"It's like hockey was just invented for us."
On September 23, the first coaching resignation happened in the KHL - Astana's Barys fired David Nemirovsky. His team is in last place in the regular season with three points after seven games. The last game was held two days before the resignation - in Balashikha, where the Kazakh team lost to the local "Vityaz" (1:4). Following the match, an interview with Izvestia was given by Barys defenseman Nikita Kamalov, who talked about life in Astana and commented on the personnel shuffle in St. Petersburg SKA, for which he played the previous three years.
"If the puck doesn't go into other people's gates, then we need to get it there with meat"
- Why has the team had such a poor start to the season?
- A lot of things come from the head - that's why we don't do well. Everything falls down from here. I don't know. It's like hockey was just invented for us. We need to play the next game like it's our last. And not look at anything or anybody. Go out there and lay down our bones, win the game no matter what. We'll win confidently, and then we'll take it from there. We do not need to look at how many games are left in the championship, how much time we have to fix something. We just need to go to the next game and do everything to win.
- During the preseason preparation, did you feel the problems you faced at the start of the season?
- No, nothing foreshadowed this result. We all realize that this is a failed start. And we don't want to upset the fans. Especially now it will be a home series. I think all the guys understand everything, and we'll go to the next game as the last fight.
- What's going on with Damir Zhafyarov, who is now injured, but before that he was showing his best hockey even though he came to Barys with David Nemirovsky, the coach who had his best seasons with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod? You played with him the season before last in SKA, can you explain why he changed so much?
- Everyone on our team is playing like they're not their own now. Nobody played like that before. It's hard to explain something in words. We need to first understand what is going on, but we don`t have much time to think about it. The calendar is tight, so we don't need to think of anything - we need to play simple. If we can't get the puck into other people's gates, then we need to get it there "with meat", "bury" it. We'll get one or two, and then we'll score in a different way. And specifically about Damir, it's better to ask him. Now he is injured - God willing, he will recover soon, return to the ice and help us.
- You said, "get the puck with meat"....
- Well, not to play "academy". If we can't get it on the power play or anywhere at all, then we need to get it there in a different way.
- Did David initially try to teach you combination hockey, demanding that you play the puck?
- Yes, I want to play hockey. And it's clear that there are different styles of play. If the puck doesn't go into the goal like that, as a result of the play, then we need to look for other ways out of this situation. As I said, "bury it", "bring it in with meat".
- Have you managed to settle in Astana? How do you live there?
- It's a great city, excellent locals. Some stereotypes we had or have in Russia, that Russians are not loved there - it's nonsense in general. Excellent, friendly people. They will always help. The city is excellent, beautiful - all the conditions are there for living and working.
- Is the steppe around it impressive?
- There is also steppe around Dubai, sand. But we do not live in the steppe, we live in the city.
- Are you not frightened by the upcoming winter, when there is often a snowstorm covering the city?
- Well, every city has its own climate. It's normal. When I played in Sochi, it was hot in the summer. And fog in the winter. When it's stuffy and hot, you have to constantly change your uniform - it's also inconvenient, just like frost and snowstorms.
- You played in SKA in the past three seasons. Do you understand why the club constantly changes key players every year and doesn't stabilize the roster?
- Personally, I understand.
- Why?
- Well, I think it's an internal thing, an internal kitchen. I'm not going to take it out. It's their business - they can deal with it themselves.
- But did the fact that Dmitry Yashkin and Damir Zhafyarov were the leaders in one season, then they were removed, Sergiy Tolchinsky, Arseniy Gritsyuk, Alex Galchenyuk came and everything was built anew?
- Of course, it makes a difference. A good season goes on, but it didn't work out in the playoffs, and for the next championship the lineup changes by 50%. The team has to get along again, get used to each other. The impact of that.
- After another rebuild, will it be the same this season? Or will the class of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nikita Zaitsev, Mikhail Grigorenko, Sergei Andronov help?
- I don't know, let them figure it out for themselves. We're on fire ourselves right now. We should deal with our own, how can I put it mildly?
- Problem?
- With our heel. Yes, with our problem. And then we'll see.
