When the invasion began, Zadorov said, Sergei Bobrovsky came up with the idea of a joint statement by Russian NHLers. However, they couldn't come up with the agreement on what it should contain.
"We broke up into two camps: the propaganda one and the sane one, in my opinion."
"Some players wanted to talk about "those 8 years" (when, according to Russian propaganda, Ukraine was shelling Russians in Donbas, a patently false statement)", said Zadorov.
He also said he understands those who are playing in the KHL and wearing Z uniforms.
"They want to make money for their families. Unfortunately, the world is such that you have to step on your moral principles in order to do what you like."
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The video actually has pretty accurate subtitles. I recommend watching it, it starts with showing off Z's workouts, training regime, meals etc. Then it goes into politics. A lot of interesting tidbits. I only listened to about 30mins, but it's pretty good content. Then again I can just listen to it while doing work.
Also, not that anyone cares but I do have family in the Donbass region, and Ukraine was shelling it for 8 years. They weren't shelling Russians, but Ukranians(except they called them separatists for staying in their homes). There are always two sides to every story, and I'm in no way justifying Russia here, but I also don't think of Ukraine the same way Western media does.
Last edited by gvitaly; 09-21-2023 at 12:03 PM.
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Now that he’s made it back alive, we should give him that extension.
He didn't go to Russia this offseason. He spent it in Florida.
The youtube video actually asked him that directly around the 33 min mark.
You didn't go to Russia this summer. Why?
Quote:
I didn't go to Russia last year either. It's disgusting. Should I go gorge myself in a restaurant there while, while people are getting shelled with bombs 2000 km away from me?
...
That's not the only reason I didn't go. I didn't want to be caught in a situation where a mobilization starts and I wouldn't be able to leave to play for a season.
Last edited by gvitaly; 09-21-2023 at 12:17 PM.
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Zadorov has also lived in North America since he was 17. Those late teenage years and early 20's tend to be really formative for people when developing world perspectives. He probably views the world from a Western perspective more than a lot of regular Russians.
__________________
"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
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Here's the youtube's transcript of Z's interview - part 1; I figured this would be better than me translating the whole thing.
Spoiler!
Let's go!
Nikita, you might be the most unique Russian hockey player. You're playing at the highest level in NHL..
You love talking about your job.. And you are one of the few people who talks about what is going on outside of your job.
You're one of the few Russian athletes who spoke out against the war in Ukraine.
Nikita Zadorov 28 years old A hockey player Calgary Flames (NHL) Wage - 3.75$ mill annual Born in Moscow
Miami, USA We're in Miami. What are we doing here? You're a Calgary Flames player.
Why are we meeting in Miami Florida?
[Calgary, Canada is a six hour flight away from Miami] About seven years ago we were looking for a place to spend the off-season at. We liked Moscow very much..
We can't go there now. It was hard for me to practice in Moscow.
There's too much traffic and too many friends there. I need to stay focused to prepare for the season.
I was looking for a place where my family would relax while I train. I need the facilities, too. The gym, the ice..
We tried Miami and liked it a lot. I'm spending my off-season here for the seventh year in a row.
Do you own a flat here? I rent one. For the whole year? Or only in summer? Only in summer.
[Six hours before] It's 6:18 am. We woke up at 5:50.
Where are we going at 6am
Nikita picked us up and we're heading to a practice. Nikita, how can you practice so early in the morning?
It's the morning practice. An early bird catches the worm.
It keeps me in tune. Your body adapts to waking up at the same time every day.
It's much better for my body and my mind.
What time did you go to bed yesterday? I went to bed at eleven. I usually go to bed at ten or half past ten.
Oh, I get it. 10pm to 1am is the most crucial period of sleep. It's the deep sleep that makes you recover.
When does the season start? Our camp begins in two weeks.
Many players go to Miami every summer and hire coaches to practice on your own.
We do. Every player has a private coach.
I've been training with my coach for eight years already. We also have skating practices in groups.
We have shooting coaches, skating coaches, all kinds of stuff.
Everyone knows what he needs to work on.
Okay. Are you wearing your sports clothes already? Kind of.
Your legs are going to be in pain tomorrow. This exercise is good for my narrow head. Your kettle is twice as heavy as mine.
It is. Respect.
It's dawn already. Well.. It's a great way to start your day.
It makes you wake up. I haven't had any breakfast..
Work with your legs! Come on!
Super.. I'm not even hungry. This gets you prepared for the whole season.
We have 82 games in a regular season. Plus pre-season plus playoffs.
We play every other day. You've got to prepare your body for this schedule.
We have finally explained what we are doing here at 6 am during your vacation. I'm not on vacation. I had my vacation in May and June.
This was when you had your cocktails and Coke.. And wine..And junk food.
Does your belly grow? It does. A lot. I have to work for two months to lose this extra weight.
I hate this exercise.
You stopped too early! You're a cheater! I started earlier.. Cheating. That's it?
It wasn't so hard.. We didn't do everything. Because of me?
What's next? We're done. It's time to buy some oatmeal.
What do Russian hockey players think about the war?
Is it true that when the war began Russian NHL players created a Telegram chat where they discussed a statement against the war?
It's true. I don't remember the exact dates..
We created this chat.. Who created it? Sergey Bobrovsky. He said we needed to stick together.
He said we needed to decide what do we do now. We would suggest different kind of stuff..I felt like we needed to make a statement.
On behalf of Russian NHL players. Some of us had visas and some didn't..
We were following this situation with my agent and NHLPA.
NHLPA helps us with this stuff..
We didn't know if they would cancel our visas.
Canada was even more mad about this war than the US. Nobody knew what Russians faced. What Russian players faced.
We had a discussion on the statement. What would we say?
This is it. Did anyone suggest to make an anti-war statement?
Anti-war statement or 'no politics in sports' statement.
There was no statement. Yes, we split into two groups. What kind of groups? Don't say the names.
One group wanted to speak about the eight years and all this propaganda stuff..
And the other group was the adequate one. One group wanted to make the anti-war statement and another asked you about the eight previous years.
They would suggest to mention the eight years in the statement.
Did you make you Instagram publication after that? No, I made the publication two days after the war began. Why did you decide to make a statement?
I felt like it was a right thing to do. I would make these statements hoping someone hears me out and changes their mind.
I believe that the last 23 years in our country with this president..And nine years before him..
I hope this all comes to an end. I hope that Russia becomes a democratic country with a strong economy.
Not a kleptocracy. Are we going to have some breakfast now? We are. There's a cafe with power breakfasts. Fresh juice..
A hockey player's Breakfast
Exactly what you need before skating. Four? Yeah.
They're going to make it now. Okay. What do we have here? This is an oatmeal with walnut, as you wished.
Okay. Peanut butter, a little bit of chocolate chips.. Banana..
Banana and honey on top. Are you sure it's healthy? This is healthy and energizing. Honey contains sugar that makes you more energetic.
It's good for exercising. Would this be too much for a day in the office? Well, it's still healthy. There's nothing wrong with this meal.
Peanut butter.. It's very healthy. It contains healthy fat just like avocado. Okay. Got it.
This makes you more energetic. What is that? I drank this when I had Covid. It's good for your immune system.
Lemon juice, ginger.. Ginger. Ginger juice and turmeric..This is a pepper.
It wakes you up. It's a shot of juice. Do you want to try it? Should we drink it before breakfast?
We can drink it now. It's quite gross. Should I drink it all?
Yes. Really? It's nice. Not bad.
It's more gross usually. It's more spicy typically.
Ginger saves this drink. I love ginger a lot.
Time to eat. We'll eat in the car. Do you know that eating while driving leads to more accidents than texting while driving in the US?
Do you like the statistics?
Peanut butter..So nice. When I first moved here I instantly became a fan.
Is it usually a sweetener? They do peanut butter jam sandwich. They put peanut butter on top of cranberry jam.
Are we entering Moscow Circle? Kind of. Leningradskoye highway. This one is not jammed though. They are not fixing it every month.
The same spot all over again. The climate is different here. It all comes to spending money.
This is a concrete road. They make a good foundation and they don't have to fix the road all the time.
This is not what we do in Russia. I love this meal.
I know you're hungry. We're almost there.
Oatmeal is so nice. We all agreed on that. It's so warm.
I'm full of energy. I don't have a cup to protect your balls.
Is this your first time? I've never played ice hockey before. Did you skate when you were a kid?
I know how to skate. I've never played hockey. It's okay.
[Nikita's friend gave Yury his uniform] It's time to put on your skates. Can I wear these socks? You can.
Don't be shy, come on. You drank too much rose wine yesterday.
Start from the bottom. Shouldn't I wear higher socks?
You shouldn't. Pasha Datsyuk didn't wear any socks. It's good.
What's next? As good as it gets. How did you memorize all of this? I can put on my uniform in three minutes.
Now put the straps on top. Like skiing pants? Yes. Nice.
You're good. You look like a vet.
My feet are a bit loose. Not tight enough?
You can't do anything about it. Wow. My fingers are messed up. I haven't skated in a while.
Dude is worse than Putin in ice skating
I haven't skated for five years. If you're falling, fall forward.
Can I fall on my hands? Yes, fall on your hands. I've got to learn how to stop.
You're one of those defenders who can score. Can you show me something that I would try to do?
The net is empty. As easy as it gets. Show me how to shoot the puck.
Okay. Shoot with your wrist.
Like this? Yes. Well done.
Modern sticks can throw the puck for you.
These sticks are flexible. My stick can flex a lot. I've seen Ovechkin and Malkin flex their sticks..
All stick are different in flexibility. My stick is 102. Yours is 105.
Ovechkin uses 85 and 95 sticks.
Are these more flexible? Yes. My stick cannot be any more flexible.
I can't do slap shots with a flexible stick. The game is so fast nowadays that you don't do many slap shots.
You don't have time to prepare for a slap shot. You shot would get blocked. Right. You need to throw the puck quickly.
How do you flex it? All the guys have different technique.
Who's got the best wrist shot? Ovechkin..
The goalies say that his shot is wobbling. The puck changes direction when he throws it. Auston Matthews scores almost as many wrist shots as Ovie..
He pulls the puck closer to flex his stick.
He changes the angle when the goalie is prepared for the shot. The goalie has to move and open up some space.
There's a lot of details. Alexander Kozhevnikov, a famous Soviet hockey player..
What don't you agree with in Russia?
The father of Maria Kozhevnikova, former State Duma deputy. ..said:'Luckily, we don't have many guys like Zadorov in hockey.'
'There's more of these among reporters and celebrities.' 'These are nineties kids who don't know anything about USSR. They were raised when the country was in ruins.'
'He believes everything that CNN and BBC say.' 'He can't think. Unfortunately, there's a lot of these guys in Instagram generation.'
What do you think about this statement? He didn't write this comment. Somebody wrote it for him.
Really? Of course. I see a lot of his comments in the media.
Do you think he spends a lot of time writing these comments? His assistant does it for him. There are people who write all the posts for these old athletes.
Do you know this for sure? I'm positive about that.
He might give some interviews..I know that he likes to hang out and to go to steam houses.
Well, let's discuss what they said. They said you were brainwashed by CNN and BBC..
I hate CNN. Why? They have propaganda on CNN similar to Russian propaganda.
You shouldn't watch TV anywhere in the world. Television is a way to manipulate people.
We have Internet, we have history, interviews, investigations..
There is a lot of evidence. Ask me anything, I can tell you what I think.
I grew up in the nineties and I didn't see the Soviet Union. I know the history of the Soviet Union. I read some books.
He'd tell you that we had a great hockey school in the USSR. Hockey doesn't matter. It's a small part of our world.
I didn't play hockey when they did. What does the whole world think?
Russia is the only country that says that everything is fine now. The whole world knows that you can't do this.
Hockey is a small part of the world. It doesn't matter. What does matter?
People matter. Social policies matter. When there is hunger and poverty this is what matters.
Is there any hunger and poverty in Russia? Of course, there is. Are you surprised?
How do you know? You've lived in North America since you were seventeen. You grew up in Moscow.
Just look at the statistics. The average wage..
Look at the savings..
3% (9.7%) of Americans have a million dollars on their bank account. In total savings?
In total savings. In Russia it's only 0.3%. The average wage in Russia is equal to 560$. It's 4600$ in the US.
They have higher prices in the States. Nine times higher?
Not nine times.. No. You don't watch TV. What do you watch or read?
Where do you read the news? I'm listening to audiobooks. I'm watching YouTube.
I'm reading the news on Telegram. I have several sources of information.
I'm following American reporters and Russian-speaking reporters.
It's not hard to do a research nowadays. Have you ever thought about being stuck in a bubble?
At some point you started watching liberal channels and reading liberal Telegram channels..
These have formed your opinion. Sometimes I turn on Solovyov to get out of the bubble.
Well, I know why 90% of Russians believe him.
You can listen to him for twenty minutes and you would want to fight for your country. If you travel around the world and take a look at how other nations live..
In poor countries like Russia..Nothing has changed in our country. Just look at the statistics.
When our president was first elected in 2000 he said we would have 5% GDP growth every year.
And we would have a higher GDP than Portugal pretty soon. Back then Portugal was.. The poorest country in the EU. Europe. EU.
EU, right. Nowadays Portugal is twelve lines higher than Russia in terms of GDP per capita.
I've checked this recently. We haven't caught up to them in 23 years.
We've built a lot of mansions, though. And exported a lot of money to tax heavens.
Do you believe that the Gelendzhik mansion belongs to Putin? I do.
I do. I know a designer who worked there in 2012.
In the mansion? Right there. He'd been looking for this mansion for a long time. There's a drone above us now..
They're watching us.
Is it allowed to use drones here? They were watching Skripal, too. Did this designer work in the mansion?
He did. It's not a rumor, is it? It's not.
Zadorov - a master of stapling players into the boards
Let me hit you. Yeah, show me the hit. I'm stuck near the board.
I'm trying to cover the puck. How would you hit me? Well, if you're covering the puck I cannot hit you.
You would hit the board with your head. How can you hit me legally? If someone's covering the puck I would come from behind and push his feet to the board.
I'd try to take the puck away. What about the classic hit to the body?
Well, your opponent's got to be stuck there. There's a lot of dynamics in the game.
I've got to choose the correct timing. I'm good at it because I can predict the opponents' movement.
I would leave some space for him and hit him there.
Is it true that NHL has become much softer now?
There are less hits now. There are less dirty hits now.
You could hit someone in the head and it used to be okay. And it's not a thing anymore.
There are no tough guys in the league now, are there? There are no tough guys. We're all playing hockey now.
They wouldn't be playing hockey. Let's explain. A tough guy, or the enforcer, was a player who would..
He would fight. He would fight and protect the star players. The opponents would hunt Bure..
Well, the whole team was hunting. They'd always be tough with the stars.
It's still a thing. Playing dirty isn't allowed anymore. You can't injure anyone now.
You don't usually get injured after a legal hit.
Guys are smarter these days. We don't want to injure each other. We're a big family. Wow.
There are no dirty players in the league. These players can't compete with good players.
I remember Tie Domi.. I remember him! I played with his son in London Knights.
When I moved to Canada to play junior hockey I had a fight in my first game. This was my first fight on ice.
I did okay. Tie brought his old skates on the next day.
He showed me how to fight. A legendary enforcer..
He showed me how to grab the opponent and how to duck. I played with his son Max. We're still friends.
He's a good player. Tie Domi taught you to fight. Max is different from him. He's a skilled player.
He knows how to score goals. You became interested in politics quite a while ago. You made your first public statement in 2019..
Why are you intrigued by politics
You supported Panarin who supported the Free Internet protests.
They were exercising at shutting off the Internet in Russia..Panarin supported the protests against it.
You said:'I disagree with some of the stuff happening in Russia.' 'I'm a patriot of my country. I feel like real patriots should state their opinion.'
'Especially, celebrities. Our government is trying to control us as they do in North Korea.'
'I agree with Panarin. It seems like we are heading back to the past.' 'Social media matter a lot nowadays and we need to leave these alone. Social media are crucial parts of our lives.'
'People are making money from social media and we should leave them alone.' 'We shouldn't go back twenty years because of it.'
Why did you make this statement at the age of 24? This is when I became interested in what was going on in our country.
Was it a smooth process or was it triggered by some event? I think this became a thing back then. People like you became popular on YouTube and gave us this information.
I'm talking about my generation. You got a reply from Russian embassy.
Did you like their reply? I was surprised by it. They helped my daughter get her passport.
I flew to Washington and they gave her a Russian passport in a day.
They weren't rude..They tried to.. They told me to play hockey and stay out of politics.
How did your family and friends react to that? Did they tell you to stick to hockey?
My parents always say this. Our views on politics are completely different.
We never agreed on politics. Anyone else? No. I don't think that I said something bad.
It turned out that I was right. We went twenty or thirty years back in time. All our industries went back in time because of this war.
Hockey, economics, culture.. I'm sorry for all the young guys. I'm sorry.
Instead of raising the new generation we sent them to die. It's up to them now. They can leave the country and grow or stay in this swamp and follow the rules.
What would you do? Everyone has their own path. America is not the best choice for everyone, as well as Europe.
If you possess a skillset and have some talent..If you see no progress in Russia..
You've got to leave to grow. You've got to move to a democratic country.
Why did you stop traveling to Russia?
You didn't come to Russia this summer. I didn't. Last summer, neither. You haven't been to Russia since the war began.
I haven't. Why? It's disgusting. Would I go to a restaurant at Patriarshie Ponds while people are being bombed?
2000 kilometers from me. 1000 kilometers. It depends on where they bomb.
Just because of this? I can't do it. I feel ashamed.
You are now in a country which used to start other wars in the past.
I don't support the war in Afghanistan. I can say this.
People here know that this war was corrupt.
What if, God forbid, the US start another war? What if there's another Iraq or Afghanistan?
I would make my statement. Would you still go to restaurants? I live here. I work here.
Well, this is not the only reason why I didn't come to Russia.
I don't want to get called to serve and miss the season.
Why would I risk? I'm playing hockey here. I'm not a politician.
"The jaw broke in half, the teeth ended up in 2 rows"
Can you show me how the puck broke your jaw? It hit me here.
Is this how you got this scar? Yes. Did it hit you right in the mouth? Yes. How did this feel?
It broke my jaw in two halves. My teeth moved.
I had two rows of teeth. Two rows? My lower teeth. They put two plates into my mouth.
How did you recover? Well, I had a surgery. They put two plates and nine screws into my jaw.
They sewed my mouth. Three weeks later the seam broke up.
I could touch the plate with my tongue. I could feel it.
An iron plate? A plastic plate. I went to the doctor and they said I didn't need this plate anymore.
I told them I didn't want to get general anesthesia because it would take me two days to recover from it.
I asked them to use localized anesthesia. They did a couple of injections, cut my mouth..
She took a screwdriver.. And took the plate away?
She unscrewed it. I pulled my neck back..
She took four screws and the plate away. In 2022 there was a huge scandal in Russian hockey. A wild scandal.
Ivan Fedorov - CSKA's hockey player that was mobilized for his insolance
CSKA goalie Ivan Fedotov, who'd had a great season and won the Gagarin cup..
He did. CSKA did win the cup in 2022. He got called for military service. Is it true that after that many Russian players never came back to Russia?
They would go through draft board lists before mobilization.
Some guys paid for their exemption from service.
It's not hard to do in small cities. And these cases became public. Yes. Many players decided to stay away from Russia not to risk their season.
How did you feel about Fedotov's case? This is what our country can do to you.
I've heard that he was offered a contract by CSKA and he declined it.
They said they wouldn't let him go to NHL. He said he would go. And one person sent him to military service.
One person? Yes. Igor Esmantovich? Him or Sechin.
Is Sechin a hockey fan? He is. He comes to the games all the time. Isn't he just the owner of the club?
I have friends in the club. He loves hockey just like Miller loves football.
Yes. There was a rumor that Fedotov got punished for being to daring.
He was too rude. Well, there was a rumor that he said:'#### you and your war, I'm going to NHL.' I don't know if it's true or not.
Почему русские хоккеисты замолчали и не отстояли Федотова?
He served in the navy. In the north. A year later he came back.
He did. Many people were shocked by the reaction in the hockey community.
Almost none of the players defended him.
Some players made their cautious statements..
The biggest stars stayed quiet. Alexander Ovechkin was asked if he would comment on Fedotov..
And he said:'Why would I?' He said that recently.. No, he said it back then.
Okay. Why is everyone silent? You need to ask Ovechkin. Are you asking why is everyone else silent?
Why? Nobody asked me. We talked about it off camera..
Nobody asked you about the war.. You made your statement on your Instagram. I posted an anti-war picture.
I would say the same stuff two years ago. Nobody asked me. This is how Russian reporters work.
There is censorship in sports, too. Well, these are laws of the day.
Things are different in Russia, I know. Nobody wants to be exposed.
They might go to prison for that. We shouldn't judge them too much.
You didn't support Fedotov because nobody asked you about him. Yes. I don't like writing long posts on my Instagram.
I don't like discussions. If a reporter calls me I would never refuse to talk to him.
If it's a decent reporter I would talk to him.. I've met a lot of bad guys.. I did my research on the reporter and his media..
I wouldn't talk to a reporter of Sport-Express. Wow, what an approach.
This is my approach. A master of research. When we were skating you told me about your injuries.
Hockey is dangerous. You might lose a finger one day and come back on ice the next day.
You might break your jaw and come back really fast. This is a great illustration of the Soviet song that there are no cowards in hockey.
When I watched everyone staying quiet..Well, they might be too scared to talk about the war..
Let's leave it aside. This is sad, though.
They are scared to break Russian laws even when they are abroad. But what about Fedotov?
You won't go to prison for supporting him. Hockey players didn't defend their guy. They are cowards.
Hockey doesn't get a lot of media attention in Russia.
NHL doesn't get any media in the States, neither.
Do you know anything about McDavid or Crosby? They are the best players in the world.
Nobody talks about them. This world is very private.
We know everything about Lebron. Same with Tom Brady. There isn't a lot of hype around hockey.
Everyone in Russia knows our superstars. Everyone knows Ovechkin. He never made any statements.
This was a special case. This was special. There are examples when the totalitarian system was defeated.
In 2019 the reporters defended Ivan Golunov after the cops framed him.
And the actors defended Ustinov. You can no longer protect anyone.
Fedotov came back a year later and signed a new contract.
He had an offer from Philadelphia Flyers.. He's got a contract with them. He can come to Philadelphia any time.
He's signed to Flyers. He can leave anytime. He's got to leave. He's signed the contract.
You need a transfer card to transfer between leagues.
This is a card that IIHF gives you. When left from CSKA to London Knights IIHF brought my card to Canada.
His transfer card is now in Philadelphia. He's an NHL player.
He just needs to fly there. Yes. Fedotov chose to sign a new contract with CSKA and stayed with the guys who sent him to the military.
Yes. What does it mean? They scared him. He posted a picture from Dubai.
What if they threatened his parents? You know how this works.
You can threaten anyone. I'm sure about that.
A uniform with the letter Z
How did you react when you saw CSKA wearing a Z on their uniform before the game?
I tried to find a picture of that and I failed. They didn't post this picture on sports.ru
They wrote a big text about it. Well, this is the red army.
How does it feel as their academy graduate? This feels terrible. We know who runs CSKA.
Rosneft. Here is the answer. There is propaganda everywhere.
Do you think anyone had a choice not to wear this Z? No, of course not. If someone would protest, they would get rid of him.
Can you call sick? You can... Can you call sick and miss the game?
Well. Just for one game. You miss a game. Then you miss another game..Two years ago when the war began they were playing friendlies..
They had a banner saying 'Putin is our president' on their bench.
This is so funny. When Fedotov got called to serve Kirill Kaprizov left Russia really fast.
His NHL manager was worried about getting him to the States before something similar happened to him.
He didn't have a US visa back then. He got his visa in Dubai. The club was worried about him.
Did he leave because he would be called to military service, too? As far as I understood, yes. Kaprizov is a superstar.
He's my favorite Russian player. If I have to pick one..Kucherov is Kucherov..
He's won enough. I root for the young guys.
Kaprizov is our best player. His point count is so good for his team..
In a better team he would play even better. So the system was willing to destroy the superstar.
As far as I know. He didn't go to Russia this summer, did he? He didn't. He's skating here with me.
My goal is to to skate to the net and score. Let's go.
####! It doesn't get any easier. I've got another try.
Try again. Go score! Come on!
I was afraid I wouldn't stop. Don't shoot it too hard.
Yes!
Thanks, coach. You're welcome.
They have a tradition in Miami to name their houses. How is your house called?
Porsche. Porsche. And how is Messi's house called? They're saying he lives in Porsche but I have friends in real estate. They told me he bought a flat in Regalia.
He lives there. Is it true that there is a car lift in Porsche? You can park your car on your floor. There is another house with a car lift called Muse.
You have a garage on your floor.
Imagine that you live on floor 23.. You can live on floor 50. Okay..So your car goes up to floor 50.
It does. You enter the lift and you are on the road. It's fun but not practical. This building isn't good for families.
How long does it take for the lift.. It's fast. Five or seven minutes to go down. How much does it cost to rent a flat here?
How much are you paying? We're renting an expensive flat at the beach.
Ten thousand? More. One bedroom apartment in a good house with a pool and a gym would cost around 2.5 thousand or so.
Not far from the beach. Five minute drive from the beach. During the practice we were talking about a baseball player who trains with you..
How much do you get paid?
You told me about his wage. Is it true that athlete's wage is an indicator of his skills?
It is. These are usually correlated. Pretty much. This is public information, you can find it on Google.
Your annual wage is 3.75 million dollars. It is.
How much do you spend on taxes? Well, my net wage is 2.6 million.
Canadian dollars? American. We're getting paid in USD. Life in Canada is 20% cheaper.
There is a 20% currency rate difference. They have the same prices as in the States but the exchange rate is lower.
In KHL most of the players have a wage and bonuses.
Yes. They get rewarded for winning. There are no bonuses in NHL, are there? You might get a bonus if you're a rookie or a 35+ year old player.
Even if Calgary wins the Stanley Cup you would get the same wage. Well, you would get a bonus for winning the cup.
There is no bonus for scoring goals. No. You can't do that.
This is forbidden by the rules. Before Putin's last elections in 2018 Alexander Ovechkin founded Putin Team.
Did they invite you to join Putin's team?
Were you invited to join it? I wasn't. Thank god. Would you join this team in 2017?
I wouldn't. Since 2015 or 2016 I knew that this was lame.
This is the word you would say back then. Right. This is how I would call it.
Are you in touch with Ovechkin? As a colleague, yes. What do you think about him supporting Putin?
Putin is still on his profile picture on Instagram. This is his opinion.
It has nothing to do with me. This is his choice. I respect him as one of the greatest Russian hockey players ever.
We're sharing the ice with him.
I don't agree with him on politics. This is all I can say.
"In Russia I was offered 9M rubles, in Canada $250 a week"
What took you most time to get used to in the US? Tomatoes here are crap.
Do you miss Russian tomatoes? I do. I miss tasty tomatoes.
I don't know if I was born to live here..I always dreamed to move here when I was a kid.
Moving here was easy for me. Since my first day here I've been enjoying my life in America.
Many people who would watch this interview have no idea how hockey works.
I'll try to explain this. When I was a sports reporter I wasn't a big fan of hockey.
Correct me if I'm wrong. You moved to North America at the age of seventeen. You played junior hockey in Canada in a club called London.
I did. You didn't play in minor leagues in Russia. You played in North America.
You always had a choice to come back to Russia but you decided to build your career in North America. I did.
You would make more money in Russia. When I moved to London CSKA offered me 9 million roubles a year.
Annual? Yes. This was a lot for a seventeen year old guy. This is the biggest offer that a rookie player can get.
It's 800 thousand roubles a month. 900 thousand. We get paid ten months a year in Russia.
What was your wage in London? 250$ dollars a week. I lived in a local family and they paid for my food.
So this was your pocket money. To eat something. Was this a difficult choice for you?
It wasn't. I dreamt of playing in NHL. I knew I would be a first round pick.
I would get a chance to join an NHL club. I was lucky to join Buffalo. It wasn't a strong team.
You had a chance to play for them. I got picked in 2016..Usually they would send you to junior hockey for another two years.
Draft is a system where NHL clubs pick the best players from all over the world.
They would own you until you turn 27. It doesn't mean that you would play for this club. They would usually send you back to junior hockey for two years.
And then they would send you to their second squad. And you can also come home and play there. Now you can. Guys are doing it now.
They always did. They leave hoping to come back to NHL.
Sure. Can you explain why you wanted to play in NHL so much? This is the best league in the world.
It's an easy answer for me. Any hockey player dreams of winning the Stanley Cup.
Those who prefer to win the Olympics are lying. What about winning the Olympics with NHL players?
Stanley Cup is still much cooler than that. It's much harder to win. It is harder.
Did you know that when you were eighteen? I did. I loved this culture and I loved hockey.
I loved everything here. I adapt to new things easily.
I'm not a shy guy. You might have noticed that.
I didn't speak much English when I moved to Canada. I knew some words from school. I couldn't speak, though.
American English is easy. You only need 500 words to be understood. It took me three months to start giving live interviews.
If you were living in Russia would you have supported the war?
What if you stayed in Russia and played in KHL..
Would you be supporting the war now? There's a saying.. If the grandma had a dick..
Putin loves this saying. He does. We can't use it anymore. It's a bad saying.
I don't know the answer.
Have you thought about that? I know that everyone's got to feed their families.
Guys in KHL have to feed their families.
Some guys have failed in NHL. KHL is the second strongest league in the world.
In terms of money and hockey. These guys are still willing to play their favorite game and make some money.
I'm sure that there are guys in CSKA who don't support the war. They would never say this.
There are guys in SKA who don't support the war. They would never say it. Unfortunately, people have to give up on their morals to feed their families.
They have no choice. Would you give up on your morals if you were in their shoes?
Don't be pathetic. Be honest. It's hard. I'm in a different position.
I hope I will make enough money for the rest of my life. I hope I've got seven or eight more years of hockey in me.
These are my goals. I can't imagine playing in Russia. I can't answer that.
If I lived in Russia and stayed in this toxic environment..
I would have friends from special services who would teach me life.
This was my question. Environment is a privilege.
Absolutely. Unfortunately. I agree. I'm lucky to be here in NHL.
Among American kids only 0.00073% of them make it to NHL.
In America. It's higher for the Canadian kids. It's lower. They have more kids in hockey. More of them get to NHL.
There are more Canadian players, right? Well, there are 50% Canadian and 30% American players in the league.
There are more kids in Canada playing hockey. Much more. Every kid in Canada plays hockey.
This is the Miami Heat Arena, isn't it? It is. I go there to watch their games. They played in the finals this year.
A great season. Do you like watching basketball? I do. I support Miami Heat. I used to like Denver.
You left Denver at the wrong time. They played in the finals. I started following Miami lately. I love watching their games.
How did it feel watching the finals between Miami and Denver? I was rooting for Miami. I enjoyed watching the game so much. I was even flipping someone off.
You have a Heat logo on your license plate. I do. Is this your car?
It is. Boston Celtics has got diehard fans. Almost like Spartak Moscow fans.
They had fights here. Fights at NBA games? They tell each other to #### off. They don't actually fight. They have arguments.
Is this a floating bar? You can drink and enjoy the views.
Fun!
Are there any pedals or a motor? It is a motor boat.
I love it! Wow.
It's a Lambo. It's available for rent. It's a rental!
Wow. Everyone's waving at us, listening to music..Why are they enjoying their life so much?
They are having a day off. It's Labor day today. People are happy in the US. They are enjoying their lives.
They fought Russia and now they are having fun! They don't give a #### about Russia.
Nobody cares about Russia here. 90% of them don't know where it is. In Russia they say that Americans hate us.
Well, they say a lot of stuff in Russia.
A game, more difficult than hockey
Do you play golf, too? Sometimes I do. Why do you like this game?
All the guys play golf. It's fun. It's a nice way to spend your free time.
It's both sports and leisure. You have fun, you drink..
You're outside.. Does it require any physique? It does.
I'm really curious. Pro players have a lot of back injuries. They have surgeries.
Their knees hurt, too. Look at Tiger Woods. He had back problems before he got into an accident.
This is sports. Not as hard as hockey, football, or basketball.
There are golf players who are over fifty years old.
They have a belly..Some baseball players have bellies, too. Some football players have bellies, too.
I think that golf is the most difficult sport that I've ever tried.
There are eighteen holes. 70 or 72 shots to score all the holes.
On average it's 4 shots per hole. Some holes are harder..You can google it.
You might spend five or three shots on some holes. You've got to be focused all the time. For four hours straight.
You can't make a mistake. One bad shot ruins the whole round.
If you hit the sand, for example.. It's easy to make a shot off the sand. Sometimes you hit the bushes. You'll have to take a new ball and get penalized.
You said that this is a good place for networking. It's the old money sport in America.
An office meeting can't go on for four hours. If you are willing to sign a deal nobody would talk to you for four hours.
Here you can both play and negotiate. Right. This is how they do it here.
Are they thinking about money all the time? I think so. It's capitalism.
When Will Smith was canceled, they gave me his locker
They don't let anyone in, do they? You can purchase a membership. How much does it cost? It costs 110 thousand.
110 thousand to join the club? Yes. And there is a thousand dollar a month bill.
110 thousand to enter the club. Yes. It used to be much cheaper when I entered it.
They gave me a discount. Locker number eighteen.
Here it is. They didn't have a lot of free lockers.
This used to be Will Smith's locker. When he got cancelled the manager said he wouldn't leave the house anymore.
She replaced his name with mine. Did he get cancelled for slapping Chris Rock? Yes.
They don't invite him anymore. She was kidding.
Was he really cancelled for that? I don't know about that. Now it's Nikita instead of Will Smith.
Do you have a key? I do. Almost under the carpet.
This wasn't planned.. I don't store anything here. Four pairs of shoes, some gloves..
What? I approve. Adidas? Stan Smith.
These are golf shoes. Are these? Why four pairs? I don't know. Some of them were to small, some too slippery.
These are for dry weather and these are for rainy weather. What is that?
These are for my new clubs. A nozzle. Yes, a nozzle.
And some spare gloves. You can wear white gloves for three or four games. Florida is too rainy.
Can't you put these in your laundry? Sometimes you would have holes on your palm.
You can't use these for a long time. There's no need to hide the key. Some guys store wine or cigars here. Or some clothes.
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Did you ever lose your head from al the money?
What did you think when they took Will Smith's badge off?
You grew up in Khimki. You thought this would be a great story. I would tell others..
Did you have any kind of star fever?
I never had it. This is how I feel. My wife always takes me back to Earth.
Does she? What does she tell you? She tells me to wake up. I'm not a star. I'm not an NHL star or a Russian hockey star.
I'm a regular defender who likes staying at home. Sometimes I'm scoring goals.
Would Yura consider this interesting?
He's called Mr Hockey. Is that Gordie Howe?
It is. I didn't read that. I knew it! Is it written anywhere? Howe. It's here.
I didn't see it. He was a great player.
Sergey Fedorov an NHL legend that want USSR back
Recently I went to read Sergey Fedorov's feed on sports.ru. I went to read what he thought about the situation in the world.
I was shocked, to be honest. He was an exceptional player.
Correct me if you disagree. I agree. He ran from the Soviet Union to join Detroit Red Wings.
Now he's a part of this Neosoviet agenda. How do you feel about this?
I don't like it. I was shocked when I read that, too. He used to be my hero when I was a kid. The Russian Five were the heroes of my generation of kids.
I was a fan of Detroit when I was a kid.
There is no escape from this system. If affects your views.
You've got to ask him why he's doing that. There's a bunch of our veterans who are saying some bull####.
Is it true that he lost most of his money after he invested in some fraud?
His agent invested money in a company that went bankrupt. He lost almost all of his savings.
He lost a lot. Around fifty million. Do you invest? Is there any possibility you would have to change your mind after you lose your money?
I hope I won't have to change my mind. I won't do that. I'm not that type of person.
I would work for five thousand a month. You said it was hard not to find a five thousand dollar job in Miami.
You must be lazy if you can't make five thousand per month in Miami. Are we talking about any job?
Yes. You can do whatever you want. It sounds nice..Can you imagine making five thousand a month?
I can't. This is I have a smart agent who helps me invest the money.
I have a financial person who helps me. I hope I will play better hockey and sign a better contract.
I hope to invest money so that I don't have to work anymore. Have you seen Putin play hockey? He tried. What do you think about it?
Putin and Hockey
Everyone gave way to him. They did let him score.
He might get upset if you don't. There was a text in Vanity Fair about Obama.
Obama talked about his love of basketball. He needed to play with someone and he called a group of friends to play with him.
They had a rule. If anyone was faking it they would never call him again.
They did. I was surprised when I saw Putin scoring so many goals. Trump is a very good golf player.
He's a scratch. He's on average ten shots better player than me.
He's seventy five years old. He wins a lot of tournaments in 50+ group.
He's always playing a fair game.
You called us to sail on this boat. Let's be clear: this isn't your boat, is it?
It's not. Of course, it's not. Have you thought about buying one? Some day I would like to buy one.
You can't live in Miami and not have a boat. This is your friends' yacht, right?
It is. I've heard that owning a yacht costs you 300 or 400 thousand of maintenance a year.
I don't need such a big boat. I have a wife, two kids, and dogs.
We can buy one- or two-bedroom yacht. It would cost around 500 thousand.
And how much would maintenance cost? You have to work hard. How much?
I don't know about that. Much less than 300 thousand. 60% of you wage goes to your financial assistant who invests it.
What do hockey players invest in?
This scheme was introduced by your agent. It was. Dan introduced me to my financial assistant from Bank of America.
You said that 80 or 90% NHL players do this. We all have an assistant who helps us invest.
Your goal is to multiply your savings by the time you retire. My goal is to earn enough dividends from the investment.
The more money you have, the more investing opportunities there are.
Does this person invest in stock market? Stock market is the most profitable type of investment in the last forty years.
Real estate is not as stable. There was a crisis in 2008..
The real estate market fell dramatically. Nowadays it's growing really fast. I'm investing in it, too.
Do you track where this person is investing? I do. I'm curious what he does. 99% of the players don't care.
Are you already earning enough money from interest to live on it?
I'm not. Not there yet. This is Haulover park. It's pretty shallow. People love hanging out here.
Сколько стоит жизнь в Майами?
It looks like a beach with yachts instead of umbrellas. There's no sand here.
It's nice. There is the Iglesias family mansion right behind the bridge.
Do Enrique and Anna live here? I'm not sure about that. I think Julio lives there.
I know that Julio lives there. Whose house is that?
Philadelphia Eagles owner's. Is this a football team? It is. He's got a collection of arts in his house.
He's got statues, very expensive ones.
Which cost millions of dollars. Yes. Millions. How much does this house cost? I guess, this is one of the best islands in Miami.
Tom Brady is building a house there. He bought the land plot for 25 million.
And he's spending another 25 million on construction. This is a 3 acre land plot. Pretty huge.
You told me about the trees.. These big trees..When I was playing golf someone told me that these trees can be moved around.
If you want to build a house where the tree grows you can spend 150 thousand to move the tree.
This huge tractor digs it and moves it to a new place.
150 thousand to move a tree? Yes. Similar to moving a home plant?
Yes, but it's a two hundred year old tree. Are they using a crane to do it?
I've never seen it. One can study North America map from your career.
Capitalism
You played in a few cities. Is it good or bad?
I think it's bad for your career.. Suitcase. Suitcase?
Always traveling. When you've played in more than four teams they would call you a suitcase.
I've always been curious about. You can't plan your life for years to come.
I can't. You can be traded against your will. I can.
I guess, Khryapa said that he would go to bed as a Chicago player and wake up as..
It happened to me in Buffalo. How did that look like? Me and my wife got married and we flew to the Maldives on our honeymoon.
I went to bed. When I woke up I had a missed call from Joe Sakic and Patrice Roy. From Colorado managers.
General Manager and a Head Coach. I was traded to Colorado. Nobody asked you.
Nobody. Buffalo said they would never trade me.
They received a good offer.
This was done against your will. They don't ask you as they do in football.
Well, I'm not asking about the money. Sometimes the trade is called off because of it.
When you haven't figured out your future contract the trade will be off. This is not the case in hockey.
Nobody asked you if you wanted to move to Colorado. I was a young guy and nobody asked me.
Sometimes a Russian player can tell the manager that the player would leave for KHL if he gets traded.
And the player won't be traded. Wow. This is extortion. It is. This is business.
You're such a businessman.. This is America, capitalism. This doesn't work with non-Russian players.
It doesn't. Your life doesn't depend on you.
What if you don't want to live in Denver? There's nothing you can do about it. You can ask.
You can ask the GM but sometimes there is no other choice.
This is business. Nobody's going to listen to you. What if you don't want to play in some particular team? Can you do anything about it?
Why wouldn't you want to play there? You don't like the coach.
The coach would trade you in the first place. You don't want to live in a city like Calgary, where it's -30 degrees in winter.
So what? Nobody's listening to you. You will move to Calgary if you want to stay in NHL.
Everyone accepts the rules. They do. They would find 25 other players to replace you. This explains everything.
Dima Kulikov played for Minnesota last year. He found a school for his kids and on their first day at school he got traded to Anaheim.
Some guys bought a house and got traded a week later. You've just bought a house.
This happens a lot. Wow. Poor kids!
Our kids travel a lot. Ask my eldest daughter where she's coming from.
She wouldn't tell you. They don't have any friends yet. Imagine what happens when they grow up a little.
You can't have a best friend when your dad is a hockey player. I saw you wearing flip-flops..Sorry for this observation but I saw your heels.
What do the feet of a hockey player look like?
Can you show us your heels? I can.
Do you have the same on another heel, too? I do. Are these blisters?
These aren't blisters..These are corns.. These are huge blisters. All the players have these.
I've had them since I was a kid. These are always there. If I stop skating I will no longer have them.
I'm skating all the time. Is this inconvenient? It's not. My shoe size is bigger now.
Is it? It's hard for me to find shoes for my size.
You showed me your finger.. This finger is dead from lacing up my skates.
Life in Europe and the US
Hundreds of thousands Russians have left the country because of the war. Why didn't these people go to the US or Great Britain?
There is an opinion that in these countries you've got to think about money all the time.
You can't live there without making more money. Your savings got to be huge to survive there.
Not a lot of people have these savings. It's true. This is why people didn't move to the States.
America is not a country for everyone. What do you think about it? Don't you feel any pressure?
I like America. It suits me and I suit this country.
I like this energy. I like meeting successful people.
It gives me courage to work harder. I like it.
Some people aren't talented enough.
They're okay with living in Europe. A laid-back socialistic life..
If you are willing to make a lot of money America is the best place to do it.
Sky is the limit here. Do you like competing?
I do. This is why I'm an athlete. I like competing all the time.
It motivates me. What else would you live for? For your family and your kids, I get it.
If you want to achieve something as an individual, you should use your talent.
Why is playing for the Russian national team fun
When was the first time you played for Russian national team? In Bratislava. In 2019.
How did this feel? I enjoyed it. I dreamed of playing for my country.
Every hockey player dreams of putting on this jersey.
I was proud. I was proud to have my name on this jersey.
Even though I wasn't proud of our government. I was proud to play for my flag and for my homeland.
You're the first hockey player that I've asked about this. Didn't the World Cup feel a little small of a tournament?
I can explain The World Cup is held at the same time as NHL playoffs.
It is. Football World Cup and Europe Cup take place every four years. All the best players are getting ready to play at these tournaments.
The whole world is following these tournaments. Hockey World Cup is held every year during the NHL playoffs. All the best players are busy and only the losers can join the world cup squads.
How motivated are you when you're not playing against the best?
You're playing for your country. The motivation is over the roof. If you're playing at this level you hate losing.
This drives you. When I'm playing domino with my wife I hate losing.
I want to win all the time. I can't lose.
It makes me mad. You can't put on your uniform and play with no motivation.
Even when you're playing against Finnish no-name players.
We lost to them. You lost 0:1. They played like Mourinho coached them. They parked a bus.
They crossed the red line only once when they scored. I get it. You haven't won the trophy yet..
I got a bronze medal. Does the trophy motivate you? Were you satisfied?
I wanted to win the World Cup. Someday I could win the Stanley Cup and the Olympics..
I would love to have three golds. When I'm reading hockey feed at sports.ru I see a lot of quotes by Roman Rotenberg.
Some of these quotes make me laugh and cry at the same time. When we're playing a friendly match against Belarus he says that the whole nation watched the game and supported our team.
Propaganda is working. What is he saying? Is it true? Or isn't it?
Nobody's watching these games. You're a reporter. You've got to know if people watched the game.
I think that no one did. The current situation is pretty sad. KHL and the Olympics..
I don't think it gets any worse.
Crazyness
You played at two World Championships.. Our national team was managed by Roman Rotenberg.
It was. Is it true that he wasn't coaching the team? He was the leader. It was written on his jacket. Team Leader.
He made this badge for himself. Was this the first time you met a Team Leader in hockey?
Of course, it was. They don't have Team Leaders in the US. He needs to patent this job.
What did he do? Well, it was a shame.
All the coaching, preparation for the game..
They spent a lot of money on the team.
Was it luxurious? It was. The food, the accommodation, the flights..
They did everything for us and our families. Families, too? They would book two rooms for each family.
They paid for that. Is this a common thing in hockey? It wasn't the case for other teams.
We were the only country which would get paid for the win. When the guys lost in Sochi-2014..They lost to Finland.
They went to play at the World Championship in Minsk. They had to recover from the Olympics. They had to recover for Mikhail Ivanych.
This is how they call him.
Call whom? Putin. They all have nicknames. I'm just showing off.
They won the championship in Minsk. Ovechkin asked for a Mercedes and everyone got one.
They also got a card with 400 thousand dollars and were given two days to withdraw the cash.
They all went to this strange bank.. And got 400 thousand for this World Cup. Canada brought their eighteenth squad to the cup.
Everyone got paid 400 thousand dollars. Do you know this for sure? I do. I'm sure about that.
I know guys who played there. Would you refuse this bonus?
I wouldn't. It looks like you're judging them.
I'm fine with getting paid for my job. However, this is not okay.
It's not okay for the rest of the world. The Canadians got an iPad for playing at the World Cup.
Nathan Mackinnon won a cup in France and Germany and received an iPad.
Nathan MacKinnon is one of the best players in the league. I think that he's the best. He's my favorite player.
He's making over ten million a year. He's making thirteen million. 12.6 You wouldn't refuse..
If I was there, I wouldn't. What about now? Now they wouldn't call me.
They would never call me again. Especially after this interview. Was Rotenberg trying to coach the team when you played there?
Roman Rotenberg and hockey
He was managing everything. He played the music in the locker room.
Nobody was allowed to turn their music on. No Ovechkin, no Malkin. What songs did Rotenberg play?
Before the game he would turn on Soldat (Soldier) by Lyube.
How do you like that? What a moving song.
Did you really listen to Soldat before the game? We did. When I played at the World Championship we did.
Can't Ovechkin do anything about it? You can't do anything about it. Rotenberg is the boss there.
Okay..What about coaching the team? In Bratislava we had many stars in our squad.
We had Malkin, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk. We had Kucherov, too. We had one of the best squads in the last twenty years.
We lost to Finland who had zero NHL players.
We weren't organized. We didn't have a coach who would build the team.
It was such a mess. Vorobyov was the head coach but Kudashov was yelling more than him.
Rotenberg had his own opinion.. It was a complete mess. In NHL all the activities are scheduled.
The coach gives you instructions and shows you three videos of your opponent.
Entering the zone, leaving the zone, playing in the offense.. Strong sides, weak sides..You will have some idea about your opponent.
You will be prepared for the game. It's the same system for all NHL teams. This is pretty basic. We didn't have this at the World Championship.
They'd say 'Finland is defending like a hedgehog' and go laughing.
There were no coaches. I'm not sure about KHL. There might be some good coaches there.
Rotenberg's coaches would always come from SKA. There was no systematic approach in their work.
What about Bragin? He used to be a head coach of the youth team for many years. It's different. We can't compare youth hockey to professional hockey.
Bragin was good at motivating. He wasn't a good coach.
Bragin would set you up for the game and you would be willing to kill your opponent.
Were you surprised when Rotenberg became the official coach? I wasn't. He used to be an unofficial coach.
Now he's a coach, not the team leader. Do you assume that he might be a decent coach?
Can't he learn how to be a coach? He's definitely a big fan of the game. He's watching NHL games every night.
He's trying to get better. He loves it. He has this passion.
What do the players say? I've never been a pro athlete.
I'm a reporter and I have talked to athletes..
To footballers. There's more ego in football.
In football? Our ego is not as big. Let me tell you how I saw it. And you would tell me if I'm right.
In football the team must accept the coach. It's true. If I announce myself a coach and start coaching..Especially, if I'm a nepo kid..
I will never be accepted by the team. I will never succeed.
Of course, they are all laughing at him behind his back. They are managing the team behind his back.
He's not a coach. It's a good example of what's going on in Russia.
It is. This is one of the main problems. Who would explain what is going on? Is there any freedom of speech in Russia?
Would anyone write a text about Rotenberg? I'm reading a lot of articles that he's a clown.
Who's writing these articles? People in the comments? I will send you the links to these articles.
Nobody's calling him a clown in the world of hockey. Same with Sergey Fedorov. Everyone's a part of this system now.
Nobody would show off. Nobody needs this. It's easy for me to say. I'm on the other side of the ocean.
A dangerous Nickname
You have a nickname - Z. They used to call you Big Z. They ruined this letter..
Zdeno Chara was the real Big Z. He was. You're just Z. Even your wife called you Z.
Right. There is a baseball hat NZ. How do you feel about your nickname now?
They ruined the letter.. Do people still call you Z? Some Russian-speaking person asked me what Z meant.
This person was Ukrainian. He asked you about Z! He did. I told him this was my brand. My last name.
It happened to me once. Here in Miami? Yes. Artemy Panarin is still one of the biggest Russian starts in NHL.
Артемий Панарин был против Путина, но замолчал. Что случилось?
He's a New York Rangers star. In 2019 he gave a famous interview to sports.ru where shared his problems with Russian government.
And Putin, first of all. This interview went viral. Eighteen months later Panarin supported Navalny when Navalny was arrested after coming back to Russia.
He did. You reposted his message. Later Andrey Nazarov, one of the most odious coaches in Russia..
I don't think that he's writing this stuff. Just like Kozhevnikov. Someone's writing it for them. One reporter for all of them.
Do you know this for sure? I do. It looked so similar to me..
It's propaganda. Prigozhin's bots. Same stuff. Okay. Nazarov said that ten years ago Panarin harassed a girl..
In Riga before he played a game there. You don't believe him, do you?
I don't. It's EU. You can't hide it in EU.
If this was true they would be investigating. I don't know how he harassed the girl.
I haven't asked him about that. You did support him. I did.
You said that this accusation was linked to his views. I'm sure about that. Do you think I wouldn't get accused of something after this interview?
What do you think about Panarin now? He used to be quite active in the media and now he's silent.
He's got a mental disease.
Is he addicted to social media? He's ignoring everything when he's focused on something.
I don't know how it's called. [Panarin said that he was diagnosed with OCD]
This is called OCD, I guess. He's talked about it in public. He has.
We're not sharing his diagnosis now. He said this in an interview. He quit all the distractions.
Now he's using a flip phone. Is it true? It is. Have you seen his flip phone? He doesn't have a smartphone. My teammates told me they couldn't even call him.
If there was an update in the schedule they would send him an sms. He's using a T9 typing system. He's not in the group chats..
He was in the chat when the war began. He has an iPad for watching movies. He leaves his iPad at home.
So he's not in the group chat.. He used to be in the chat.
In the Russian chat. What about his Rangers chat? He's not in the chat. Reaves would send him SMS.
I'm jealous. He's a Russian guy. He loves fishing, steam houses, vodka..
He's a simple guy. He misses home. This is why he doesn't care about politics now.
He's focused on his life. Is he still good? He's a great player. He's the most gifted Russian player.
Haloween
He's the smartest. These are your close-fitting suits.
You've talked about your style a lot. Since your last interview something has changed. Sergachev was talking about his style and said:'I'm not Zadorov, I don't have 15 thousand dollar suits'
Do your suits cost 15 thousand? Sergachev said bull####. He's apologized already.
How much does your average suit cost? Two thousand. Italian suit Loro Piana. One of the best tailors around.
How many suits do you have? I've got around twenty suits. I don't like shopping.
I don't like buying clothes. My wife buys them for me. I only like shopping for suits. I enjoy wearing a suit before the game.
It's the face of NHL. It drives me a lot.
Are you obliged to wear a suit before the game? Some teams might have casual days or smart days.
Arizona has no dress code. There is no dress code in Toronto, neither.
I'm an old-school guy. I told our captain Backlund that we would always wear suits.
Every Haloween you are posting a picture with your wife. I do. Did you start enjoying this holiday right away?
I like it and my kids like it. Sophia likes trick-or-treating.
We like having parties in our team. The best costume wins a bottle of good wine.
I get it! There is a competition! Your costumes are so good.
Me and Sasha love doing it. Sasha prepares the costumes a month in advance.
Some of my teammates hired make-up artists and painted their faces.
They would have a puck sticking out of their head. We haven't put on any make-up yet.
I was Carl Lagerfeld and Sasha was his cat.
I was Carl. We have a lot of ideas.
Do your parents support Putin?
You said you didn't agree with your parents on politics. Are you in touch?
Not really..It's not related to politics. This is how I was raised.
It's hard for me to analyze this now. In the last ten years we became more and more distant.
It has nothing to do with politics. This is our situation.
I felt like you were close to them.. I'm their only child. When I moved to London my mom lived with me.
When I met my future wife I told my mom I was eighteen and I would live with my girlfriend.
My mom didn't like it. Her only son rejected her.
She didn't like my wife because of that.
Hockey parents are crazy.
I'm talking to other families..They all have similar problems.
Hockey parents want to control everything. This is what crazy means, okay.
Yes. They invested everything in their kids. You met your wife Sasha on the Internet.
I did. You were in Canada and she was in Scherbinka. She lived in Moscow.
Moscow. You met her on the Internet and she moved to Canada..
When I came to Russia.. At summer?
I was called to a national youth team camp. They were two years older than me, 1993 team. I didn't get it to the championship.
I had ten days in Moscow and I met her three times. We fell in love with each other.
And then I left to Canada for five months. We would have Skype calls every day. We haven't missed a day. When I came back in summer she became my girlfriend. I met her parents.
I asked them to take her on a vacation. We went to the Maldives.
To the cheapest hotel. Sixty thousand roubles for ten days.
It's so cheap now. Back then it wasn't cheap for me. I didn't have a big wage.
Then I got picked by Buffalo and I decide to move.
Sasha had a job in Moscow. She told me that she was looking for a future husband.
I told her that I loved her. I invited her to come with me.
You were eighteen.. I was eighteen. And she was.. She's a bit older.
And you're still together. We are. Two kids. Does she have the same views as you? She does. She watches news more than me.
I watch a lot of hockey. She's watching politics. All the news. Sometimes we disagree on some things and have discussions.
You're not close to your parents. No. This is complicated.
I told my parents you would do an interview with me..
I didn't like their reaction. What did they say? They said that the whole world was scared of Putin. Everyone's pissing themselves.
They told me not to talk about Putin. Are you sad about this situation?
I'm very sad. This is not okay. They've been absent for the last ten years.
We have a fathers trip program in our team. The team pays for the trip to brings our parents here.
All the fathers go to an away game with the team. This is a great activity by NHL.
How long does this last? For two or three days. One away game. Yes. One or two games.
My parents never came on this day. You didn't want to invite them.
I wasn't in touch with them. We have ups and downs. We're not in touch for six months and then we're fine.
Are you supporting them financially? I'm not. They're good.
Where do they work at? My dad has worked at the same company for twenty years. My mom has never worked anywhere.
What does he do? He's a Sales Manager in a company that produces plastic food containers.
They don't need any money from you. They don't. They need other kind of help.
I'm so sorry. I can imagine how that feels. I hope that someday this changes.
I don't think that adults can change. I have to put up with that.
You don't have a US passport. I don't. When would you have one? When would you be able to apply for it?
In a couple of years. Are you planning to get it? I am. Do you have a green card? I do.
It may seem that you're a US citizen already. As a future citizen, do you support free carrying of weapons?
The biggest question in the US
I do. Do you have a gun? I used to have one.
What was that? I had one when I played in the US. When I moved to Canada I got rid of it.
What was that? A pistol. Glock.
Why did you buy it? To protect myself. We lived in a house in Ft Lauderdale.
Everyone has a gun here. It's hard to explain..
It's a signal. It is. Did you learn to shoot?
I did. They taught me how to shoot. Is everyone allowed to buy a gun?
It depends on what you're buying. It depends on the state. It's hard to buy a gun in a blue state.
It's much easier in red states. Until January 2023 in Florida there was a paper which would allow you to buy a gun. Now you don't need it anymore.
You don't need a license anymore. Anyone can carry a pistol here in Florida.
Do you have to go through mental examination? Yes. They're checking everything for ten days before selling a gun to you.
If something's wrong they send you to a double check. Mental health, drug abuse record..
Criminal record..And so on. They are looking after it. You have to wait for ten days to have your purchase approved.
How did you get rid of the gun? We ####ed up. I was moving from Chicago to Calgary.
I hired a company to pack my things. They put my gun in a box and I forgot about that.
On my way there I called Dan told him I had a gun in the box.
I needed to warn the customs officers. We warned them. They found the gun and took it away from me.
The Canadian customs helped us. Calgary GM was meeting a Russian with a gun.
This was his first impression. Have you ever googled Ameriguns?
I haven't. Let's do it now. I did it a few months ago. I was so impressed.
I got quite nervous for all the people living here. Something like this.
So what? They love collecting guns. It's a collection. Why are you worried?
So many guns.. They like hunting, they go to the range.
This is Texas, Wild West. If they are responsible, I'm okay.
Having so many guns around increases the chances of meeting a bad man with a gun.
A bad man can have a knife or a bottle. It's easier to escape from a man with a knife.
Do you think it's hard to buy a gun illegally?
Black market is still a thing. If someone approaches you with a gun you can defend yourself with your gun.
Do you believe that everyone owning a gun stops criminals from attacking people?
Absolutely. Just look at the statistics.
Texas and Florida have the smallest number of gun violence cases. Suicide is also recorded as gun violence.
People shoot themselves are counted as gun violators. He didn't shoot anyone. Why do they count it?
There's a lot of politics here.
If you have a gun at home and something happens you can protect yourself.
During Texas protests one of the sheriffs said that 99% of his citizens had guns at home and would meet the intruders with their guns.
The burglar wouldn't break into the house. In English Premier League football players have their houses robbed all the time.
Sterling's wife got kidnapped. They are breaking into people's homes. This doesn't happen in America. Nobody would break into your house.
When you're away your wife can protect herself. Aren't you scared to leave her with the kids while you're away?
Nikita is talking about burglars in France, Spain, England who break into footballers' homes.
Aubameyang got his home robbed twice in six months. This is not okay. I saw a video of a person driving a Bugati in London.
Some bikers broke his window and took away his Richard Mille watch. This would never happen in America. You always have a gun by your side.
You are allowed to shoot it. If someone enters your territory..
Your land or your home in some states. It depends on the state. In some states you've got to make a warning shot.
You've got to know the law. In other states you can shoot right away. You can. What is a plus of having a gun?
I don't see it happening, but if some crazy president gets rid of democracy..
If you can no longer protest..People would take their guns and walk outside. They would defend their country.
They would rise against the bad leader. If their president turns into Putin..
Yes. You can have as many enforcers as you want. How many enforcers do we have? 33%?
Kind of. This wouldn't work.
An advise for younger hockey players, should you leave Russia?
Think of young hockey players. Sixteen to nineteens years old.
What advice would you give them today? In life or in their career? In hockey.
Everyone has their own path. Some guys come here after some experience in KHL.
Some guys like me are willing to play junior hockey here.
It's hard for me to give an advice. The situation is pretty bad. However, you can still play in KHL or some other league in Russia.
If you are stuck in a bad team like Matvey Michkov, the seventh pick of the draft..
He was called the future Ovechkin but Rotenberg doesn't let him play. [Michkov was sent on a loan from SKA to Sochi]
Michkov said he wanted to go to NHL. If you are going to leave in a year Rotenberg won't let you play.
Do you know that? I do. A hundred per cent sure. Can you explain this to me? Matvey Michkov, the future Ovechkin..
I felt like he would be picked earlier..He was the seventh pick. He was picked so late because of his three-year agreement with SKA.
I found out that he had this contract in SKA.
Yes. Is this common? They fooled him and his parents.
At this age you don't get a long contract typically. You don't. When I was leaving CSKA offered me a three-year agreement.
I would leave when I was 21. Michkov will be 23 when he leaves. Is there any chance he leaves earlier?
Well, NHL can report to IHHF because of Fedotov's case.
KHL would be expelled from IHHF and all the young guys would be able to leave. There's a game of thrones going on. CSKA wants to defeat IHHF.
They're saying that Philadelphia can't tell us what to do. SKA cares about their young players. They will all leave if KHL leaves IHHF.
Wow. Are they fighting each other? You can read this on sports.ru.
I felt like they had the same views. SKA wants to come to an agreement with IHHF. Fedorov and Esmontovich say that they would never do that.
It's a game of thrones. What a drama. Do you understand that you won't be able to come back to Russia for some time when this interview comes out?
Ты допускаешь, что никогда не вернешься в Россию?
I do. How does that feel? I think that I will be able to explain something to the younger generation.
I hope that young hockey players would not be scared to say what they think.
I think that this is the only way to democracy in Russia.
We shouldn't be afraid to speak out. I know that it's hard to speak out in Russia today.
Nothing good is going to happen to you after that. Guys who have an opportunity to leave..
Who still love their country.. Some people would say that I don't know #### about Russia because I left ten years ago..
I would tell them that I know everything. I have many friends and family members there.
I'm doing my research. If I don't speak out, who will?
I have an opportunity to speak out. I love my country, I am a patriot.
I hate our government. I see where they are heading.
I have to speak out. Times are changing.
These old corrupt men are leaving some day. They will be replaced. Replaced by a smart man, I hope.
I hope Russia becomes a developed democracy. Do you assume never coming back to Russia?
I do. I think that it's unlikely.
I think that I will come back some day. I want to come back. I don't know what I want to do when I retire from hockey.
What if I would become a politician and change something in our country?
Are you talking about politics? I am. Wow. I'm interested in politics. Why not? I will study. I'm only 28. There's a lot of stuff to learn.
I want to learn. Life is beautiful because it's never too late to learn.
Were you ever bothered by athletes becoming politicians? They were always ineffective and stupid.
I am bothered. This might change if we build a real democracy.
Athletes can be good politicians because they are experienced. Russian politics is corrupt and these deputies are useless.
Where do you draw your strength from?
And the final one: what is power? I can't answer that. It's different.
In family, love is power. For me, Nikita Zadorov, an NHL player..
Winning is power. For me as an athlete.
What about you as a person? As a person, opportunity is power.
It's such an American answer. It is.
"Can you show us your heels? I can.
Do you have the same on another heel, too? I do. Are these blisters?
These aren't blisters..These are corns.. These are huge blisters. All the players have these."
"Can you show us your heels? I can.
Do you have the same on another heel, too? I do. Are these blisters?
These aren't blisters..These are corns.. These are huge blisters. All the players have these."
OK, this is an in depth interview.
Yes for all your foot fetish needs. I just copy pasted it. I'm guessing it makes more sense with the video, but I'm also guessing that 2hrs is too long to watch.
Thanks for the summary of Z's interview. I only read part 1 so far but that's really insightful stuff. Love how candid he is.
He seems like a good guy. I recall him saying in an interview that he and his wife, when they start a family, want to adopt kids because there are kids out there already born that need a family.
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