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 | Nikolai Kovalenko: Not a single NHL team saw the hockey we played in Torpedo. Larionov and Kozyrev gave us tiki-taka22-12-2025 |
Nikolai Kovalenko spoke about the styles of NHL teams. The San Jose forward joined the club during the NHL championship and scored 12 (3+9) points in 29 matches.
– Sharks head coach Warsofsky said: He came from a KHL team that emphasized possession. The NHL has a different style, you can`t lose the puck on the blue line and let your opponents run away. Did you really have to relearn?
– I didn’t see the hockey that we played in Torpedo for two years in a row in the NHL. Not a single team. This is a different league, different players, different speeds.
But it turned out that I was not preparing for this. Although, it seems to me that you can try to show your hockey everywhere. But there are nuances and requirements. And that`s not a bad thing.
If this kind of hockey brings results, then how bad can it be. But if we are talking about player development, then it’s probably not very good.
– Probably means that ready-made players come to the NHL who do not need to develop?
– What about the young guys then? To the same McClean (Celebrini – Sports’). He is 18 years old. Do you think he`s a ready player? Ready-made players don`t come to the NHL.
You cannot be completely ready at 18, and this is normal. I believe that everyone gradually develops, even stars.
– Are there any teams in the NHL that you have played against and about which you can know that their hockey helps players develop?
– I think Washington. This team plays through the pass, pass and open. Also Edmonton. They have a lot of puck possession.
I understand that I still need time to adapt to the NHL. I didn’t play many games and didn’t play with all the teams. Here, no team plays like Torpedo.
Igor Nikolaevich Larionov and Andrei Leonidovich Kozyrev played tiki-taka for us, and this hockey, it seems to me, benefited us all, ” said Nikolai Kovalenko.