"HOCKEY IN NOVOKUZNETSK IS LIFE"
- What is Metallurg Novokuznetsk for you? Favorite club you support, or headache?
- If you ask this question to any resident of Novokuznetsk, each of the 554 thousand people, young and old, will say that Metallurg is something the city cannot live without. It's the same as a part of the human body responsible for its vital activity. It's already a whole culture. We have 32 teams with about 1,500 children and behind each of them there is a family that lives for hockey - moms, dads, grandparents take them to training, buy them uniforms. For them, it is important how the child feels, what he learned on the ice, how the form sat on him, what puck he scored, missed, plus or minus, etc. It's just life.
- Did you follow the results of the team yourself, did you attend the matches?
- Well, of course. I stopped doing this when the new management of the club made a rash, voluntaristic decision: without my consent, I was fired coaching staff Nikolai Solovyov, Honored Coach of Russia - a person whom I deeply respect and consider an authority.
This is a follower of the Soviet coaching school, he trained the national teams of the country and other clubs. After that, in relations with the leaders of Metallurg: Andrey Denyakin, a representative of the EVRAZ company and General Director Sergei Zinoviev, I had a dissonance. And so, I always went to hockey with great pleasure. Previously, Metallurg was mainly under the control of the city administration, but then it was decided that the management of the club would completely pass into the hands of the general sponsor.
Denyakin was delegated by EVRAZ as the person responsible for hockey, followed by Zinoviev, and after that the results of the team began to get worse and worse.
What do you see as the reasons for this deterioration?
- As I said, at the beginning of the season, for no reason, they fired a normal coach and immediately could not find a replacement for him.
- The duties were performed by the sports director of the club Valery Zelepukin.
Yes, and he was very important person for me. Valery played in the NHL, knows all the nuances of managerial work and selected players according to the "price-quality" ratio. And with him the team managed to show an acceptable result. Yes, we were at the bottom of the standings, but we were aware of our place. With the advent of the new leadership, everything went topsy-turvy: incomprehensible transfers, scandals among the players, some left, others arrived. As a leader with a certain amount of experience, I can say that you can’t manage like that. This means that either the manager lacks some qualities, or some kind of incomprehensible game is going on. Therefore, I look to the future with great apprehension.
— But after all, Metallurg has long occupied the last places in standings.
- I don't remember that we had such a colossal gap from the penultimate place - more than 30 points.
"WE HAVE FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH WEISFELD"
- Under other leaders, did the club cause any problems?
- The main problem of Metallurg is underfunding against the background of the rest KHL clubs. If we take the same SKA, CSKA, Avangard, then the budgets there are a multiple of ours. Because of this, a lot of problems arise: it is difficult to attract players, there are questions of equipment, team training, transport, logistics. But the club has always fulfilled its mission - it gave an opportunity to show themselves to promising players, to raise their level. And he did it successfully. With Leonid Weisfeld, we wanted to raise the status of Metallurg by increasing funding, but, unfortunately, this did not happen, because the possibilities of the general sponsor are also limited. I can only thank them for continuing to support the team.
- Do I understand correctly that EVRAZ is gradually cutting Metallurg's budget? The quality of the players who come to the team is falling year by year.
- Financing of Metallurg has always been at the same level. It’s just that when we had Leonid Weisfeld, and then German Titov, we managed to invite good players like Sopel, Stoa and Fairchild. It was a quality management job. Plus, then we had a whole galaxy of talented guys, the rights to which we profitably sold to other clubs. These funds went to the maintenance of the club and the payment of salaries to the players. We got good money for the rights to Sergei Bobrovsky, Ilya Sorokin. But at the same time, I constantly heard talk that Weisfeld is a thief, all of himself is a sly one, steals something there, earns on agents. This is what I was trying to deal with. We have both law enforcement agencies and the city control committee, we applied there, checked the documents and did not find anything like that. It turns out that with the same amount of funding then we showed best result, on the basis of which I draw conclusions about the competence of the team's management.
- Did you always find a common language with Weisfeld and Zelepukin?
- We had excellent, one might say, friendly relations. They were frequent guests in my office, we constantly met, discussed the affairs of the team. I attended all the matches, visited Metallurg's training sessions, even started skating myself at that moment. The entire infrastructure of the team was open to me, I was completely absorbed in her life. Everyone was well aware of this. At a certain moment, the current leaders told me: “Sergei Nikolayevich, you don’t need to appear in the team yet.” In many ways, this is why I very rarely attended Metallurg matches this season, I went to the youth team much more often.
- How large is the share of public funds in the budget of the Forge?
- Let's start with the fact that the entire infrastructure of the club is municipal, but Metallurg does not pay a penny for its rent. In past years, the city administration covered the club's electricity and water costs. But now the budget of Novokuznetsk is decreasing every year. However, we annually provide EVRAZ with tax preferences for 600-700 million rubles - this is a huge amount. In return, the company supports the traditions of the Kuznetsk metallurgists, the union of labor veterans, performs a number of integral social functions, which, among other things, include sponsoring Metallurg. For this I am very grateful to the management of EVRAZ. The city fully maintains a hockey school - 25 million are annually allocated for this business. At the same time, Metallurg, again, does not pay anything for players who grow up to be a team of masters.
- In this case, is it possible to say that Metallurg is a completely private club?
- Yes, sure.
“WE LOST FANS VALUES”
— You said that Kuznya is very important for the fans. How then can one explain the sharp decline in attendance, which had not struck the imagination even before?
- In past years, there were matches when the stadium was full. Especially when we played with Salavat Yulaev and Omsk. With these teams, we most often managed to win. After such matches, we always had full stands. You can also remember the times when Brent Sopel and Chris Simon played in Metallurg, who put on a real show. Simon could collect snow on a stick, drive up to someone else's shop and throw the opponent's players in the face. After that, he rode to the bench, calmly unlaced himself, and the enemy could not do anything. The fans were delighted. And this year there were matches that were attended by 500-700 people, because there was nothing to see. 20 defeats in a row, well, where does that fit? But then a full arena was going to the MHL matches.
— But what about fan ideals? IN hard time On the contrary, it is necessary to unite and support the team to the end. In many hockey cities in Russia, they do this.
- We also had this in previous years - we lost a lot, but the fans filled the stands and supported the team to the end. We lost those values last season. Fans always came, but ordinary fans stopped going.
- Any work was done to keep them in the stands?
— The club has a relevant department that deals with this. They even get paid for it.
How would you rate this work? If a neutral fan came to Metallurg's match, would he want to come back later?
- If it were, then we would have a full stadium at every game. The result speaks for itself. Therefore, I rate this work as unsatisfactory. And here you need to draw conclusions. It is necessary to work on the mistakes, prepare a concept for getting out of the current situation and follow it.
- What goals did the management set for the team in each next season? Given the dynamics of Metallurg's performances, the team could not even count on the fight for getting into the playoffs.
“Last year we had a very good team. There was a wonderful atmosphere, the unity of the players was felt, starting with the smallest things. So, at a pre-season meeting with hockey players and the coaching staff, I announced the maximum goal - getting into the playoffs, and the minimum bar - to perform better than last season. We got off to a good start - we beat Barys, but then three defeats in a row followed, Solovyov was fired and everything fell apart like a house of cards.
- More than once I heard the opinion that the leadership of the Kemerovo region does not need Metallurg. What do you say to that?
“That is far from true. The Governor understands that Novokuznetsk cannot exist without hockey team. The fans just think that if the region does not give money to the club, then it does not need it. But everyone forgets that according to the legislation, funds from the city and regional budgets cannot be directed to the maintenance of a commercial structure.
"WE STARTED A HYSTERIC IN vain"
- When did you first learn that Metallurg could be expelled from the KHL?
“I found out about this a month before the meeting of the Board of Directors of the league. Information leaked through the press. These were provocative stuffing in order to test our reaction, to see how we behave.
- What actions did you take?
- I turned to Denyakin and Zinoviev with a request to figure out for what reasons we can be kicked out of the KHL? This is where the failure happened. I received false information from the management of the club. It turned out that our main problem is the lack of funding, ie. the amount of funds allocated for the maintenance of the club by the leaders of the KHL was no longer accepted. It was necessary to urgently understand by how much it is necessary to increase the volume of funding. Questions about the readiness of the infrastructure were not clear - we do not have modern systems fire extinguishing and video surveillance. We sat here and discussed: who will buy all this - the club or the city. Instead of quickly understanding what needs to be fixed and starting to implement it, we started hysteria and raised its degree to falsetto: “this is a city, we cannot live without the KHL!”. And you just had to fly to Moscow and clearly find out everything from the representatives of the league, and then submit a letter of guarantee and within six months bring the budget and the arena in line with the requirements. Here, together with the club, we made a serious mistake.
- How realistic is the likelihood of increasing the funding of the Forge to the minimum entry threshold of the KHL?
- First you need to understand the size of this input threshold. For me it is unknown. An incomprehensible amount sounded - 700 million rubles. I do not trust these data, but if so, then we would need to address issues of additional funding. In theory, this is a doable task.
— Apparently, EVRAZ is not eager to increase its spending on hockey, and besides this company, there are no other major players on the market. Would you enter into a lot of small contracts for 2, 5, 10 million rubles in order to collect the required amount?
- This option worked 2 or 3 years ago. We had about a dozen small sponsors who gave a million, two, three. In this way, we were able to fill in the club from 50 to 70 million.
- It turns out that under the previous leadership, sponsors were ready to give money, but now they are not.
- The way it is. For some reason, it so happened that no one seeks to give money to the current team of managers. And this is not some kind of insult, but an objective fact.
- Was the ambiguous transfer policy of the club and the resonant video in which Anisin, Taratukhin and Pervyshin sing songs with a guitar discussed in the city?
- Everyone discussed it: both the elite, and the fans, and ordinary citizens. From such facts, an opinion is formed about how the club is managed. All these misunderstandings, petty intrigues, scandals, destroyed the authority of Metallurg.
- You severely criticized Sergei Zinoviev in the local media. What is your main complaint about it?
- The main complaint is the lack of results. He forgot about the task that the board of trustees and the head of the city set for him. The task was to improve the results of the last season and not be the last in the standings of the KHL. He not only did not improve them, but dramatically worsened them. In addition, the club was constantly in a state of tension and some kind of conflict - either with the old team of managers, then with the fans, then with the city administration, then with electricity suppliers. One gets the impression that the management of Metallurg does not have constructive methods for solving problems. It's time for them to start making informed decisions.
"WHY HAVE US BEEN PUT IN A CORNER?"
- What would you say to the leadership of the KHL, who made a radical decision and did not even give Metallurg a chance to rectify the situation?
“That's what we talked about at our meetings within the city community. They really didn't give us a chance and didn't even explain why they put us in a corner. These things need to be spoken. As the head of the city, I tried to openly contact Dmitry Chernyshenko, I left him a message that we needed to talk. There was no answer. Then I wrote an official letter, which also remained unanswered. But in general, of course, such appeals must be answered. If you can’t do it yourself, entrust it to one of the deputies. You could just say: "come to Moscow, we will give you 15 minutes, try to convince us during this time." But I really do not want to believe that the decision on the "Forge" was made hastily, rudely, sharply and without sentimentality. I think that information about our problems was broadcast to someone, they just did not reach the mayor's office.
- Metallurg was not the only problematic club. The KHL also had complaints about Yugra, but the governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug flew to meet with Vitaly Mutko and settled all issues. Have you ever thought about asking for help from the leadership of the Kemerovo region?
“There were no such thoughts. We tried to solve everything directly through the league. The governor sent certain kinds of letters and tried to give us support, but it did not help.
- How did the residents of the city react to the exclusion of the club from the KHL?
“Our residents are so smart, understanding and loving the city that they did not allow any conflicts, although many instigated this. The press wrote that the Forge would rear up. No, no one will do it. It's just that people experienced this bitterness, and I spoke about this in a letter to Chernyshenko. The League has earned itself only a minus in karma by this decision.
- Kuznya has been an outsider in the KHL for several years, and perhaps now the club will have the opportunity to be in the first roles in the VHL. Why was it so important for Metallurg to stay in the continental league?
- Firstly, this is the level accepted by all, to which the fans are accustomed. They go to see both their team and other clubs in the league, which often include eminent people. Some go to the theater, others to the cinema, others to hockey. Besides, KHL games- this is what our children who play hockey dream about. This dream was near, but now it has moved away. In general, this is a kind of psychotype of the city, which says that the KHL team should be in Novokuznetsk, and I fully support it.
- Do you believe that Metallurg can be a leader in the VHL?
I am not going to interfere in club affairs. Denyakin and Zinoviev assemble a team, complete it, select the coaching staff, tactics and strategy - this is their development path and area of responsibility. But it is far from certain that we will be in the leading positions in major league.
— Do you have a fear that in connection with the transition to a league with a lower rank, the sponsor may reduce the amount of funding?
- The sponsor has already clarified its position - funding will be at the same level. Local residents will not leave the club either, they will continue to be interested in hockey. Now very important point comes for Sergei Zinoviev, although I still insist that the position of General Director of Metallurg should be a competent and organized person who would understand sports, organization, administration, finance and accounting. But such a person is now very difficult to find. There is another option - not to apply to any league and bet on the school, invest all the funds in its promotion and training of young hockey players.
“But it's a very long way. The fruits of such work will appear in 5-7 years, not earlier.
Well, at some point you have to start doing it. Novokuznetsk land is saturated with talents. They need to be sought out. Many of them are not disclosed by us. The guy reaches a certain level, he was not noticed and he finished - he went into business. And if we return to the VHL, then it is not a fact that Metallurg will succeed there. So why spend money on this?
— Which direction of development do you tend to prefer?
- To begin with, we still need to go to the VHL and try to prove ourselves there. A great responsibility lies on the shoulders of Zinoviev and Denyakin. They need to make a team that can be at the top of the league. Based on the results of their work, it will be necessary to draw conclusions. If they are disappointing, then we need to take sponsorship money and use project investment to direct it to the development of the school.
- How do you assess the likelihood of Metallurg returning to the KHL in a year?
- If the team still has one general sponsor a year later, then I would estimate the probability of its return to the KHL to be less than 50%. The appearance of two more sponsors will dramatically increase our chances, but, in any case, we will need to bring the readiness of our palace to the regulatory standards. In fact, you need to make a decision either to carry out a major overhaul or to build a new palace. On this occasion, the governor of the Kemerovo region and I have already prepared an appeal to the Government of the Russian Federation. But this is not a question of one year or even two years.
- What should Sergei Zinoviev do so that you again establish contact with him?
- Sergei Zinoviev should stop looking for excuses for mistakes and miscalculations. He should not look for enemies. You just need to sit down, define tasks for yourself and draw up a roadmap for their implementation. I have no resentment towards him. I respect him. He great athlete, two-time champion world, gave a lot to sports and loves hockey very much. I meet with him, shake his hand, we look into each other's eyes and, as a man, I have no questions for him. But as a manager, he needs to correct many things, draw conclusions and try to turn the tide.
The owners of the Gagarin Cup Mikhail Anisin and Andrey Pervyshin contacted the editors of the site, with whom Metallurg Novokuznetsk terminated their contracts the day before.
IT IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED WITH SUCH CYNISM - ZINOVYEV'S DECISIONS ARE SABOTED
The first to speak was the best sniper of the playoffs in 2013 and the winner of the Gagarin Cup Mikhail Anisin:
It is already simply impossible to read and listen to those fables that have been spreading about me in recent days and now former defender"Metallurg" Andrey Pervyshina. About my appearance at the training session allegedly in a state of intoxication - despite the fact that I, I will be absolutely frank, do not have a drug opportunity to drink, about our lateness and so on. In fact, we were simply not allowed to play, they were deliberately brought into conflict. This is the first time I've encountered such cynicism!
Andrey Pervyshin, defender, two-time winner of the Gagarin Cup:
Completely agree with Michael. At first we did not understand what was happening in the club. Anisin plowed in the hall and on the ice more and more - and he got less and less time. I had both goals and assists - but for some reason they did not please the coaches either. And only now it became clear who started this whole game.
Anisin: - Start over. Both me and Andrei were invited to the club by the new general director of Metallurg, Sergei Zinoviev, a famous hockey player, multiple world champion and winner of the Gagarin Cup. To be honest, after the first training session and communication with the guys, I realized that it would be very difficult for Sergei Olegovich - he would have to put things in order everywhere and in a short time. Suffice it to say that during the preparation for the season, the players, in fact, wasted time - the foundation was laid mainly through runs around the stadium. If at one time in the championship “Dynamo” or “Vityaz” we would have been prepared like that, then we would not have made it even to the middle of the season.
Zinoviev, almost a week or two later, did what was suggested - he fired Nikolai Solovyov. I never discuss coaches, especially older ones, but everything was obvious here, which was soon confirmed with this specialist in Neftekhimik.
Pervyshin: - Zinoviev is a super professional, he knows everything in hockey, from morning till night he lives with the problems of his native team. He tried to change a lot in Metallurg - and training process and club relations. But gradually, we began to notice that some things were openly sabotaged by a number of employees.
- By whom exactly?
Anisin: - For example, head coach Sergei Berdnikov. Sergey Olegovich recommended one thing, Berdnikov took it under the hood, and then he tried to do everything in his own way. It is clear that he did not succeed. After all, Zinoviev is the pinnacle in our hockey, and Berdnikov is an ordinary traveler, a temporary worker who managed only one thing in Novokuznetsk - sit Solovyov out.
Pervyshin: - Many of the coach's attitudes caused laughter not only among us, experienced players, but even among young people. They themselves agreed on some points after the installations - and they worked, contrary to Berdnikov's instructions.
But the coach had to somehow assert himself. It's best to do it at the expense of someone. The coach chose Anisin as such a victim. Face to face, he was afraid of Misha like fire, but he came to press conferences - and began to sand him. It's not like hockey, and, most importantly, not like a man!
- Who keeps this specialist in the club?
It seems to us that if everything depended on Zinoviev, then Novokuznetsk would have had a normal coach for a long time, and the team would not have trailed in last place - with six wins in 37 matches.
Anisin: - Such a result is terrifying, but in Novokuznetsk, in fact, a promising and not at all weak team. Zemchenko, Yazkov, Solovyov, Mikheev, Lyamkin, a few other young guys are very talented, Zinoviev immediately singled them out and realized that with the help of several experienced players, the team would succeed and definitely not be the last. But you need a good coach. The current one, at the suggestion of some leaders, has solved and is solving its problems. One of them is to remove us and thus expose Zinoviev.
Pervyshin: - Agree!
EVERYONE WAITED FOR MONACO AND CHAMPAGNE, AND WE ARE IN THE FORGE - AND WE PROVIDE PATRIOTIC SONGS
- Why good coach No?
We have already said that the CEO's hands are tied. And just recently, a strange sports director came from the main sponsor, who doesn’t know what hockey is at all and doesn’t even know how to skate. His task is to cut off the minimum wage for everyone. So to speak, a crisis manager from the factory.
Anisin: - And in addition to such a director, there were "moles" in the team - I think, at the suggestion of Berdnikov. They leak everything beneficial to the coach on the Internet, shielding him. They also substitute Zinoviev, giving information about some internal affairs, debts. It is clear where the ears grow from.
In such an environment, young players certainly will not be formed. And it is no coincidence that many are already looking to the side. So shameful for Novokuznetsk hockey!
- Do you have any complaints? And do you understand that not everyone will believe you?
Both: - And all the same, we considered it necessary to speak - so that Zinoviev would be allowed to work normally, and the club would not be quietly transferred to the lower league.
Well, the main claim to himself is that they did not justify the hopes of Zinoviev. Yes, we were not given the opportunity to justify them, but this is still more of an excuse - it was necessary to go to the press earlier, not to be silent.
Yesterday, a video in which you, along with another player of the club, Andrey Taratukhin, sang songs, caused a great resonance on the Internet. Some bloggers have already called the video the most interesting in the entire current KHL season...
Anisin: - We understand why people got excited. Our fans are accustomed to the fact that athletes usually rest somewhere in expensive clubs Monaco, they order hundreds of bottles of champagne there and, pardon the expression, bulge out. And here in the kitchen in Novokuznetsk, absolutely sober hockey players sing patriotic songs - about the history of their country. The accusers are probably in shock (laughs).
WE WILL BE BACK!
- Nevertheless, Novokuznetsk for you is already a passed stage. What's next?
Anisin: - After all those tubs of dirt that a couple of characters poured on us here, there is only one thing left - to wash off and train even more. And we also want to say a big thank you to Zinoviev and the Novokuznetsk team for their support. Yes, we know a few weaklings who "knocked" and who, we suspect, will still be asked to throw stones at us. But they are a pitiful exception, because the people in Siberia are honest and reliable.
Pervyshin: - I also perfectly understand that one should not be offended, but work. I won't leave the room from tomorrow. We will be back!
MOSCOW, May 24. /Corr. TASS Rustam Sharafutdinov/. The decision to exclude Metallurg Novokuznetsk from the Continental Hockey League (KHL) championship is illegal. This was announced to journalists by the general director of the club Sergei Zinoviev.
The decision to withdraw Metallurg from the KHL was made on Wednesday. According to the league concept, excluded Russian clubs will have the opportunity to play in the Higher Hockey League (VHL).
“We believed to the end that we would have time to fix everything. This decision runs counter to the regulations from which we start. The League committed a misdemeanor,” Zinoviev said.
When asked whether the club would defend its rights in court, Zinoviev replied: "We will consult, the league's decision is illegal. Reason has not prevailed over commercialization issues. We could have been told about this at the beginning of the championship, not at the end."
The management of Novokuznetsk Metallurg has not yet decided whether the club will play in the VHL
According to Zinoviev, the leadership of Metallurg has not yet decided whether the club will play in the (VHL). "I think that the club should continue to exist. As for which league we will play in, we will still confer and make a decision. We hope that there will be some kind of sound and reasonable decision," Zinoviev said.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk vice-president Gennady Velichkin said that he had asked the league's board of directors to leave the Novokuznetsk club in the KHL for the next season. "It's true that I asked Metallurg Novokuznetsk to be given one year to correct the situation. But it's too late to think, the decision has been made," Velichkin said.
The Novokuznetsk team has played in the KHL since the very first league championship (2008) and has never made it to the playoffs.
There is already a candidate for the post of head coach of Metallurg.
Novokuznetsk Metallurg announced personnel changes. The club will leave the general director Sergei Zinoviev and the coaching staff of the team, headed by Vadim Shakhraichuk.
How it all started
On May 24, Kontinental Hockey League President Dmitry Chernyshenko announced that Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Croatian Medvescak would not play in the KHL starting from the 2017/18 season. “Next season, 27 clubs will play in the KHL. The two weakest clubs in terms of sports and financial results. These are Medveshchak and Metallurg Novokuznetsk, which was the last in all ratings.
Chernyshenko: costs are lower in the VHL, Kuznya can allocate money for the development of the school
The ensuing reaction in Novokuznetsk
The mayor of Novokuznetsk, Sergey Kuznetsov, on the air of Kuzbass FM radio, commented on the situation with the exclusion of Metallurg from the KHL.
“We will deal with the leadership of Metallurg, which allowed this situation and began to solve it when everything was practically a foregone conclusion ... I don’t need such a director as Zinoviev - he has some kind of interpersonal relationship with Chernyshenko, thanks to which he doesn’t could get into his office, stood under the door.
Further, I instructed the lawyers to check how legal the exclusion of Metallurg was according to the league regulations. And finally, prepare for games in the VHL. Because with such a game that Metallurg showed in the last season, it is not certain that we will play successfully in the Premier League. Therefore, we need to watch the team, talk with hockey players who agree to play in the VHL, play in such a way as to qualify for a return to the KHL.
Zinoviev: reason has not prevailed, the Kuzny has no way back to the KHL
Metallurg Novokuznetsk general manager Sergei Zinoviev commented on the decision of the board of directors to expel the club from the league.
Metallurg applied for and entered the Higher hockey league. At the same time, the general sponsor of Metallurg Novokuznetsk, EVRAZ, has retained funding for the hockey club in the new season at the level of the 2016/17 season, despite the exclusion of the team from the Continental Hockey League.
Kuznya held two pre-season tournaments and was preparing for the first match in the VHL championship, scheduled for September 13th.
On September 6, three and a half months after Mayor Kuznetsov's statement, the club announced the departure of CEO Sergei Zinoviev and the team's coaching staff, headed by Vadim Shakhraichuk.
Club press release
“For the purpose, the interaction of the Novokuznetsk hockey vertical will become even more dense and constructive. The invitation of experienced specialists should contribute to the further progress of the young pupils of the Novokuznetsk hockey school, their subsequent performance in the “bears” and “Metallurg”, as well as the return to our team of those local pupils who had previously left their native club after different reasons. For this, certain changes are needed. In the opening season, Metallurg and Kuznetsk Bears will face ambitious tournament goals, which also require further personnel changes. Metallurg General Director Sergei Zinoviev and the coaching staff of the Metallurg team are leaving the club. Last working day in Novokuznetsk hockey club for specialists will be September 7, 2017,” the club’s press service said in a statement.
According to other sources, the former general director of the club, Vladimir Rokkel, is also directly related to the departure of Zinoviev from Metallurg.
Expert opinion
“I don’t understand at all the personnel decisions of Novokuznetsk over the past ten years, when the team has turned into such a cesspool for training incomprehensible personnel. As for the dismissal of Zinoviev and the coaching staff headed by Vadim Shakhraichuk, we do not know the reasons for such a decision. I cannot say whether it was right to dismiss the entire working team or not. We do not know the policy of the club, we do not know at all who determines this very policy of the Forge. No one knows why these coaches appeared, what tasks they faced. All this is done behind the scenes. I think that in the near future Metallurg should give an official clarification on this situation.
It is difficult to say what awaits the "Forge" in the new season. The most important thing is to understand what the region wants from this team. But over the past ten years there has been no clear direction for what Metallurg Novokuznetsk is needed. There was no strategy. I am convinced that we need to come to a complete reorganization of our hockey. On the basis of the VHL, it is necessary to make the Super League, this will give impetus to the development of our sport. And, of course, the KHL should be reduced. After the Olympics, this should be done, ”said Yuri Novikov, Honored Coach of Russia, who worked at Metallurg Novokuznetsk from 1998 to 2000.
Who will be the new head coach of the team
According to the Championship, the new head coach of Metallurg will be Anatoly Khomenko, who worked for a long time in the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv system, including being a member of the coaching staff of Sean Simpson and Dave King.
MOSCOW, May 25 - R-Sport, Alexander Rogulev. The general director of Metallurg Novokuznetsk, Sergei Zinoviev, was given a year by the sponsors to show the result in the KHL, but he did not give it, which resulted in the exclusion of the club from the league, the former Main coach"Forges" Nikolai Solovyov, dismissed at the beginning of last season.
On Wednesday, it was announced that from the new KHL season Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Medveschak Zagreb will leave. "Forge" will continue to play in the VHL.
Not a day for Metallurg: the Novokuznetsk team will no longer play in the KHL >>>
“When Sergei Zinoviev came to the leadership, I tried to immediately ask him if he came to the club with some conditions, some promises from sponsors,” Solovyov said by phone. “Zinoviev answered in the style of “no money, but you hold on ". He said that he needed to show the result in the season, then the conditions would appear. And when I reminded Serezha that in his playing career he always refused to play according to the system "today match - money tomorrow", Zinoviev did not answer me."
"I lost my brother, now - "Metallurg"
“You know, this year 2017 turns out to be tragic for me,” Solovyov continued. “Not so long ago I lost my brother, and now Metallurg has been expelled from the KHL. I met these two events with equal pain. in this case, you can’t help in any way. It’s clear that Novokuznetsk hockey will not benefit from such a decision. And it will have the opportunity to return or not, for example, sports principle no one can say right now."
According to the interlocutor of the agency, Novokuznetsk may lose talented young people from the MHL club "Kuznetsk Bears". “I didn’t go to a single hockey game in Khanty-Mansiysk at the end of the season. But when the Bears arrived, I couldn’t resist,” Solovyov said. “And with the permission of the coach, after the game, I went to the guys in the locker room. the problem is that an amazing generation is growing there now: Nikita Lyamkin, Andrey Karavaev, and the same Kirill Zinoviev, you can list for a long time. They needed this year in the KHL. "
“When we first came to Metallurg with Sergey Arkhipovich (Kotov), it was decided: the club should be based on its pupils and guys who, for some reason, did not suit other teams, but can be useful here,” the ex-coach added. "Forges". - Yes, the guys were not stars, but they understood our requirements and agreed with them. The agreement was this: we made a plan for three years, during which in two seasons we could leave and leave younger colleagues. We are not wanted to retire from last place."
Tuleyev's intervention is needed
Solovyov believes that Andrey Denyakin, a representative of the EVRAZ company, who joined the management team of Metallurg, had little knowledge of hockey issues. “The second person in the club, Andrey Denyakin, was remembered for only one moment,” Solovyov said. “We then agreed on the arrival of Misha Biryukov, the world champion, who would clearly strengthen Metallurg. But Denyakin could not understand why we 38- summer hockey player, I don’t even know who he confused Misha with. He came out of the office red-faced when I showed him who he was.”
“I do not presume to judge either Denyakin or Zinoviev - we all have both good and bad behind us. But I can say one thing: we had good results in the preseason, but with their arrival, I felt in the locker room that the atmosphere already completely different, - Solovyov admitted. - You go in there - and everything is wrong. So after the last game in the evening I understood that they would shoot me in the morning. And for sure: I came at seven o'clock, and Zinoviev and Valery Zelepukin were already waiting for me They shouldn't have done it. We would have completed the season, and certainly would not have finished it in last place."
