“Yulaevites” told where they want to play their farewell match

A solemn farewell to the career of the player Evgeny Ketov took place at the Ice Palace of St. Petersburg with the participation of many famous hockey players. Grigory Panin, Ilya Ezhov and Andrey Zubarev shared with us their secrets – where they themselves would like to hang up their skates.

Evgeny Ketov announced his retirement after the end of the 2022/23 season, without a pause immediately moving to coaching in the same St. Petersburg SKA, for which he played the last ten seasons. Evgeniy Ketov is not the brightest or most productive striker, but he always honestly earned his hockey bread and set a record for matches for the St. Petersburg club.

In the Northern capital they decided to give their veteran the most magnificent send-off that one could only dream of. We gathered many guests on the ice in St. Petersburg – from the governor of the Perm region – where Ketov is from – Dmitry Makhonin and the first president of the KHL Alexander Medvedev to famous veterans and current players who played with Evgeniy in different years. “40 friends of Ketov” – that’s what the organizers called this match. Special symbols were developed, special sweaters and paraphernalia were produced for this event. Before the match, the spectators were entertained by the popular group IOWA, in a solemn atmosphere the veteran’s sweater was raised under the arches of the arena, and his game number 40 was forever assigned to him and taken out of circulation by SKA. One of the teams of Ketov’s friends was led by Ketov’s children’s coaches from Perm, and in the second, for the sake of such an occasion, the legendary Pyotr Ilyich Vorobyov returned to the coaching bridge. It turned out solemn and very touching.

From Salavat Yulaev, the celebration was attended by captain Grigory Panin, who played with Ketov for Lada and Ak Bars, goalkeeper Ilya Ezhov, forward Evgeny Timkin and defender Dinar Khafizullin, who crossed paths with Ketov in SKA. In addition, those who completed career of the country’s champions as part of Salavat Yulaev Igor Grigorenko and Dmitry Kalinin, as well as Ufa hockey graduate Andrei Zubarev. Having luckily found himself in St. Petersburg for the KHL All-Star Game, the author could not help but look at this solemn event and ask the participants how and where need to end my career

“I think the holiday is simply magnificent,” he shared his emotions Grigory Panin. – So many spectators gathered, such an excellent organization, from the little things to the raising of the sweater! Such videos were shown, such words were said, that a wave of tears rolled in. Zhenya and I played in Togliatti and Kazan, we communicate and maintain friendly relations, I gladly responded to the invitation.

The captain of Salavat Yulaev admitted that he would like to play his farewell match in Ufa. But 36-year-old defender Andrei Zubarev, despite the fact that he missed a season and a half, is not yet thinking about retiring from his career.

– I came here to get ready. Return to the ice? There are plans, we’ll see. It’s very nice that clubs began to hold such matches for their veterans. Danis Zaripov, Zhenya Ketov. It’s so nice for the guys that the clubs appreciate their services to the team and the country. I even shed a few tears, how touching it was. Farewell match in Ufa? There are no offers from them, he laughs. Andrey Zubarev. – Let’s see, we still need to try playing hockey. You see how young I run, but they don’t sign me. It’s still early, there’s still room for improvement!

But Salavat goalkeeper Ilya Yezhov has already planned to retire after the current season, but he thinks about celebrating modestly.

“It’s a familiar city, there are a lot of friends here – it’s as if they were making a holiday for me,” he smiles Ilya Ezhov. – I’m glad for Ketov, he’s a good person, I’m grateful to him for the invitation. Where will I make mine next year? At a bar in Montreal. A small company, with children. This is, of course, cooler. Zhenya has a bright career, so I congratulate him and wish him a bright future as a coach.

“Crazy atmosphere, organization at the highest level,” the adviser to the president of Togliatti Lada praised the event. Igor Grigorenko. – I believe that this is a good example for many clubs of how to honor the hockey players who have given them many years of service. Why didn’t I have this? Don’t even know. This is all done together with the club. If all clubs supported the idea of ​​holding farewell matches, then every player would agree to it.

The two-time champion with Salavat admitted that he was ready to support similar initiatives at Lada, and said that the move from Ufa to Tolyatti went smoothly.

“This is my hometown, it didn’t take me long to settle in,” noted the hockey veteran. – Everything is fine, the family is nearby. Children play hockey and study.

The farewell match of the two-time Gagarin Cup winner took place in a warm, friendly atmosphere. Local fans, of whom quite a lot had gathered, prepared a lot of posters for the hockey player, who had managed to become one of his own in St. Petersburg, and the fan sector greeted Evgeny Ketov with friendly chants of his name. Now SKA coach Evgeny Nikolaevich Ketov responded with grateful bows. We can only hope that we in Ufa will someday begin to see off our retiring idols in the same way. Maybe not on such a large scale, but just as heartfelt.