Egor Suchkov: “I don’t think about my dimensions”

“In the hotel of Cherepovets, I remembered my childhood”

– For you, this is the first full-fledged trip, where you played all the matches. How does it feel?

– It turned out to be a good exit, for me first of all. The team is on the move now and I shouldn’t have let it down. The coaching staff entrusted me to play in the second link. It went pretty well, I think.

– Did you expect to be in the top 6 of the team?

– When I first came to the first team, I thought I would not play at all. And then I went into the locker room, I look at the composition – I’m in the second link. Surprised, a little nervous. But the guys who play with me – Sasha Kadeikin, Seryoga Shmelev – they cheered me up. Everything was clear.

– Is it more difficult or easier to play with mature masters?

– It is interesting to play with skillful partners, you should not lag behind. All my rough work is there – rebounds, rebounds. We discuss everything, there are no special problems.

– According to statistics, you are doing well with the selections. Did you work on it separately?

– The coaching staff set me the task of what I should do. All tackles are mine, I have to fight at the boards, I have to be active, pick up the puck after my partners’ shots, “eat up” and bring it to the goal.

– In the “Salavat” assists went, which we know from the “Toros”. How quickly did you manage to find mutual understanding?

– We communicate and as if we have already found some kind of contact with Sasha Kadeikin, I can directly feel where he is. Our tactics have been set and everyone understands who should be where. It’s good that it started to work.

– Is the road life and the organization of the process very different in the KHL and the Major League?

– The difference is very big, of course. Here the staff, food… If you analyze everything in detail, then everything is a level higher. It needs to match.

– Even a hotel in Cherepovets can’t surprise you?

– Yes, I don’t really care. I remembered a little childhood when I played at school, there were also such hotels. I think this is familiar to everyone. My task is to play, it’s all secondary.

– “Salavat” outright took the last two trips and has not lost seven games away. What is the reason for such a successful game on someone else’s ice?

– It is hard to say. We give our all in every match, regardless of whether it is away or home. At home, there is even more motivation with our fans, we feel their support. Maybe because of this, not everything works out, too much desire, we are mistaken. We always have the same game plan.

– Three assists in three matches – are you satisfied with your game?

– In principle, I’m satisfied, but the main thing is that the team wins, and personal points come later. Of course, I want to score and bring more benefit to the team, but for now, that’s what we have. The main thing is that it suits the coaching staff and we win.

– Do you like to give or score more?

– It’s also nice to score. There is a moment – scored, there is a moment – gave. You can’t choose here, it’s important to win every match. So far, it’s only on passes, but I’ll try and score.

– What happened between you and Shmelev in that curious episode when they didn’t convert the two-on-one?

I don’t know, it’s probably more my fault. Sergey and I then talked, he generally wanted to launch me one to zero, and then I connected him. He wanted me to score, but it was more convenient for him to throw. Another ending of the game, a lot of snow on the ice … Probably, some kind of nervousness was also felt. It was the first match and that’s how it turned out.

– In such a situation, you should give, and complete Shmelev?

– No, he just had a good hand, but he probably wanted me to score the first goal in the first game. Thanks to him, but I did not take advantage of this chance. Will work.

“Puck control is Ufa hockey”

– In recent matches, the team gives up the initiative and holds the advantage with validol. What is it connected with?

– I think that the problem is definitely not in the physical condition. Probably, when we start strong, it seems that it will go on like this. The opponent only increases the pace, and we relax somewhere.

– Are the coaches commenting on this rather harshly in the locker room?

– Hard enough. At this level, we should not let go of the game, it is unacceptable, I think.

– The first “Green Derby” in your career. What do you think?

– Of the three matches, it turned out to be the most difficult in terms of heat, and the atmosphere was very cool. In general, it was a difficult game, it’s good that the boys scored the necessary goals there. Again, a good start to the first period. One can feel the skill of the opponent. Somewhere they are not playing right now, but it was not easy against those who play there.

Why didn’t you succeed? Not enough free space?

– We analyzed the game of Ak Bars, they play each with each, they don’t give space at all, they are active. Our job is to keep the puck. Puck control is Ufa hockey.

– What to expect in Ufa?

– It is important to start just as great. To score the first goals so that we have the initiative and not give up the second period, which is a bit problematic for us. You have to play the same way, with puck control.

– How comfortable is Viktor Kozlov’s hockey with an emphasis on control for you personally?

– I’m happy with everything, but I do my job, whether I like it or not. I don’t choose here.

– You play less than your linemates. Is there not enough strength for the whole match yet or do the coaches not trust you?

– In principle, I consistently go to all shifts, I miss only the majority and the minority, we have formed special teams. I have an energy-intensive game, the coaching staff, I think, is completely satisfied that I do not play in unequal lineups.

– Would you like to? In “Toros” you went out a lot in the majority.

– Of course, I would like to. I will always be ready if I have the chance, but it should not be only my desire.

– Do you see your place in the scheme of drawing extra “Salavat”?

– I can’t imagine who I could play instead of, of course, but I’ll be ready to play in any position – “bumper”, right or left. In “Toros” I went through all this and I know.

– In “Toros” you often conducted the majority. How ready to do it in the KHL, where everything needs to be done faster?

– Yes, here, of course, everything is faster, but if you find a connection with partners, you can play well.

– Last summer you said that the main problem is in the head and you need to be psychologically prepared for the KHL. Did you manage to deal with it?

– I think yes. Still, I’m not quite young, so to speak. I should already enter this pace of the game and understand what my area of ​​responsibility is.

– You do not have the largest dimensions for the KHL. How are you doing?

– It’s not difficult for me at all, I don’t think about dimensions. If a big defender is against me in the corner, it will be even easier to wriggle out in some ways. Agility and a sense of distance. Yes, there are big guys in the league, but I don’t deviate from my game. Must be faster and think faster. This is my game.

– Surely you have heard more than once that there is nothing to do with your dimensions in the KHL?

– They said that, yes. But that was earlier, a couple of years ago, when I was not yet psychologically ready. Now I have already played and I understand that nothing bothers me. People with my data are in the NHL and show good results.

– Recently, a partner in the locker room called you “Bitch”. Have there been worse nicknames with your last name?

“Yes, I’m used to it,” he laughs. – Since childhood, so called. I even read the comments, not everyone liked it there. I take it easy. If it’s more convenient for him to say that, I don’t mind.

– Have you been calm since childhood? Did you even have to fight?

– Well, to be honest, I don’t remember. Maybe there were some grievances, but nothing serious. Just got used to it and that’s it.

– What did you manage to add in comparison with the previous season?

Again, psychologically. It became easier to relate to everything, to correctly analyze the moments where I played incorrectly. Even, probably, began to play easier. At the same time, he actively worked on skating, on his speed. This is my part of the job, if something works out, I have to improve it even more.

“I won’t get lost in Ufa”

– How did it happen that a player who averaged one and a half points per game in the Russian championship for the Chelyabinsk Makarov school ended up in Ufa instead of Tractor?

“The story there is rather complicated. I was already at the training camp at Traktor, I was invited to play for the national team of the Ural Federal District. There he showed a good result and a Ufa scout came up and talked. I called my parents and told them that they were calling to Ufa. At first, we were even somehow scared, we just moved to Traktor, and then a new offer. There was little time to think, we decided that I was going to Ufa. And I did not lose, I’m glad that I’m here.

– Your year 2001 in Ufa is rich in talents. Worried about whether you can get through?

– When I was driving, I did not think about it. I knew that all the young people there were promising at my age, always on the top line of the table, but I was confident in myself. I just did my job, did what I was told.

– Your first Ufa coach Vladimir Gerasimov praises you, but notes that you had flaws, in particular, unnecessary holds. After all, you didn’t make it to Salavat last year either, having retired three times in one match. How did you manage to get rid of it?

– It was psychologically difficult then. I don’t think it was because I didn’t have time, couldn’t cope with the speed. Because of my excessive desire, probably. Didn’t cut anyone. I played somewhere wrong, but not because I didn’t have time. Now I understand how to properly approach the opponent, if he is bigger, I don’t fly at his feet. I try to play puck, selection due to speed.

– Was it difficult at first in a new place, away from friends and relatives?

– At first, two or three months, it was not easy. New school, training, constantly thinking about how it is at home. I called my parents, they came. I lived in a boarding school on Zorga, where I met the guys. It was a very good team, we keep in touch with everyone. We became friends with Semyon Chistyakov, Bulat Minnekhanov, Volodya Bakanin, Ildan Gazimov. We had a boarding company.

– Now hockey life scattered you. How well do you manage to maintain a friendship?

– Sometimes we correspond, but there is no such stable communication as before. Let’s see how things are going, congratulations on some achievements. Semyon took the cup with the “Vanguard” – we talked, it was interesting to know how it was.

– And how do you take the youth in “Salavat”?

– Excellent. Captain Grisha Panin is the most positive person, a real captain who will stand up for you with a mountain. Yes, in general, all the guys, there is no such thing – young, not young – everyone is comfortable and has a good atmosphere.

– Do young people still revolve more in their own circle, on their own wave?

– With the young, of course, more often, but now I have already joined, I spend a lot of time with my link. Somewhere in the hall we all communicate and play together.

– We spent more time in Neftekamsk. Ufa well studied?

– The first two years I lived in Ufa, then in Neftekamsk. If you tell me where to go in Ufa, I won’t get lost.

– If you do not remember that Chelyabinsk is the city where you grew up, where do you feel more comfortable?

– Perhaps, Chelyabinsk just became boring as a hometown, but I really like Ufa, I would choose it.

– Where can you go in Ufa?

– Probably the most banal. Monument to Salavat Yulaev, center, “Gostinka”. We can take a walk with the guys, go to a cafe to eat.

– And with the girl?

– There is no one now. While I’m not looking, I’m focused on hockey.

– After the appearance in Salavat, did the girls begin to pay more attention?

– Yes, there is such a thing, – Yegor is embarrassed.