you sit. “You’re a defenseman were do you think you’re going.”
London Knights
o London is one of the best organizations. Dale Hunter is the Coach. Mark Hunter was the GM. He went to GM Toronto before Dubas. Dale Hunter coached Washington for a year. He can take any NHL team and make it into a very good team. He just doesn’t need that because he makes more money over at London, and has less stress doing it.
o It’s junior hockey. You need to understand, when I got there, I was 16-17 years old. Other guys were playing there since they were 16. McDavid was playing since he was 15. Their arena has a capacity of 10,000 and it is always sold out. In fact, they’re sold out 3 months in advance. Those are crazy numbers for junior hockey! While playing for the Red Army we had an attendance of 150 people, 85 of them were parents.
o It’s a crazy atmosphere. You get everything, starting from free hockey sticks to (advertisement) contracts. As soon as I got there they found me an English teacher. They offered me to go to school. I refused because I finished school in Russia. They said that’s fine and that I should come to an additional practice instead. They had everything arranged including goalies. They have everything set up for hockey.
o I was in awe of the way they taught me. I was immediately asked: “Why aren’t you skating the puck out? Why do you keep giving it away despite being faster than the other players?”. I told them that it was the way I was taught. They just told me that here you can do that. I was told to keep moving my feet and hold on to the puck. They told me to use my size more to protect the puck as I was skating it out, so no one could touch me.
o They gave me an opportunity on the power play. It immediately improved my play with the man advantage.
o It’s a completely different approach. They take pride in teaching/developing a young player. They want to see him succeed, make it into the NHL. That in turn builds up the school’s/organization’s name in the hockey world.
o We didn’t have that in Russia. There it’s all about the teams’ results. The Red Army had guys that were 3-4 years older and now don’t even play anywhere. The same thing was happening on the first team with CSKA. They’d give Kucherov and Gusev the time to play, and then a bunch of players that stopped playing hockey after that(My Notes: essentially a bunch of plugs/overagers like in the AHL). At least that’s the way it used to be, I’m not sure if they changed things up by now.
Being a father
• You became a father around my age, at 22 years of age. How difficult is it to be a young father? And what sort of dad are you? Are you rough(strict) like you’re on the ice or are you a softy at home?
o Being a father is unbelievable. It brings me huge joy. (My) Kids are my joy, they’re everything for me.
o It doesn’t matter if I have a bad game or something bad happens to me in life. The moment I get home and see them it absolutely lifts up my heart. It brings me back to life, it’s a bliss to have them around.
o It’s not easy being a parent. You need to be prepared for it. We planned both our children.
• At 22 you were already planning it?
o Yes, I was. We were even planning to have my oldest daughter’s birthday closer to mine. She is an Aries, just like I am. She is very straight forward, the same as me. When strangers see us, they even tell me I behave like her. It’s getting harder with her though, she’s already 4 years old. She’s already showing some personality. She only does things how she wants and not how you tell her to. It’s amazing watching her grow, build her personality and so on.
• What are the upsides and downsides of being a parent at a young age?
o I think the financial aspect is the most important. Children are expansive. You need to plan for it. You must be prepared to get them everything they need/want.
o The upsides are everything else, at least for me. I only see positives.
Zadorov’s Wife
o Here I have to give credit to my wife. Not much has changed in my hockey life/preparation since we had children. My wife does so much with our kids, and around the house so that I can focus on hockey.
o I think that for a hockey player, the right woman is 50% of the deposit(My Notes: I think he means she is half hockey his worth). That’s because it’s very difficult if you’re constantly being distracted from hockey and can’t focus on it.
o My Wife allows me to focus on hockey. In addition, she allows me to have some alone time to unwind. For example, she is very understanding of me liking to play video games once in a while. She understands I could use some space sometimes after a game, or have a drink or two.
o My wife does so much and helps me a lot. I think that a lot of my success in the NHL and in life can be attributed to my wife.
o I met her before I had anything. It was far from certain I would become an NHLer. We met while I was (playing) in London. I only had some savings form my time with the Red Army, and my London Salary.
Salary in Junior Hockey
• How much were you paid in the Red Army?
o There was no paycheck. We only had bonuses for the playoffs. We got 2nd place and we received a bonus of 1.2-1.5 Million RUB for getting to the finals.
• *shocked* In the Red Army? In the MHL? 1.5?
o I was surprised myself. The exchange rate was around 30 at the time too. That was very good money at the time.
o I saved up a little. Also, had my pay from London. *implies that there might be some off the books payment or he simply means he was getting peanuts*. I saved up some money, but nothing to write home about(He then specifies AHL money w.e that means).
• Where do junior players get paid more in the junior leagues in America or in the MHL?
o How much do junior players get paid now in the MHL?
• When I was playing only the drafted players were getting more than 60,000RUB(that’s a month)
o So 600,000RUB a year, because you only get paid for 10 months of the year. You don’t get paid in May and June. So something like $10,000.
• Now most players get paid 15,000RUB
o So players don’t get 60k anymore.
o When I was playing players were getting decent salaries. Especially guys like Kucherov.
• So how much does junior overseas pay?
o Right now you don’t get much in junior over there either. You getting something like $500 a month(they said it was ~30,000RUB). However, You live with a billet family, so you don’t have to pay for a place to live food and so on.
o You still have to rent a place while playing for the Red Army. In places outside of Moscow that might be a bit more affordable in the MHL.
The plan of having 4 children, and adoption
• In an interview you mentioned that you want 4 children. To even things out do the next two need to be boys?
o Yes, but I don’t want the next one to be a boy either. I guess we’ll have to keep trying until we get a boy.
o In all honesty, I want to adopt a child. We’re having discussions right now.
• Why do you want to adopt?
o Because there are many children that got the short end of the stick. I want to slightly right the scales. Especially when you have the money to be able to afford it. I just don’t see why not. You give the gift of a good life to another human being. You will love the child regardless and will turn him/her into a quality human being in the process. It just feels right/rewarding for the soul.
The Following 65 Users Say Thank You to gvitaly For This Useful Post:
Yeah I figure, I'd give you guy some light reading for the weekend. There was more in the interview, but I think I got all the best parts. He does strike me like a very smart honest person.
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Even if he's not a Gio replacement on the ice, he seems like he could be a great presence in the community like Gio was.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snipetype
k im just not going to respond to your #### anymore because i have better things to do like #### my model girlfriend rather then try to convince people like you of commonly held hockey knowledge.
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The more I read about this guy , watch video etc the more impressed I am. 26 years old and his life priorities away from hockey are insane.
He's a great dad and wants more kids.
Loves his wife.
Feels very fortunate to be a player in the best league in the world and doesn't take anything for granted.
Seems very transparent and truthful which are hugely admirable qualities.
The hits I watch of his are huge and unpreditory. He doesn't jump, headhunt and is always in great position.
Sounds like he's easy to coach which will be a bonus.
Given all the Dman contracts that have been handed out this summer, what does everyone think he gets? I would love a 3-4 year deal around his qualifying offer ($3.2/year) but am worries (longterm) that he gets more too much more than that. Thoughts?
Given all the Dman contracts that have been handed out this summer, what does everyone think he gets? I would love a 3-4 year deal around his qualifying offer ($3.2/year) but am worries (longterm) that he gets more too much more than that. Thoughts?
Given all the Dman contracts that have been handed out this summer, what does everyone think he gets? I would love a 3-4 year deal around his qualifying offer ($3.2/year) but am worries (longterm) that he gets more too much more than that. Thoughts?
If his deal is around his qualifying offer, it will be a one year deal.
If the Flames want to wrap up some UFA years, it will cost into the 4’s for certain.
