I don't care who it is, if someone sucker punches me in the mug like that I at least try to pop him back.
Zadorov has made a living on being physical but he needs to man up as well.
He had 10 screws and 2 plates in his jaw. After he broke his jaw from getting hit by a puck. Only one plate now... I can see why he'd be a bit weary of getting punched there. Not sure if it was before or after that punch.
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He had 10 screws and 2 plates in his jaw. After he broke his jaw from getting hit by a puck. Only one plate now... I can see why he'd be a bit weary of getting punched there. Not sure if it was before or after that punch.
I didn't see a face shield and he had no problem crushing a little guy, that's like kicking someones cat and telling the owner "you can't hit me I have a sore jaw"
I didn't see a face shield and he had no problem crushing a little guy, that's like kicking someones cat and telling the owner "you can't hit me I have a sore jaw"
That's true he didn't have a face shield. I don't think you should answer for every hit in the NHL. The little guy could've stayed out of his corner. I personally like the physical play without having to fight right after, but that's me. Did Regehr have to fight after every Hemsky hit? (I honestly can't remember)
Out of curiosity, what was your opinion about Tkachuk when Kasian started beating him up after being leveled by him 3 times in one game?
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That's true he didn't have a face shield. I don't think you should answer for every hit in the NHL. The little guy could've stayed out of his corner. I personally like the physical play without having to fight right after, but that's me. Did Regehr have to fight after every Hemsky hit? (I honestly can't remember)
Out of curiosity, what was your opinion about Tkachuk when Kasian started beating him up after being leveled by him 3 times in one game?
Completely different scenarios. Lucic gave Zadorov every chance in the world to protect himself. Even th pop he gave him was like "Jesus stand up for yourself ". .
Kassian went went full Manson family stabbing as on tkachuk as if he was Sharon tate in a instant. He went full wrap you truck around a tree( one loaned to you by a local Montreal dealership) while driving but cohersted a woman to say she was driving instead of you ( even tho the other woman I the truck said you were driving and bribed her friend to take the fall.)in your our truck and everyones high on coke booze level that resulted you 8n never ever playing for lets say the Montreal Canadians....
It's not the first time Zadorov wouldn't fight after a hit like this and getting popped a few times after. He does have the nickname Turtlzov for a reason from a few other franchises. Love his game but he should have protected him self after the first glove to the face.
The little guy isn't staying out of corners ( he'd never stay in the nhl) yes, big hits like that do need to be answered for . Other wise if you don't initiate after hit s like this it sends the message ya make the big hit we won't respond which d men will never pass up. Reger had to answer a few bells on hits like this but when you are the biģer dog in the yard you rarely do have to answer #### all.
Last edited by combustiblefuel; 08-02-2021 at 04:29 AM.
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Completely different scenarios. Lucic gave Zadorov every chance in the world to protect himself. Even th pop he gave him was like "Jesus stand up for yourself ". .
Kassian went went full Manson family stabbing as on tkachuk as if he was Sharon tate in a instant. He went full wrap you truck around a tree( one loaned to you by a local Montreal dealership) while driving but cohersted a woman to say she was driving instead of you ( even tho the other woman I the truck said you were driving and bribed her friend to take the fall.)in your our truck and everyones high on coke booze level that resulted you 8n never ever playing for lets say the Montreal Canadians....
It's not the first time Zadorov wouldn't fight after a hit like this and getting popped a few times after. He does have the nickname Turtlzov for a reason from a few other franchises. Love his game but he should have protected him self after the first glove to the face.
The little guy isn't staying out of corners ( he'd never stay in the nhl) yes, big hits like that do need to be answered for . Other wise if you don't initiate after hit s like this it sends the message ya make the big hit we won't respond which d men will never pass up. Reger had to answer a few bells on hits like this but when you are the biģer dog in the yard you rarely do have to answer #### all.
Watch what happens when someone does chase him down and forces him to fight. in his last 2 fights in the last 2 years Benn and Schenn both chased him down and spanked him. He does not have a history of stepping up to defend a teammate. He is the guy who only drops the gloves when he is forced to.
Part 1 – Offseason Training, Max Ivanov, Toughest NHL Moment, Trade to Colorado
• Before the podcast you mentioned you were flying out to Miami on the 15th so you can get ready for the season over there.
o Yes, usually I spend my time training there. My family and I have been flying there for the last 5 years. We end up spending July/August over there.
o I have my personal trainer over there. We also rent a rink with the boys. A lot of players from the NHL live there, so we end up renting a rink. We have a skills coach come over. He works with us on our hands and skating. He gives us a bunch of exercises as preparation for the season.
• Who’s the coach and who are you skating with?
o Usually Ekblad, Trouba, a couple of guys from the AHL, some from Europe. Russian players often come over. Ovechkin used to train with us regularly, in addition to many younger Russian players.
o We typically have 10-12 players for the on-ice sessions.
o The coach is from Florida.
o We have a more defensive group over there. That's because we have a lot of defensemen.
o We work on things we use during NHL games. We work on our blue-line play. We also work on the corner play. The exercises typically concentrate more on our hands.
o In the first two weeks we get used to the feel of the puck, and get our legs in game shape. We get our timing back, and work into shape. In the following weeks we keep increasing the pace, until we reach game shape. We cap it all off with inter-squad games.
• Will Max Ivanov(My own notes: apparently he used to be the skating coach for PIT( Letang, Crosby and Malkin think very highly of him), then Florida) come and coach you this year?
o I was skating with Max last year, after my surgery.
o After my surgery, I didn’t skate for two months. I could barely do anything during my rehab.
o I went to train with Max, and that was the last time I’m doing that(said jokingly). He has very intense practices, and I felt that they weren’t a great fit for me at the time. That's because I had to get into game shape first. I tried to train with him after I got into shape, but the Florida GM forbade the players from skating with Max. My notes: apparently, he was mostly working with players from Florida.
• Why don’t you train in Russia instead of the US? Is it simply cooler to train there? Or do you mostly come here to see your parents?
o I come here(to Russia) mostly to unwind and see my parents. It’s difficult for me because I have a lot of friends over here. They keep pressuring me to go out to restaurants and so on. Unfortunately, I have the propensity to gain weight. As a result, I need to keep myself on a very strict diet, so I can hit my game weight.
o It is much easier for me to focus on my diet and training over in the US. In addition, I was very lucky to meet Scott Forstman(sp) five years ago. He is my gym coach(My notes: strength and conditioning). Since I met him everything was going well for me in terms of strength and avoiding injuries. What I mean by that is avoiding muscle injuries, which is exactly what we’ve been working on. He always has me ready for the start of the season and I don’t want to change anything.
o I’m sure I could make myself stick to a diet and train in Russia, but it’s difficult to arrange everything I require for the training itself.
• What do you mostly work on in the off-season?
o I always had finicky groin muscles(thinks for a bit and changes direction)…
o I think it’s easier to list what I don’t work on: I removed all the heavy lifting from my training several years ago. All the barbells. That’s because I could easily deadlift 300kg. I didn't need that on the ice. For my trouble, I only got a big ass that wouldn’t fit my jeans, and was slower on the ice as a result.
o I mostly work on my explosiveness. For either one or both legs. We concentrate on exercises to improve my speed, because the league is only getting faster, and younger. Each offseason players prepare so they can improve their speed, instead of just keeping the speed they already had.
• Some questions about How Nikita ended up in hockey/CSKA-95 I won’t write up.
• What was the toughest time for you in your NHL career?
o I think it was when I was sent down to the AHL, after my trade to COL.
o I was drafted by BUF, made the team on my first year. I injured my pinky finger. I lost half my finger when Alex Semin shot the puck. It hit my finger and crushed half of it. I got injured in the last pre-season game, so they couldn't send me down and I had to stay with the team.
o * Zadorov continues to explain he didn’t have many chances of sticking with the team* - Defensemen from the middle of the first round rarely make the team in their first year. Besides I was supposed to go to a very good junior team in the London Knights, which is a top notch organization. They were hosting the memorial cup that year, which would've added a lot of experience.
o As Zadorov was healing the team in BUF didn't have the best start to the season.
o Eventually when I recovered, I asked my agent if they would let me play (up to) 9 games. That’s because if you play less than 9 games you don’t burn the first year of your contract. So I asked if they could give me the opportunity, to see if I could succeed in the big league. Besides I got lucky because at the time the defensemen in Buffalo were playing like ####. They gave me my first opportunity to dress as the 7th D against COL. I played well for 12-13mins. In the Following game, I scored against BOS. I ended up playing 5 games, I sat for one. Then I played 2 more, sat for 1 more, and both the GM and coach got fired in the same day. I was drafted by that GM and that coach, which meant they liked my game. After those 7 games I was hoping I could stick around until the end of the season because I wasn't worse than the defensmen they had.
o The situation is as follows: BUF gets an interim coach in place. They also appoint an interim president of hockey operations, Pat LaFontaine, so that he can find a new GM. He is one of the best players in the history of the team, his number(16) is in the rafters and so on.
o I get called into his office and told that they are planning to play the vets this year, because the season is already lost. I was told that they want young players to play meaningful minutes in junior, the memorial cup, and world juniors championship. They said I’d gain the experience and be back with the club next year. I am a very ambitious guy so I was quite worried/stressed about everything. That’s probably the 2nd toughest moment in my NHL career.
o Eventually I played in the world juniors, we got third place. We lost in the memorial cup.
o Anyways after finishing the season, Buffalo finished last, they were supposed to draft McDavid, but lost the lottery and ended up drafting Eichel. With the new direction of the team, I felt like I was a part of the future. Especially from the way the new GM talked at the year-end presser. I thought Ristolinen and I were untouchables, being best buds and playing on the same pair.
o I just had my wedding at the Maldives. I woke up at 6am and saw like a million missed calls. I had missed calls from Sakic and Roy, and I couldn’t figure what was going on. I was in shock after I finally went online and got a text from Grigorenko that we got traded. At that time I couldn’t believe in it because I thought I would spend my entire career in Buffalo. I came to Colorado played for 20 games and got sent down to the AHL by Patrick Roy. I thought I was ready to be in the NHL at the time, but that’s a separate discussion. I'm not sure if it had something to do with Roy not liking me, but it’s hard to dig into all of that. It was a very difficult time for me because I wasn’t having fun out there. I couldn’t figure out why I was in the AHL. I remember watching the Colorado games, and thinking I wasn’t any worse than the Defensemen they had up there.
Last edited by gvitaly; 08-04-2021 at 09:01 PM.
Reason: Added links to all the parts, edited some grammar/spelling mistakes.
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Watch what happens when someone does chase him down and forces him to fight. in his last 2 fights in the last 2 years Benn and Schenn both chased him down and spanked him. He does not have a history of stepping up to defend a teammate. He is the guy who only drops the gloves when he is forced to.
That link was Lowry vs Zadorov which the big guy won easily.
Edit - The other two fights were pre-opted for whistle drop - so no chasing needed.
Schenn fight there wasn't really anything landed, but Benn got him pretty good.
Last edited by Yrebmi; 08-02-2021 at 12:14 PM.
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That link was Lowry vs Zadorov which the big guy won easily.
Edit - The other two fights were pre-opted for whistle drop - so no chasing needed.
Schenn fight there wasn't really anything landed, but Benn got him pretty good.
Part 2 – Moving teams, Clobbering people in the NHL, Easy/Hard players to play against, Contract Demands, Zadorov’s Education
• After you realized that you were in COL, what were your first thoughts? Were you thinking about how to bring your stuff over?
o Joking: I was first thinking about how to bring my car over. I just ordered a BMW X6. It was my childhood dream car. I finally made enough money, ordered it, waited for it, and it was supposed to arrive in Buffalo. I had no idea what to do with it.
o Seriously though, my first thought was that I didn't have a place to train. It was already the end of June, and I was planning on flying out to Buffalo mid-July. At that point in time, we had a lot of guys fly over to Buffalo train/skate and use the team’s facilities over there. My wife and I were just getting ready to fly there. As a result, I had no idea what to do or who to train with. I had no connections over in Colorado and no idea how to organize it all. I was only 20 years old, and in buffalo everything was served up to us on a silver platter. We just came to Buffalo, trained with Buffalo’s strength and conditioning coach, Buffalo’s skating coach and so on. It was very easy and very straightforward. I had to figure it all out by myself because Colorado didn’t have such a system set up.
o Eventually after our honeymoon we flew back to Buffalo. We got in our new car and drove all the way to Colorado. I got to break in my new car with 1500 km on the odometer.
• You need to have a special skill to hit people the way you do, you need to pick your positioning, angle, and catch someone off guard. Where did you learn to clobber that way?
o I get asked that question often, and it’s not something I ever studied. It has something to do with my hockey IQ and my feel for the game. I leave space for the forward to tempt him into it. I wait for the forward to start angling me towards the middle of the ice. I give him a little more space by moving my stick slightly backwards, then I hit the breaks and meet him head on.
o (My notes: You can tell he loves hitting people, he just gets giddy when talking about it) In the middle of the ice, I can tell a player is distracted when he is looking to make a pass. I see it from the movement of his eyes. Other times players simply have their heads down. As soon as I notice it, I use it to make a hit. That’s one of the worst things for forwards. In north America there’s a saying called “take a hit to make a play”, sacrifice yourself for the play. That’s usually when you get the best most devastating hits. Only half a second after the player makes the play, he gets himself all extended, he puts all of himself on the line to make the pass, and he gets leveled.
• It seems like that’s your favorite part.
o Yes, but don't think that I’m the only one like that. I got clobbered quite a few times myself.
• Did you watch any players so that you can study how they hit?
o Not really, I always watched the highlights though. I absolutely loved Scott Stevens, even though I think that probably 80% of his hits would end up in suspensions in today's NHL. *Zadorov mentions the hits Stevens made on Lindros, and Kozlov*. The hit on Kozlov is probably clearest suspension, it was 3 seconds after he got rid of the puck, then he got blindsided by Stevens. I also watched Kasper play, and many others.
• What about Russian players? Do you have a favorite(hitter)?
o Alex Ovechkin, I loved when he just got into the NHL, and terrorized defensemen with his physical play.
o Marveled about Ovi’s clean hit on Jagr, the interviewer mentioned it first.
• Who’s the easiest and the hardest player in the NHL to hit?
o The easiest hit to make is usually against 3rd/4th liners. That’s because of their slightly lower hockey IQ, the way they see the ice, and their general awareness of the developing play.
o The hardest. I think that McDavid would be extremely difficult to hit because of his speed. *joking* I am not sure if anyone has even tried to clobber McDavid. That’s because everyone's scared that he would just turn them inside out and burn them with his speed. That way they would end up on the wrong side of the highlights reel, and no one wants that.
o 2nd liners constantly keep their head up so it’s much more difficult to deliver a crushing hit.
o Kane always makes a pass before you hit him. He’s shifty but you still must try and hit him, so that he knows he doesn’t have much time and space and that a hit is coming. A bit of a game within the game.
• There are currently ongoing contract negotiations on your new contract with CHI. Is CHI your preferred destination?
o Of course, Chicago has my rights, so I can only negotiate with them.
• Where are the negotiations at?
o We had ongoing discussions; they have stopped for now. We agreed to wait until after the expansion draft. At which point we will resume talks.
• Right before our interview, I saw a post on Instagram from one of the dirtiest reporters that was saying that “Zadorov thinks too much of himself and is asking for $6M per in his negotiations”. He was criticizing your mobility, your game and so on, how do you respond to that?
o First, let’s talk about the $6M. A Chicago reporter, Mark Lazerus, was the one to write about it. He said I was asking for 6 while I was actually asking for 10! Joking aside, it’s a complete lunacy. That’s just a journalist who plucked a number out of the sky. Why did he say $5.85M? I have no idea; it didn’t happen though. How did they calculate I can ask for $6M? Guys that score 40/50 points a season don’t get paid as much. I know my worth. If I go to arbitration there will be players I will use as comparables, and base my worth off of their contracts. My worth is not $6M. The Russian media only got wind of this story now because it’s always a bit behind. We had that story come out about a month ago.
o As for my response to that reporter. I will answer in the same manner another wise man on your podcast responded. After I leave a packed united center, sit in my Porsche and drive home to my beautiful wife and wonderful family. I don’t even look at the opinions/articles of these people.
• If you were offered a max contract with top pairing minutes, 1PP, 1PK everything you want here in Russia, would you come back?
o No, I wouldn’t. First of all, no one is offering that to you. They’ll let you play the first game on the first pair, first PP, first PK. If you play like #### they’ll send you down.
o The NHL is something else. It’s the best league in the world and it has the best players in the world. When I grew up over there, more specifically when I was about 17-18, I was of the opinion that I would’ve played for Toronto for free. Just because of the atmosphere, the fun, and the market that Toronto is. Now that I understand what type of market it is, I might have a slightly different opinion. However, I have such a love for the game that I would’ve played in the NHL for free.
• Do you not want to come back only because of the NHL or because of the way of life you have over there?
o Mostly because of the NHL. I love living in the US, but I also love living in Moscow. I am an easy going person, so it’s easy for me to adapt to different countries and cultures.
• In all your interviews you always come across as a very educated person. Did your parents push you towards getting good grades and so on?
o My parents were demanding throughout my high school. I haven’t had a single C grade throughout my high school.
• What about university?
o You know how it works. My Notes: in Russia you pay for your grades in university, they reflect whether you paid off your profs and not your level of knowledge.
o I took sports management, now I have a diploma I can hang on the wall. That said, I think that my real life knowledge and my experience in the NHL are more valuable than studying the subject from a book. The management side can split into coaching and general management. Coaching is quite a demanding job, you need to be able to read people well, work with kids, know biology, and know medicine to a degree. As a GM, you need to be more of a good lawyer and a good salesman.
• Asked about politics, and Panarin… I am going to skip that part.
Last edited by gvitaly; 08-04-2021 at 09:55 PM.
Reason: Added navigation, hopefully now it's more readable
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o I think it’s easier to list what I don’t do: I removed all the heavy lifting from my training several years ago. All the barbells. That’s because I could easily deadlift 300kg, I don’t need that on the ice. As a result, I only got a big ass that wouldn’t fit my jeans, and was slower on the ice for it.
Lol.
__________________
"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
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Yeah he comes across as a very smart funny guy. I don't think I do him justice, but I am almost done the next part. A lot of fascinating tidbits, at least for me.
