Mikhail Deev: The main goal is to develop talented hockey players
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Mikhail Deev: The main goal is to develop talented hockey players

CSKA 2009 head coach Mikhail Viktorovich Deyev summarized the results of the Alexander Ovechkin Cup that ended recently.

Young hockey players of CSKA won the tournament defeating Dynamo Moscow with the score 13:1.

- Could you say that the tournament was easy for your team and you outclassed your competitors? Or were there some difficult moments?

- The difficult thing was that the tournament began immediately after the training camp. First, we had to reduce the workload a little earlier, so that the guys had time to recover physically for the tournament. Secondly, there was not a single day off after the training camp. We gave a full day off a couple of days before departure, but still three weeks of training at the base, everything according to the schedule, and a long trip home... It was obvious that the guys will not have enough excitement for the start of the tournament. However, one game a day and living at home, communicating with family and friends helped us to gain momentum as the tournament progressed. Many said that we had a much weaker group, but judge for you: on the final day all the teams from our division, except for "Traktor", won in all the knockout rounds.

- Are there any players that stood out in the tournament and performed better than the others?

- All in all, everyone played well. Among the defenders, the pair of Rossinsky - Shtyrkhunov stood out during the tournament, as usual. Ilya Kobzev missed a lot of training camp, but showed his high level. Trofimov and Okleba played reliably and creatively. I really liked the newcomer Mikhail Torbenko. Ilyushin and Paramonov grew a lot during the last season. In general, there were some mistakes in defense, but at the moment the competition among defenders is very strong.

We can say the same thing about the offense. Ermolov, Yakushevsky, Katsuro, Privalov, Savin, Mishin, Olkhovik, Soroka, and Vorobiev proved once again that they are one of the best in all of Russia at this point. Look at the stats... All of our guys are ahead of the game. I also really like the play and performance of Matvey Kondusov, who came in at the end of last season.

As for the goalies: Martynov played very good. His game with “Ak Bars” didn't go well, but otherwise he had no problems. Of course the organizers did their best to reward the best players on all teams, but as a sporting principle, I think that all individual awards should go to CSKA players.

- Now all the teams are getting ready for the season. Have our guys reached the required level to start the season?

- The preparation for the season continues. I won't lie, the team is playing well, but we should never stop there.

- What are the tasks the team has for the next season?

- Tasks are always the highest - to win all the major competitions, but most importantly to develop talented hockey players.