"We have to take advantage of the fact that our opponents get very tired when they come to us."

At the start of the new KHL season, Admiral Vladivostok's hockey players played three away matches. First, they beat the Chinese Shanghai Dragons in a shootout in St. Petersburg (4:3), then lost in regular time to CSKA Moscow (0:1), and on September 12 they lost in shootouts (1:2) to Novosibirsk Siberia. After the game with CSKA, Admiral striker Dmitry Zavgorodny appreciated the start of the season for his team, explained how to fight for entry into the playoffs in conditions of long flights from the Far East and jet lag, and also stated that his team is able to repeat the success of last season, when it made it to the playoffs and in In the first round, in only six matches (2:4), she lost the series to the future finalist of the Gagarin Cup, Traktor Chelyabinsk.

"You can't fail like we failed in the second period"

— How would you rate the Admiral's launch?

— It was possible to achieve more. The same match against CSKA was even, but we lost it with a minimum score. Of course, it was a very strong opponent, but you still can't fail like we failed in the second period. In any case, if we correct some points, we can perform much better.

— Are you satisfied with the quality of the game, apart from the result?

— We had a good match in St. Petersburg with the Shanghai Dragons. In principle, with CSKA, too. In any case, all the guys fought, there was a good dedication. Of course, when you lose, the mood is not the best. But the main thing is that all the players gave themselves on the ice.

— How much have you gotten used to long flights from the Far East and back during your time at Admiral?

— This is my third season with the team. So I got used to it. I know the requirements of Admiral's head coach Leonid Grigorievich Tambiev, who is well able to lead the team over the distance in such conditions. So I feel comfortable.

Power Dispute: how the KHL Regular Season started

Traktor looks physically unprepared, Spartak needs to strengthen its defense, and SKA is losing points.

"Details that are not noticeable from the outside are very important within the team"

— In what ways is this team stronger and weaker than itself compared to last season?

— It's hard to say yet. We'll have to see how we play during the season. We need to play at least ten games to compare them.

— Do you have a feeling that you can repeat or even surpass the result of last season?

- of course. There is a feeling that we are capable of a lot. They are definitely capable of reaching the playoffs, but there is a lot of work to be done. We have more than 60 regular season matches ahead of us. We strive to reach the playoffs - that's our goal.

— You started the season with an away match against the Shanghai Dragons, which you renamed the Kunlun Red Star, building a new squad and coaching staff from scratch. How capable is this opponent of solving serious problems in the regular season?

— This team will definitely be stronger than in the previous season, when it was called Kunlun and played in Mytishchi. It has become more difficult to play against them. The club has recruited more skilled hockey players. And, of course, it's going to be hard for everyone in the KHL against them.

— Is the team studying the calendar before the season? Can you tell me now how convenient it is for the Admiral, taking into account the flight range?

— Every year, when you look at the calendar, there is already a general understanding of which part of the season there will be big flights, which small ones, when there will be more games at home, when away, when there will be some rest breaks. You're already starting from that. Personally, I have not studied the current calendar in detail, I have not delved into it. But, of course, when we have big flights, we will need to prepare especially carefully, both psychologically and physically. In principle, we already know this, because many people at the club have been working in Vladivostok for the second or third season, and the head coach has been working in Vladivostok for the fourth year. And we all understand what needs to be done and how not to do it in order to keep feeling good. It's clear that we have more flights than most other teams. But you can still play with them and win. That's what we showed last season.

— What did you learn for yourself in terms of preparing to play for the Far Eastern club that you didn't know in 2023 when you joined Admiral?

— You're just slowly starting to prepare for this in the offseason. As the season progresses, you clearly calculate when you need to adjust in time, when you don't need to. And you already know when you need to sleep and when you don't need to. Details that are not noticeable from the outside, but are very important within the team.

"Each team's goal to reach the playoffs should be set by default"

Sochi hockey player Timur Hafizov talks about his goals for the season, the first matches of the regular season and the hardest training exercise of his career

"Any player can become the same leader as the guys who were before"

— How do you like the newbies? Has the squad retained its strength after the departure of such key players as Andrei Mishurov and Nikita Soshnikov last season?

— Of course, they were our leaders. These guys solved a lot of issues on the ice. But I think hockey players have come to us just as well. We have a strong enough squad. And any player can become the same leader as the guys who were before.

— What are the goals for this regular season besides reaching the playoffs? Is there a chance, taking into account your logistics, to finish the regular season as high as possible and get out of more convenient positions? Or are the Far Eastern teams doomed to come out from seventh or eighth place in the East, and then try to jump over their heads in a first-round series against someone from the top?

— Of course, we need to set a goal to take the highest places. We strive to be as high in the table as possible. But first of all, we need to win our home matches and take advantage of the fact that our opponents get very tired when they come to us. And we need to fight on the road and cling to any chance to score points.