CSKA Sporting Director Denis Denisov and head coach Igor Nikitin faced the media at a pre-season press conference.
– It is too early to judge the preseason. Still got the Mayor’s Cup on the horizon. The work on the squad never stops. That is what pre-season tune-ups are for – to see what the boys have got and make some hard cuts. Only one game in the books. Keep grinding.
It's a level playing field when it comes to icing a roster, and every club goes through the same grind. Everyone sees what is happening in the world, foreigners read it. The scouting grind pays off, and the imports still sign on the dotted line. The coaching staff and I are doing everything possible to strengthen the team and are discussing every candidate.
Vladislav Kamenev is currently a free agent in the KHL.
In May, the coaching staff gathered a large number of young guys. We've got a few guys looking to turn some heads and break out. Nazar Privalov has a solid shot at cracking the big club's lineup. Ice time is up to the coaching staff. The kids are getting repped up and brought along. Once they get a call-up to the big club, they see how the vets grind and learn what it takes to be a proper teammate in the room. Vladimir Shtyrkhunov chose his path. We did everything to ensure that he stayed at CSKA. He had a chat with the Igor Valerievich and the Dmitry Yushkevich.
Work on the construction of the arena on Leningradsky Prospekt is underway. There were some minor delays in the deadlines, but they were within reasonable limits and can be caught up with over time. The timeline's locked in.
The coaching staff decided that it would be a good idea to bring back Maxim Mamin. He wanted to come back too. It all clicked. There was a real fight to land Marat Khairullin.
Any real competitor is chasing the cup, so coming to our club was priority one. Alex Cotton is a league-adjusted import, so we figured can work with him and see if we can help each other out.
– We're happy with the game, took the two points, and everyone walked away in one piece. No matter how hard you practice, it's tough to get your legs under you when the puck drops. The boys are itching to hit wheel. He's a gamer who set the tone right off the hop. It's very fast hockey, we needed to feel the game speed.
Me and Kamy are always on. The period of his disqualification falls at the end of the regular championship. His goal is to get some playing practice, most likely in America. It's a difficult situation, but we don't count on it. He's already locked in over in North America, so he ain't lacing 'em up for CSKA this season.
In America, Barak played as a winger, in Russia – as a center. Today's hockey is totally positionless, so everyone can slot in anywhere on the ice. He is a beauty and will play where he is most comfortable in terms of team play.
The rule not holding the puck with your hand has been adopted and we must follow it. Many just catching onto this rule. It seems to me that it has little to do with hockey and won't change how the boys play. Just another wrinkle in the playbook we’ve got to learn.
Sergey Fedorov has been helping us both last year and this year. We dial in the roles and bench duties with each coach. Sergei Viktorovich is still working with the centermen and running the power play coach.
We analyzed last year and took into account the realities of the players we have. We zeroed in on imports who already know the ropes and have their legs under them in this league. They took care of the little things. It’s a game of inches. It's all about winning the little battles. We are not afraid of mistakes; we take it calmly.
Gamzin is still too young to be handed the crease as the undisputed number one. Our goal is not to appoint someone as the number one goalkeeper; we need both goalkeepers to play well and help the team win. Competition and human qualities are very important. The goalkeeping team is a small team. Gamzin and Samonov have healthy competition.
