The CSKA captain spoke about the preparation for the season, new motivation and progress of young hockey players.
— The main question that worries the fans. Where did the beard go?
— It's summer, it's hot. I am young, handsome — you can think so.
— How do you assess your condition after a rest?
— Excellent condition, glad to return back from vacation. We are slowly gaining momentum, we miss each other. We had a good three training sessions, we will soon go to the training camp in Minsk — we will work well there. I think everything will be fine.
— How did you meet Ivan Fedotov? He says everything was fine.
— Ivan was well received. A little has changed in his absence, he knows all the guys. There are no problems with this, everything is fine.
— Has he told army stories yet?
— Goalkeepers train separately, so I haven't heard. Maybe he'll tell us something at the team dinner. Now everyone is focused on work.
— How to find motivation for the season when the team has so many victories behind it?
— I think there are no problems with motivation. We are professional athletes, we always want to win, to prove that we are the best. From game to game we will go to our goals.
— Sergey Fedorov noted that a lot of young players are gathering up now. How do you assess their condition?
— I can't assess their level, there are our coaches for this. We met the young players well, this is a normal practice. They prove they deserve a place in the squad. We have plenty of young guys. They compete with us, the experienced ones also need to work. They have everything ahead of them. If a young player is better than an oldtimer, he will play.
