He and Gudbranson are the epitome of what Sutter identified as lacking on this team, and having tough as nails guys like that make our goalie feel protected, and some of our forwards a few inches taller knowing they have some smashers on the back end. It’s thus fed into the attitude change of the entire team, and that change and subsequent confidence cannot be discounted into how it’s translated into team success.
The fact that they’ve performed with the puck and positionally and maybe most surprisingly, offensively, very well is a very pleasant surprise. For that reason, both guys have earned their pay checks by far this year so far.
As mentioned, it would’ve been ideal I think to have Zadorov signed for this year and next, but assuming his performance keeps up, he won’t be signing a 1 year deal anywhere.
But, for him, and everyone else that may or may not go in the offseason, probably time to stop the handwringing and instead sit back and let’s enjoy the team as a whole while they are here as part of this team, and let’s enjoy this season. This team and this 10 game current streak is no fluke, that’s been proven from the very start (yes even with the ref-aided first game loss vs the Oilers where the Flames were the better team) of the season.
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Z 2nd Interview Part 6
The Interview about MacKinnon explained
@ 1:39:00 - 1:43:30
Interviewer: Our summer interview appeared in the news just about everywhere. I got numerous emails from various sports websites and networks asking me to give out the materials for their own use. As you know we have a saying - "Any keg of honey can be ruined by one spoon of tar". That's why I was a bit worried writing to you about this interview, and I wanted to ask "How are things between you and MacKinnon, after that podcast? Did it ruin the relationship between you two?". There were so many posts after, even MacKinnon had to address it.
Zadorov: No it's all good. He wrote me a text massage, in which he called me a donkey, and we had a laugh about it. I told him I was comparing him to MJ, to which he responded saying: "MJ has 6 championships, and 5 MVP I'm not even close to MJ". So we had a laugh and he didn't get offended by it. In addition, I think that my words were slightly taken out of context. Like I was telling you, I didn't mean that he's trying to do everything just right. He doesn't just sits at home. It's not like he doesn't drink anything or has any sweets. It's not like he doesn't talk to teammates, doesn't go out with his teammates, and shouts at them periodically on the ice. That's not how things are. What I was trying to get across was how professional he is. He is always the player putting the most work in during practices. Everyone watches him, and he is such a role model. A role model for the other players on his team. He makes other players better by being near them. You see how he trains, so you try to re-create it. You try to get out earlier in practice shoot a few more pucks, work on your skills a bit more. That's what I was trying to get across. I also tried to get across how well he handles nutrition and recovery, two aspects that are very important in our profession.
I: Despite making him sound professional he called you a bit of a donkey(A donkey in russian is a bit more offensive than in English).
Z: No, no, well he did. He was saying that he goes to "In and out", gets burgers for himself and so on, of course I know that. I just didn't talk about that stuff. I didn't say that he doesn't go anywhere. People just inferred that he doesn't do anything. 99% of the time he does it right(in terms of watching his nutrition), but he still has cheat meals, has a hot-dog, a burger, a pizza, a glass of wine, or goes out to a restaurant with us. All of that stuff happens.
I: So did he call you a donkey as a joke?
Z: Of course
I: It's just that many people thought that it was serious.
Z: Who thought that?
I: In all seriousness people were thinking there's a feud between you two now.
Z: Yeah not even close.
Z's interview skills
I: I don't know if you read the youtube comments on your interview, but people were impressed by how educated and well spoken you were. They even gave you the title of the smartest NHLer on our channel. How nice is it for you to hear?
Z: Well if I'm the best on your channel it must be nice.
I: Everyone thinks of you as one of the best guests for an interview. Where does all this knowledge come from?
Z: As in Nikita the truthful.
I: Yes Nikita the truthful, and Nikita that can actually glue a couple of thoughts together into a sentence.
Z: I don't know. I guess it's good I payed attention in school, and thanks to my teachers. I really don't know though. I'm just myself, I'm not trying to get someone to like me, or vice versa. I'm an open person, it's in my nature, so when I'm asked questions I enjoy sharing my thoughts. It's not as though I seek to be interviewed, but if I'm asked a question I would answer it, instead of refusing it. I also think that whenever you're asked a question you should be answering it honestly, from the bottom of the heart.
More Donkey Business
I: Did you catch any hay from MacKinnon's fans? on Instagram or over other social networks?
Z: No, everyone understood. In N. America everyone understood that Nate was joking. Yes he called me a donkey, but it means something different than in Russian. You can call your son donkey for example. It's not meant as anything mean, just kidding around.
The Russian Junior Team Incident
@1:48:50 - 1:55:00
I: Our(The Russian) junior team was kicked off a flight from Calgary to Moscow for drinking, smoking, and debauchery. What are the first thoughts you have on the subject?
Z: Buffalo, 2011.
I: What happened in Buffalo?
Z: Do you remember Panarin and (I couldn't catch the name) they also got drunk, but at least they won that time. You saw how strict things are right now with the mask regulations.
I: Did the guys just forget how to handle their liquor?
Z: I think that because the regulations in Russia are not as strict regarding how you wear your masks, that they were kicked off because of the masks. That's just my gut feeling. I don't think anyone was drunk. Well maybe the boys had a couple of bottles of beer, so what they can't handle a couple of bottles? I don't know if Zubov was actually smoking, or if it was added to make a story. That said, I think that the boys got in trouble first and foremost because of mask regulations. The people in Russia don't wear masks the same way at all. I fly quite a bit now. The one time I was flying to Florida with my family from Chicago the attendants were very diligent in reminding us to keep the masks on at all times. Even after having a sip of water, you had to put the mask back on asap. The flight company treats it very seriously.
I: Your junior teams were flying just as often from Russia to N. America. Were you ever a part of such a situation or close to it.
Z: I didn't tell you that story did I? When we were flying for Pee-Wee hockey.
I: What's Pee-Wee?
Z: That's the kids tournament. All the best teams.
I: The medal we saw from Nike-Bauer is that from it?
Z: There's Nike-Bauer and Pee-Wee is the biggest tournament. It's held in Quebec, and we were flying Air Canada. Our team was CSKA 95 and we had 4 parents with us. My dad was there, Sergei Tolchinski's mother, and a couple more parents. Long story short the parents bought a whiskey in the duty free, and of course you can't open it on the plane. Well they opened it, had a couple as the classic Russian stereotype. The flight attendant saw them. To make matters worse Tolchnski's mom was sitting in a broken chair, so when she tried to lean it backwards, it fell on the person behind her. He started to scream, made a fuss. Eventually when we landed in Quebec, in Montreal. The police came on board, they detained my dad, the assistant coach, and Tolchinski's mom. They hand cuffed them behind their backs and took them to the slammer, straight off the plane. So they were in the slammer, at first we waited for them, eventually we went to Quebec without them. I think my dad will kill me for telling this story. So yeah they were in the slammer while we were in Quebec. My dad was charged with opening the bottle, and the assistant coach was charged with sexually harassing a flight attendant. Tolchinski's mom for falling. I think they ended up being detained for about 20 hours because of it. As a result, all three of them were banned from Air Canada flights. They joined us in Quebec after they were released.
I: Can your dad visit Canada now?
Z: I'm not sure actually, he might still be blacklisted by Air Canada.
I: Only Air Canada?
Z: Yes, only Air Canada.
I: Not from the country as a whole?
Z: No, he visited London after the fact. I actually think they got rid of the ban. As in I believe it expires after 3 years. So yeah that's a crazy story.
Alcohol and Tobacco on the Flames
I: I was actually curious why do hockey players after the games always have beer on the plane or bus. Why can't you wait until you get home? Like with our junior team, we're not sure what exactly happened, but why can't you wait until you get home and then do whatever you want. Whenever you're representing your country, or your club, how can you get drunk or be apart of all the debauchery.
Z: I don't think it was quite like it. There were what 20 beers there? It's like one beer each, and not even all the players were drinking. In the NHL, there's beer on the buses(I'm guessing he meant planes) after the games. In Calgary we don't have alcohol whenever we fly home, so that the boys don't get behind the wheel after a couple of drinks. We also don't have any alcohol on back to backs. Colorado in comparison didn't have any alcohol restrictions.
I: While we're on the subject. I was wondering, I used to chew tobacco(they say throw tobacco but I'm far from an expert and assume they meant chewing) before, why doesn't Canada have any? Like in Russia you could see it everywhere, players would use it quite a bit, but I didn't see any of that in Canada. Probably only the Russians are doing it in Canada.
Z: What? half our team chews it.
I: Seriously?
Z: Yes, but they're chewing the Swedish tobacco, Siberia.
I: I just haven't seen it anywhere.
Z: Yes half our team does it. It's quite expansive in Canada though. If you go to a gas station.
I: Oh, it's sold at the gas stations.
Z: One can will cost you around $30. Yes it's quite expansive, same goes for cigarettes. When we were flying for the junior tournaments my mom would bring cartons(not packs) with her.
Last edited by gvitaly; 02-23-2022 at 02:02 PM.
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Edit: thanks a lot gvitaly! Is there a link to these interviews? Don’t speak Russian, but I feel the journalist at least deserves some clicks and traffic for credit for these great interviews.
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"An idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think." Georg Hegel
“To generalize is to be an idiot.” William Blake
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Anything worth translating in the section where the tour the secret areas of the dome? I thought it was hilarious with Z catching Coleman eating his lunch and was Ruziska speaking Russian?
No idea if our facilities are really backward or not compared to all the newer arenas but it does look kind of tiny and dungeonesque in the bowels of the dome.
Z seems like a good guy. The interview seemed to highlight a lot of material stuff - money, cars, cost of speeding etc. So unfortunately I’m betting Calgary won’t pay him what he wants going forward.
Z was just responding to the interviewer, who seems keenly interested in cars, pro sports lifestyle, and the differences between Canada, the U.S., and Russia.
If it’s surprising to hear an NHL player talk about that stuff, it’s because their agents coach them to steer clear of any talk about money or lifestyle. Which makes me wonder how much the refreshing candour of the interview is owed to Zadorov’s personality and how much is because he’s doing a Russian-language interview. Are Finnish and Swedish players more honest and opinionated talking to Finnish and Swedish interviewers?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
Last edited by CliffFletcher; 02-23-2022 at 07:45 PM.
Edit: thanks a lot gvitaly! Is there a link to these interviews? Don’t speak Russian, but I feel the journalist at least deserves some clicks and traffic for credit for these great interviews.
Yes, it was posted earlier in this thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mile
Another Russian interview with Zadorov. No English subtitles though.
Video is very well-made. Calgary looks fantastic in the video, hope Z feels the same way about the city.
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Z seems like a good guy. The interview seemed to highlight a lot of material stuff - money, cars, cost of speeding etc. So unfortunately I’m betting Calgary won’t pay him what he wants going forward.
That's not the gist of the interview at all. The interviewer posed all those questions contrasting the quietness and humble outlook of both Calgary players and citizens and Z answered them in a straightfoward manner in a way that reflects on the utility of people in this city.
Z never asked about material things or expressed a need for all those things. He's quite happy with his GM SUV for his family rather than a Ferrari and even comments that people in Calgary see vehicles as tools rather than something to show off like people in Moscow.
Z was just responding to the interviewer, who seems keenly interested in cars, pro sports lifestyle, and the differences between Canada, the U.S., and Russia.
If it’s surprising to hear an NHL player talk about that stuff, it’s because their agents coach them to steer clear of any talk about money or lifestyle. Which makes me wonder how much the refreshing candour of the interview is owed to Zadorov’s personality and how much is because he’s doing a Russian-language interview. Are Finnish and Swedish players more honest and opinionated talking to Finnish and Scandinavian interviewers?
Yes, a lot was driven by the interviewer, though Z obviously was pretty keen on it since he knows what everyone drives and how much they cost.
I seem to recall a lot of this kind of stuff coming out in other Russian interviews, for some reason. Often more negative than this one.
Zadarov makes $3,750,000 currently, he's not getting under four as a UFA in July. Big 6'6 27 year old blue liner that can slide into your top four at times? He's getting a good contract.
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