"In Russia, we are used to listening to all sorts of funny chants, but there is no such thing in the NHL."

Last season in the NHL was the first for Russian defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin in the Dallas Stars. Last summer, he signed a three-year contract with the Texas club. In the playoffs, the team reached the conference finals, but in the penultimate stage lost in five games of the series (1-4) to the Edmonton Oilers. In an interview with Izvestia, Lyubushkin spoke about life in Texas, commented on the victory of his former club, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, in the Gagarin Cup, explained the role of goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida's second consecutive Stanley Cup victory and spoke about the ongoing suspension of the Russian national team from international competitions.

"The whole city lives with the Toronto team, you are constantly recognized on the street"

— Have you returned to Russia after the NHL season?

— Yes, I'm in Moscow with my family now. We spend almost every summer in Russia. They stayed in the United States for only one year, because they waited a long time for documents and could not come.

— A year ago, you participated in the "Match of the Year" with the participation of Russian players from the NHL and KHL. Have you been invited to an upcoming similar event?

— They called. I plan to take part. I think it's great that such a match is being held. It's a great event, so I'm really looking forward to participating in it.

— In last year's Match of the Year, you played in front of crowded stands in Russia for the first time in a long time. Is the atmosphere similar to what you see in the NHL?

— It's different because people get sick there a little differently. Here in Russia, we're more used to listening to all sorts of funny chants, but there's not much of that there. There, the crowd adjusts more to the moment: a forceful move — they shout, they score a goal - they rejoice. This is also not always the case — sometimes there are chants in the stands in North America, some songs are sung, but very rarely.

— Is there not enough of this even in Toronto, which is considered the most hockey city in the NHL?

— They probably get sick even more modestly. The crowd there is such that people in Toronto are even quieter than in other cities. There is a slightly different contingent in the stands: the entire first tier consists of corporate seats. People there cheer for the team, but in a more restrained way. Although the atmosphere around the club itself is just fanatical: the whole city lives with the Toronto team, you are constantly recognized on the street.

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— How's it going in Dallas?

— I really liked it. Quite a lot of people are interested in hockey, they support our team, and everyone knows about it. In the city itself, there is no such madness around hockey as in Toronto, but the stadium is well supported. The fans in Dallas are very good, and we had a lot of support from them last season.

"I'm glad that the kids are thrilled when I score, but they really want me to score."

— What prevented Dallas from reaching the Stanley Cup finals?

— It's hard to say. We won the first game of the series against Edmonton, and then Edmonton started taking the matches. I don't even know what affected it. Maybe a series of coincidences. Basically, as our coach said, we played well, but we didn't realize our chances.

— Why did Dallas head coach Peter Deboer remove you from the squad after the winning first match against Edmonton (6-3), and Evgeny Dadonov after a few matches?

— This is a purely coaching decision. It is absolutely normal that the coach has his own opinion about the squad. It seemed right to him to make such permutations — he did so.

— Did Deb somehow explain his decision?

— I explained it later, at the end, when we had already flown out. He said it was a coaching decision. I counted it and did so. Deboer did not provide any particularly detailed explanations.

— Were you surprised by his resignation?

— There were a lot of rumors about this after the playoffs, so I won't say that I was surprised. There is little surprise in the NHL, as players are regularly exchanged between clubs.

— Dallas has not yet announced the name of a new head coach, but the club's general manager, Jim Neill, said that one of Deboer's assistants could replace him. In this case, how will you be doing next season?

— In principle, I can imagine how they will work if one of them is appointed in charge. There will probably be the same tasks for the players as last season. I think the championship went well for me. I was happy with myself last season. And I think that the requirements for me will remain the same.

— What emotions did you feel in March when you scored your first goal in almost two years in one of the regular season matches?

— For me, scoring goals is more like a bonus. Of course, it's nice. And I'm happy that the kids are thrilled when I score, and they really want me to score. That's why I'm happy with the goal. It's always nice. But, of course, I have a different role in the team, different tasks. I benefit from my defensive game, so I focus on it first and foremost. But it's nice to score when you have the opportunity, even such a rare one.

— Do they require the same defensive play and power struggle from you in Dallas as in previous teams?

— Yes, my style doesn't change regardless of the team. I continue to play my hockey. And nothing has changed in Dallas — I'm also trying to contribute to the victory through my style.

— Based on the results of the lost conference finals against Edmonton, can you tell how this team reached the Stanley Cup finals for the second year in a row? Previously, it seemed that she was only good at the crazy statistics of points scored in the regular season, which are shown by her leaders Connor Mcdevid and Leon Draisaitl.

— I think that the team around them is already more complete. A very serious team has gathered in Edmonton in the last two years. If they reach the finals, then I think they have become stronger as a team and depend not only on two players. They had a chance at the trophy, but Florida took advantage of their opportunities better.

— How did she win the Stanley Cup again?

— Florida is strong as a team, and this is with a strong selection of players. Plus, Sergey Bobrovsky has a lot to contribute to his success — he is a very good goalkeeper. A man carries everything he can. And they have a team that knows how to win important matches, that's the most important thing.

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— In previous seasons, you often changed clubs and said more than once that you wanted stability. Did you get it by signing a three-year contract with Dallas last summer?

— I can definitely say that I felt stable and confident last season. But then again, in a league like the NHL, no one is immune from anything. So we'll see what happens next, but for now there is stability. And it helps me a lot. A good club, a good team. And I like everything about the city. The most important thing is that the family is happy and I feel comfortable playing hockey. According to these indicators, Dallas is an excellent fit.

"The League decided to end any actions of this kind, regardless of whose support they support."

— In the winter, you posted on social media footage of the construction of a sauna at your home in Dallas.

— Yes, we have already built it and we are using it with might and main.

— Has anyone from the team already visited her?

— There were a couple of guys. It is clear that Zhenya Dadonov mostly visits her. But Canadians also came—Tom Harley and Wyatt Johnston. They said they really liked the Russian sauna. We got good emotions and recovery.

— Two years ago, the story got a wide response when you refused to go to training in a rainbow jersey in Buffalo. Is it easier now that you live in the conservative state of Texas?

— I think everyone has already forgotten that topic. The league has moved away from it, so it doesn't even make sense to constantly discuss these points, regardless of which state you live in and play in. The NHL has not done anything like this for the second season. She took away all the T-shirts. Some of them probably could have been abandoned, but the league chose such a policy — to simply end any actions of this kind, regardless of whose support they are.

— In other words, this is not even related to the events in the United States last year, when Donald Trump returned to the presidency, relying on a conservative electorate and speaking out against LGBT activism (the movement is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia. — Izvestia)?

— Yes, the NHL stopped this before last year's election. So these are unrelated things. It's just that the league has decided that it is following such a path when it stays away from any political actions.

— Do you feel the conservatism of the locals in Dallas?

— Yes, it's noticeable. It seems to me that people there have a slightly different attitude to life, they are more focused on their problems. There is less emphasis on the nuances that we discussed above. It's just like normal people. Basically, I'm used to it, because I played for four years for Arizona, where the atmosphere is similar. Well, there are similarities with Russia — we have about the same values. But, of course, I judge by my immediate environment — by my neighbors, whom I met after moving to Dallas, by the friends I made over the year.

"This Gagarin Cup is a great achievement of the president of Lokomotiv

— Rick Tockett, who coached you at Arizona, recently took over Philadelphia. What can we expect from his work with Matvey Michkov?

— I can't answer for Michkov, because I don't know him very well. I can say for myself that Rick gave me the opportunity to play in the NHL, because it was under his guidance that I began my career in the league. In my first season at Arizona, he never sent me to the AHL, to the farm club. Yes, I didn't bet on all the games in the main team. As a result, I watched half of the 82 regular season matches in the press box, and played half of them. But it was thanks to Tokket that I got a chance to gain a foothold in the NHL. I went through a training camp, then the main squad for the season was announced, and I was in it. And then I adapted to the championship. Tokket has its own style, its own school. In Russia, everyone knows what the Pyotr Ilyich Vorobyov school is. I would say that the NHL also has its own school, Rika Tocqueta. I was lucky that I worked with him and started my career overseas with him.

— How did you react to the victory of Lokomotiv in the Gagarin Cup?

— I followed the team last season, I was very worried about it, and I am glad that finally this team, this organization, the city, and the fans waited for a wonderful moment when they got the Gagarin Cup. They deserved this triumph. I know Yaroslavl, the team, the organization, and the management very well. The totality of everything, all the work that was done by the management, the president of the club Yuri Nikolaevich Yakovlev, the coaching staff and the players. It was supposed to lead to the championship sooner or later. My opinion is that their triumph is natural.

— You and Igor Nikitin worked at the Channel One Pre-Olympic Cup in December 2017, when he was responsible for the defenders on the national team's coaching staff. It's clear that it was a short period, but maybe you got the impression that he brought Lokomotiv to victory?

— He is a very strong specialist with his own game system and a very detailed approach to business. I think the guys at Lokomotiv loved him and his system, so they came to the championship. I don't even judge from my own experience, but from what the guys from Yaroslavl tell me. It's hard to judge from my own experience, because I only crossed paths with Nikitin in the national team when he was in charge of the defenders, but I didn't work with him as a head coach, and these are still different things.

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— Yuri Yakovlev, President of Lokomotiv, is a very closed person to the media. How did you remember him inside the club when you played in Yaroslavl?

— I believe that Yuri Nikolaevich is a real expert in his field. He walked towards the goal for a long time and overcame a very large number of challenges. Yakovlev was always very worried about us, he was very attentive to the team, and he was always in the process of working. This Gagarin Cup is his great achievement. I won't say that I talked to him often. I don't think that as president of the club, he has to constantly communicate with hockey players, although there was a general one-on-one dialogue with the team, not specifically with the player. But the main thing is that with him the club functions as a single mechanism — the school, the main and youth teams. That's why so many of our own students are always in the KHL, including in the victorious playoffs with Lokomotiv.

"I would really like to participate in a tournament like the Olympics."

— Do you remember where you were at the moment when Alexander Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's record?

— I was at home watching a game on TV with my family. Since Dallas didn't have a game at that moment, he couldn't miss such an event. Moreover, he was very much promoted when Ovechkin was already very close to the record. Of course, there is pride in a compatriot who has achieved such a phenomenal result.

— How did he do it?

— He is a superstar, he persevered towards his goal. Plus, he is very physically developed. What can I say if a person scores so many goals year after year? Not everyone can do this. More precisely, not that far away, but practically no one.

— As a defender, can you explain why Ovechkin keeps scoring, even though everyone seems to know what he's going to do, his throw from the left faceoff circle has scored so many times, but no one has yet learned how to cover it?

— If no one, not even the goalkeepers, can explain it to you, then I probably won't be able to say anything either (laughs).

— In February, you posted a photo on social media of a trip to Mexico during a break for the NHL All-Star Game and the opening of the ice arena there. How did you get there in the first place and who needed to open this facility?

— One of my friends, whom I met in America, opened this arena in Cancun. The guys built it and invited me to see it. Everything was done wonderfully there. As far as I know, there are quite a lot of people playing hockey in this place. They probably wouldn't have built this arena if there hadn't been interest from people there. In general, I really liked the way everything was organized. And it was nice to go to Mexico for the first time, as my family was also pleased. Moreover, Cancun is a resort place with a great view of the ocean.

— Since you are already 31 years old, it is interesting to know how you plan to build your career closer to its end — will you want to play in the KHL for Lokomotiv or another club?

— It's hard to make a wish. Of course, I want to play in the NHL for as long as possible, so we will strive for this. We'll discuss where to finish and how later.

— Is it possible to compete for the Stanley Cup with the current Dallas?

— Yes, the club is constantly fighting for top places. Next season is no exception. We will do everything possible to achieve the goal that Dallas has been working towards for a long time.

— Not so long ago, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) finally eliminated Russia's chances of participating in next year's Olympics. Do you believe that you will still have time to play for the national team at the Olympic Games or the World Cup?

— Of course, any athlete has such a desire. But now everything is happening in the world so that nothing depends on us. It is very sad that Russian athletes, including hockey players, cannot represent their country at such a big event as the Olympics. I would really like to participate in such a tournament, play for my national team, and represent it and my country at major international tournaments. But for now we have what we have. I hope there will be such a chance in the future.