CSKA defensder Bogdan Kiselevich talked about the extension of his cooperation with CSKA team and also shared his impressions of the current season.
- Not so long ago you signed a contract with CSKA Club through 2024. Do you think that means that CSKA trusts you?
- Naturally, it's very important for a player to have his contract renewed in a season. That’s the way he is honoured with confidence to live up to, and that's great. It motivates you even more to help your teammates and meet the tasks set before the team.
- How did this signing affect you?
- Uncertainty about next year has gone. I was asked what I wanted, and first I said I want to be in the team. I've been in CSKA for the seventh year, it's hard for me to imagine myself anywhere else today. A conscious part of my career is connected with CSKA. This team has given me a lot and I want to be successful in it. In addition, it is very important for me to spend my career without changing teams. However, hockey is unpredictable.
- Add two more years to the past seven years and we have nine years with CSKA. Would you like to bring your season counter at CSKA Club to ten?
- Of course, yes! The time will show. I don't plan too far ahead. So far, we start small.
- In your last game against Neftekhimik, you hit the ice together with the newcomer Darren Dietz. What were your impressions?
- I think we did pretty good. I liked it and the coaching staff remained satisfied. I am ready to play with any partner. I really liked the interaction with Darren. He's a nice guy and we regarded him well. We have experienced guys in the locker room who know what is the transfer to another team. We understand that the sooner the newcomer will adapt, the sooner he will start to be useful for the team.
- CSKA always leads. Is there a goal to win the conference by all means?
- The goal is to always win and play every game to win. Of course, winning the conference is important, because of the trophy for the first place, but the competition for the main trophy comes a little later in the season. I don't think that's a critical goal. The most important thing for us is to improve the quality of the game, its structure and to play to win every game. As you can see, everything is very tight and unpredictable this season. Win or lose two games in a row and you can end up in completely different positions. Plus, Covid manifests itself.
- How's your pandemic going?
- After one of the games the guys came down, and we realized that the wave had reached us. Now the team is under quarantine. Those who are symptom-free train at home under the guidance of coach Hassan Said. We have a lot of candidates to go to the Olympics, as well as guys who have already played there. It's important to be in good shape in any conditions and he helps us in it.
- You are one of the most experienced players in CSKA right now. How does that help you on the ice?
- We also have Uncle Sasha Popov - the most experienced player, and Sergey Andronov - the all-time captain. In general, all the guys on the team have solid baggage of performances and wins. In addition, we have young, ambitious players. We have a good mix of experience and youth. Naturally, with aging you make adjustments to your game. It's important to always be in the right spots, to bother less and to know where the forward and the puck will be. I've always spent a lot of time on the ice, and the experience of playing for CSKA and the Russian national team helps me. I try to use it to the benefit of the team. Of course, it's unpleasant that there were injuries, but it's good that it happened now and not in the playoffs. All of that toughens.
- What helps you get motivated for more wins? Are you satisfied with your playing career so far?
- You don't want to sit still and always want to improve yourself, bring more value and win. For that, there is a daily routine practice, where you develop and keep yourself at a high level. CSKA has always had serious competition. As for career, of course, like any player, you're always unsatisfied and want more and better. And I'm of no exception.
- Along with the fact that this is your seventh season in CSKA, you’ve been living in Moscow for seven years. Can you partly call yourself a Muscovite already? Or are you a 100% Cherepovets resident in your heart?
- That's an interesting question! I like both Moscow and Cherepovets. Cherepovets is very cool in the summer when the weather is good. There's a house, a plot, a bath-house, a forest and a reservoir nearby. Ten minutes drive and you're already in town. In Moscow, it is more difficult because of the traffic. And the family rarely comes, as the children are at school and kindergarten. But there is all the infrastructure here, and you can walk for a very long time in various places and discover something new. I would say this: the best city is the one where you know how to live.
- How do you feel every time you come to play in your hometown?
- Excitement and home-sickness. Of those I know, Yura Trubachev, who has used to push, help and motivate us when we were young, is still on the team now. Now he works as a coach. My second coach, Evgeny Mikhalkevich, became a coach on KHL team, and that's very cool! A lot of people in town remember me and help me in the arenas with the ice and the gym in the summer. It feels like they treat me with a lot of warmth. It's very nice and important. Thanks for that!
- Generally, club patriotism in our time has become a fairly rare phenomenon. Can you call yourself an exception in this regard?
- It all depends on your choice. Pathways and forks are unpredictable, and I've had them too. But somehow it just so happens that I'm spending my seventh season with the same team. It's very important for a player to feel his significance, confidence, and when you have these feelings and emotions, you're not looking to change clubs.
- In your opinion, how important is the presence of the bearers of traditions of the team?
- It is very important when the team is not built all over again and some people who have been with the team for a long time. They pass on its experience and traditions.
- Fans have players with whom they associate their team in one way or another during a particular time frame. Are you ready for the fact that in the future CSKA fans will associate the current team’s lineup with you?
- Sure, it motivates you to perform at a high level and get results with the team. We've had a lot of great players come through, many have gone to the NHL, so I wouldn't get too hung up on myself here.
- By what means CSKA as it is today capable of winning the Gagarin Cup?
- First of all, it's the team play and the team. After Sergey Viktorovich Fedorov join, a lot of things have changed, there are some interesting things that, of course, take time to get used to. But some things are still there. It's very important that we get everything up and running before the playoffs, so we can play hard.
