Vorobyov is a hockey coach where he works. Vorobiev Ilya Petrovich

03.07.202027.05.2017

I. Vorobyov: There are a lot of problems at Magnitogorsk, I don’t want to delve into dirty linen

The coach is not going to take a break from work after being fired from Metallurg and wants to lead a new club.

Magnitogorsk Metallurg announced his resignation on November 2 after a home defeat from Lada with a score of 1:3 Ilya Vorobyov. Magnitogorsk suffered five defeats in their last six matches and occupy seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Vorobyov has worked at Magnitogorsk since 2012: first as an assistant head coach, and in October 2015 he replaced Mike Keenan at the head of the team. The specialist won two Gagarin Cups with Metallurg, the second as a head coach, and was also a finalist in the 2017 playoffs. In an interview with Championship, Ilya Petrovich spoke about leaving the Magnitogorsk club and future plans.

Metal fatigue. Did they fire the wrong person at Magnitogorsk?

Vorobyov was made the last one. Velichkin is not guilty of anything?

“I’m ready to work in the club, I’m not old enough to take breaks”

Your father, Pyotr Ilyich Vorobyov, after your resignation said: “Ilya is no longer a boy. There are few coaches who haven’t been removed.” This is your first resignation. What does it feel like?
- When we won the Gagarin Cup, we were a little better.

- What did you do the day after your dismissal?
- What should I have done? I was worried and upset.

- We could say goodbye to the team.
- Immediately after the game I said goodbye.

Results of the KHL day: SKA was left without points for the first time, Magnitogorsk fired Vorobyov

A bad day for the finalist coaches of the last Gagarin Cup.

Is it a plus that the national team break starts this week? Or is it difficult to readjust to the national team after such unpleasant news?
- I’m already in Moscow, now I’m at the national team’s training rink. I’m very glad that I have the opportunity to switch and that there is a job in the national team.

- Why are you going to the German Cup with the Olympic team, and not with the team at Karjala?
- That’s what Oleg Valerievich (Znarok) decided. Said I need to look at Olympic team and give your vision of who else can be invited to the core. Now we have two interesting teams recruiting.

One of your predecessors, Dave King, said that you have become an excellent coach who could one day lead the Russian national team. Are you ready to work at the club level or do you want to take a break until the end of the season and focus solely on preparing for the Olympics?
- I'm ready okay. I guess I’m not old enough to take breaks. In general, I’m ready to work in the club.

- So you can start work in the near future?
- In the next week - no, the national team, and then - yes. Why not?

“From the start of the season I understood that there would be difficulties”

- Last months the work was the most difficult in your coaching career?
- One of the most difficult. But I will say that the last two playoffs were no easier in terms of intensity. The result was just different ( laughs).

- Did you understand from the start of the season that the team would have such difficulties?
- I understood that well. What is there not to understand? There were many reasons for the difficulties. I don't want to dig through my dirty laundry. There is no one reason, there are many things.

Defenseless and playoffless. Who is dragging Magnitka to the bottom?

Everything about the problems of the Gagarin Cup finalists is in the advanced statistics of Instat.

- Which defeat was the most painful this season - 0:4 from Ak Bars or 2:7 from CSKA?
- For me personally, 1:3 from Lada.

- Because after that you were fired?
- And that’s why too.

- After the matches with Ak Bars and CSKA, what were your thoughts? Have you thought about resigning yourself?
- No, I didn’t think so. What are your thoughts? Well, nothing good.

Last year Nikita Pivtsakin was on the CSKA reserve team, but at Metallurg he immediately became one of the leading defenders. What else should Nikita improve on?
- He is very good in attack, he needs to improve in his defensive game. It’s great that he scored seven goals, but we still need to work on defense.

- This season, young defender Grigory Dronov appeared in the team. What is its potential?
- He is developing well, the guy is great. It's a shame that he got injured. There, at the moment when he was injured, there was a rather borderline situation. He had a successful operation, and now he has slowly started training shoulder girdle, does everything he can. I really hope that he will have time to recover and jump into the last carriage at youth championship world, although this will be his second world championship. Dronov is a very talented and interesting guy and has really developed a lot this year.

Vasily Koshechkin has less than 50 percent of victories in the season, he was replaced in key games with CSKA and Salavat. What happens to the once one of best goalkeepers leagues?
- There is no need to place the blame on anyone alone. Metallurg had a complex of problems. There was such a snowball effect, which gave such a result.

“There was a conversation that Bereglazov wants to return”

- Magnitogorsk is now in seventh place in the East. Have you seen ways out of a difficult situation for the team?
- Yes, I saw the ways, and there was a plan. If Lee and Bereglazov arrive, it will make the situation even easier.

- Chris Lee was one of the best in the KHL, but could not find a job in the NHL. Is there such a gap between the leagues?
- Completely different hockey, different platforms. Chris is no longer a boy; as far as I know, he had offers from one NHL team in the spring, when our season had already ended. He was seen in the squad, but then the coaches and manager were fired at the club, and everything became more difficult. Will they give chances to a guy born in 1997-98 or to Lee, who wants to play for one year? Again, two different hockey. There are people who play there and could not play here, and there are generalists.

- Are you following Antipin and Bereglazov?
- I'll follow, of course.

Alexey Bereglazov is currently playing for the Rangers farm club and is waiting for a chance in the NHL. However, in your last interview you said that Magnitogorsk will strengthen after Bereglazov’s return. Does this mean he is definitely coming back?
- Now I’m no longer in business. But there seemed to be a conversation that Alexey wanted to return.

- Viktor Antipin is still having a hard time in Buffalo; the coach has little trust in the Russian. What are the difficulties?
- With different sites. He's not the biggest guy, he needs to be faster on the ice. Victor needs to change his game a little. He did this successfully when he came to Metallurg six years ago, and then he began to use his strong qualities. I know that Victor is in touch with his father and works, but we need to adapt to the North American playground and hockey. I hope he succeeds.

- Nick Shouse was hired to replace Chris Lee. This different levels hockey players?
- Lee was the best defenseman in the KHL last season. In principle, it is very difficult to find a replacement for him.

- Whose initiative was it to invite Igor Grigorenko? What is Igor's problem?
- Grigorenko was taken purely as the first link. Unfortunately, Igor was not so ready, he had an injury, it took him a long time to get into shape. Apparently, he failed to enter the season.

- How did you break up with Gennady Velichkin?
- We parted normally, I packed my things and left.

You brought Viktor Kozlov to the coaching staff of Magnitogorsk. Can he succeed as a head coach?
- Time will show.

Ilya Petrovich Vorobyov - a hockey player who played in the position of center forward, head coach HC Metallurg, which led its team to victory at the 2016 Gagarin Cup. In 2018, he was appointed to the position of acting head coach of the Russian national team.

Childhood and adolescence

Ilya Vorobyov is the eldest son of the famous hockey player Pyotr Ilyich Vorobyov in the USSR. My father played for Dynamo Riga, and in 1980 he switched to coaching. It is not surprising that both of his sons, Ilya and the younger Lesha, were fond of hockey from an early age and all free time dedicated to training.

At the same time, Pyotr Ilyich did not insist on the sports future of his sons and gave them the opportunity to choose their own profession. Alexey eventually became a lawyer, but Ilya followed in his father’s footsteps.

Sports career

He began playing as a center forward for the youth team of Dynamo Riga, where his father worked at that moment. At the age of 18, he left with his father for Germany, where Vorobyov Sr. was offered to coach the Frankfurt Lions team. He brought his son into the club, where he played for five seasons. Then his father returned to his homeland, and Ilya remained in Germany and moved to the Krefeld Penguins.

Three years later he changed the club to Adler Mannheim, but there were no significant successes at German ice never achieved it. In total, the athlete spent ten years in Germany and returned to Russia, to the Togliatti Lada, which by that time was coached by his father.

Two years later he moved to the Ural Metallurg, where he played only one season. Unable to prove himself properly, Ilya changed “Magnitka” to “Khimik” near Moscow. Having finished the season, he again went to Germany to end his sports career with the Frankfurt Lions.

Such leapfrog with frequent changes of teams was associated with the status of a foreign player in which the hockey player was after changing Russian citizenship to German. And since, according to the laws of that time, it was supposed to have no more than three foreign players in a team, this noticeably reduced interest in the player. The athlete even thought about returning Russian citizenship, but this turned out to be not such a simple matter, since according to German laws he was forced to give up his Russian passport.

During a match with the German Hannover, 34-year-old Ilya received a severe concussion, which not only put an end to his future career as a striker, but also threatened him with disability and dementia in the future.

Coaching activities

Fortunately, the doctors' predictions did not come true, and the athlete managed to avoid the fate of Muhammad Ali. But Ilya could no longer imagine his life without hockey, so he used every opportunity to be “in the know.”

At the 2010 World Cup in Germany, he served the Russian national team, performing various administrative functions from translator to supplier. In the same year, the athlete returned to his homeland and went to his father in Yaroslavl to help him in coaching work with local Lokomotiv.

But fate unexpectedly presented him with a new test. The entire main team of Lokomotiv, flying to the game in Minsk, died in the plane crash. Father and son Vorobyov had to form from inexperienced juniors new team, capable of fighting with dignity in Major League. They coped with the most difficult task with honor and in the new season the renewed Lokomotiv reached the quarterfinals.

In the spring of 2012, Ilya returned to Metallurg again, this time as a senior coach. Three years later he was appointed head coach and in his first season in this position he led Metallurg to victory in the Gagarin Cup (in the final the club defeated CSKA with a score of 4:3), but a year later the team lost to SKA under the leadership of

A graduate of Dynamo Riga, where his father worked.

At the age of 18, he and his father ended up in Germany, playing for Frankfurt Lions (1993-1999), Krefeld Penguin (1999-2001), Adler Mannheim (2001-2003). Then he played in Russia for Lada (Tolyatti, 2003-2006), Metallurg (Magnitogorsk, 2006-2007), Khimik (Mytishchi, 2007). He finished his playing career with the Frankfurt Lions (2007-2010).

On May 3, 2012, he was appointed to the position of senior coach of the Metallurg hockey club (Magnitogorsk). On October 17, 2015, he was appointed head coach of Metallurg. On October 19, a meeting was held between the president of the club, Viktor Filippovich Rashnikov, and the management and coaching staff of the Metallurg team. Following the meeting, Ilya Petrovich Vorobyov was appointed head coach of the Metallurg team (Magnitogorsk). On April 19, 2016, he led the team to the Gagarin Cup of the 2015/16 season.

Statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	AND	G	A	ABOUT	Shtr	AND	G	A	ABOUT	Shtr
1993/94	Frankfurter E.S.C.	2.BL (German)Russian	47	19	28	47	64	-	-	-	-	-
1994/95 (German)Russian	Frankfurt Lions	DEL	18	4	13	17	45	4	1	2	3	4
1995/96 (German)Russian	Frankfurt Lions	DEL	20	4	12	16	49	-	-	-	-	-
1996/97 (German)Russian	Frankfurt Lions	DEL	32	12	13	25	36	-	-	-	-	-
1997/98 (German)Russian	Frankfurt Lions	DEL	47	14	19	33	96	-	-	-	-	-
1998/99 (German)Russian	Frankfurt Lions	DEL	22	6	3	9	49	-	-	-	-	-
1999/00 (German)Russian	Krefeld Pinguine	DEL	56	24	28	52	61	4	0	2	2	12
2000/01 (German)Russian	Krefeld Pinguine	DEL	53	16	15	31	75	-	-	-	-	-
2001/02 (German)Russian	Adler Mannheim	DEL	46	15	17	32	31	12	3	2	5	14
2002/03 (German)Russian	Adler Mannheim	DEL	45	7	14	21	30	5	1	1	2	16
2003/04	Lada	RSL	54	8	14	22	120	6	0	0	0	4
2004/05	Lada	RSL	58	12	15	27	60	10	3	5	8	12
2005/06	Lada	RSL	14	1	5	6	16	-	-	-	-	-
2005/06	Metallurg (Mg)	RSL	29	5	7	12	14	11	1	2	3	6
2006/07	Metallurg (Mg)	RSL	21	2	2	4	24	-	-	-	-	-
2006/07	Khimik (Mytishchi)	RSL	28	2	8	10	22	7	0	0	0	22
2007/08 (German)Russian	Frankfurt Lions	DEL	55	13	23	36	66	12	3	6	9	4
2008/09 (German)Russian	Frankfurt Lions	DEL	7	3	1	4	2	5	1	2	3	2
2009/10 (German)Russian	Frankfurt Lions	DEL	2	0	0	0	6	-	-	-	-	-
DEL total			403	118	158	276	546	42	9	15	24	52
RSL total			204	30	51	81	256	27	4	7	11	22

Statistics (head coach)

Team	Tournament and season	Regular season								Playoffs
Team	Tournament and season	AND	IN	VO/VB	software/software	P	ABOUT	ABOUT%	Result	IN	P	Result
Metallurg Mg	KHL 2015-16	60	25	3/10	0/2	20	103	57,2%	2nd in the East	16	7	Victory in the Gagarin Cup

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Notes

Links

- statistics in (English)
- statistics in (English)
. Official website of HC Loko
// Sport-Express. - 05/12/2010.

Hockey club "Metallurg" Magnitogorsk - current lineup
4 Lee 8 Volsky 9 Antipin 10 Mozyakin 13 Kaletnik 16 Zhelezkov 23 Timkin 25 Zaripov 28 Semin 30 Samsonov (B) 39 Platonov 41 Filippi 43 Kovar 48 Biryukov 51 Bereglazov 52 Tereshchenko 67 Dm. Kazionov 68 Kosovo 70 Medvedev 77 Den. Kazionov 78 Khabarov 83 Koshechkin (V) 92 Potekhin Trainer: Ilya Vorobyov

Coaches hockey club "Metallurg" Magnitogorsk
Mirsky (1955-1956) Mordukhovich (1957-1958) (2011) Kanareikin (2011-2012) Maurice (2012-2013) Keenan (2013-2015) Vorobyov(2015-present)

Excerpt characterizing Vorobyov, Ilya Petrovich

The fire that he had looked at so indifferently the night before had grown significantly overnight. Moscow has already been burning since different sides. Karetny Ryad and Zamoskvorechye were burning at the same time. Gostiny Dvor, Povarskaya, barges on the Moscow River and a wood market near the Dorogomilovsky Bridge.
Pierre's path lay through the alleys to Povarskaya and from there to the Arbat, to St. Nicholas the Apparition, with whom he had long ago determined in his imagination the place where his deed should be carried out. Most of the houses had locked gates and shutters. The streets and alleys were deserted. The air smelled of burning and smoke. Occasionally we encountered Russians with anxiously timid faces and Frenchmen with a non-urban, camp look, walking along the middle of the streets. Both of them looked at Pierre in surprise. Except tall and thickness, in addition to the strange, gloomily concentrated and suffering expression on his face and entire figure, the Russians looked closely at Pierre because they did not understand what class this man could belong to. The French followed him with their eyes in surprise, especially because Pierre, disgusted by all the other Russians who looked at the French in fear or curiosity, did not pay any attention to them. At the gate of one house, three Frenchmen, who were explaining something to Russian people who did not understand them, stopped Pierre, asking if he knew French?
Pierre shook his head negatively and moved on. In another alley, a sentry standing by a green box shouted at him, and only at the repeated menacing scream and the sound of a gun taken by the sentry on his hand did Pierre realize that he had to go around to the other side of the street. He heard and saw nothing around him. He, like something terrible and alien to him, carried his intention with haste and horror, afraid - taught by the experience of the previous night - to somehow lose it. But Pierre was not destined to convey his mood intact to the place where he was heading. In addition, even if he had not been delayed by anything on the way, his intention could not have been fulfilled simply because Napoleon had traveled more than four hours ago from the Dorogomilovsky suburb through the Arbat to the Kremlin and was now sitting in the gloomiest mood in the Tsar’s office the Kremlin Palace and gave detailed, detailed orders about the measures that immediately had to be taken to extinguish the fire, prevent looting and calm the residents. But Pierre did not know this; He, completely absorbed in what was to come, suffered, as people suffer who stubbornly undertake an impossible task - not because of the difficulties, but because the task is unusual for their nature; he was tormented by the fear that he would weaken at the decisive moment and, as a result, lose self-respect.
Although he did not see or hear anything around him, he instinctively figured out the road and did not make the mistake of taking the side streets that led him to Povarskaya.
As Pierre approached Povarskaya, the smoke became stronger and stronger, and there was even heat from the fire. Occasionally tongues of fire rose from behind the roofs of houses. There were more people on the streets, and these people were more anxious. But Pierre, although he felt that something extraordinary was happening around him, was not aware that he was approaching a fire. Walking along a path that ran through a large undeveloped place, adjacent on one side to Povarskaya, on the other to the gardens of Prince Gruzinsky’s house, Pierre suddenly heard the desperate cry of a woman next to him. He stopped, as if awakening from sleep, and raised his head.
To the side of the path, on the dry, dusty grass, household belongings were piled up: feather beds, a samovar, icons and chests. A middle-aged woman was sitting on the ground next to the chests. thin woman, with long protruding upper teeth, dressed in a black cloak and cap. This woman, rocking and saying something, cried sorely. Two girls, from ten to twelve years old, dressed in dirty short dresses and cloaks, looked at their mother with an expression of bewilderment on their pale, frightened faces. A smaller boy, about seven years old, wearing a suit and someone else’s huge cap, was crying in the arms of an old woman nanny. A barefoot, dirty girl sat on a chest and, having loosened her whitish braid, pulled back her singed hair, sniffing it. The husband, a short, stooped man in a uniform, with wheel-shaped sideburns and smooth temples visible from under a straight-on cap, with a motionless face, moved apart the chests, placed one on top of the other, and pulled out some clothes from under them.
The woman almost threw herself at Pierre's feet when she saw him.
“Dear fathers, Orthodox Christians, save, help, my dear!.. someone help,” she said through sobs. - A girl!.. A daughter!.. They left my youngest daughter!.. She burned down! Oh oh oh! That's why I cherish you... Oh oh oh!
“That’s enough, Marya Nikolaevna,” the husband addressed his wife in a quiet voice, obviously only to justify himself to a stranger. - My sister must have taken it away, otherwise where else would I be? - he added.
- Idol! Villain! – the woman screamed angrily, suddenly stopping crying. “You have no heart, you don’t feel sorry for your brainchild.” Someone else would have pulled it out of the fire. And this is an idol, not a man, not a father. “You are a noble man,” the woman quickly turned to Pierre, sobbing. “It caught fire nearby,” he said to us. The girl screamed: it’s burning! We rushed to collect. They jumped out in what they were wearing... That's what they captured... God's blessing and a dowry bed, otherwise everything was lost. Grab the children, Katechka is gone. Oh my God! Ooo! – and again she began to sob. - My dear child, it burned! burned!
- Where, where did she stay? - said Pierre. From the expression on his animated face, his woman realized that this man could help her.
- Father! Father! – she screamed, grabbing his legs. “Benefactor, at least calm my heart... Aniska, go, you vile one, see her off,” she shouted at the girl, angrily opening her mouth and with this movement showing off her long teeth even more.
“Show me off, show me off, I’ll... I’ll... I’ll do it,” Pierre said hastily in a breathless voice.
The dirty girl came out from behind the chest, tidied up her braid and, sighing, walked forward along the path with her blunt bare feet. Pierre seemed to suddenly come to life after a severe faint. He raised his head higher, his eyes lit up with the sparkle of life, and he with quick steps he followed the girl, overtook her and went out to Povarskaya. The entire street was covered in a cloud of black smoke. Tongues of flame burst out here and there from this cloud. A large crowd of people crowded in front of the fire. A French general stood in the middle of the street and said something to those around him. Pierre, accompanied by the girl, approached the place where the general stood; but French soldiers stopped him.
“On ne passe pas, [They don’t pass here,”] a voice shouted to him.
- Here, uncle! - said the girl. - We'll go through the Nikulins along the alley.
Pierre turned back and walked, occasionally jumping up to keep up with her. The girl ran across the street, turned left into an alley and, after passing three houses, turned right into the gate.
“Right here now,” said the girl, and, running through the yard, she opened the gate in the plank fence and, stopping, pointed to Pierre a small wooden outbuilding that burned brightly and hotly. One side of it collapsed, the other was burning, and the flames were shining brightly from under the window openings and from under the roof.
When Pierre entered the gate, he was overcome with heat, and he involuntarily stopped.

The head coach of Metallurg Magnitogorsk Ilya Vorobyov in an interview with the site talks about the team’s readiness for the start of the championship, trust in everyone he works with, new goals, his father’s pride and the underrated Sergei Mozyakin.

Last year, Vorobyov had to take over the team during the championship and quickly make adjustments to the game. He coped, managed to find a common language with both the stars and the youth. Everyone saw the result in the spring. This season is Ilya Petrovich’s first full season as a head coach. He and the team will have to prove the pattern of last year's success. The composition of Metallurg has remained virtually unchanged. All the stars are fine, as shown in the preseason tournaments. But will this be a guarantee? good performance Magnitogorsk? We'll find out very soon.

Appointment as head coach? I was presented with a fact

How different was this off-season for Metallurg from the previous one? Then the team was still led by Mike Keenan...

Basically, nothing special. We have improved some points. In fact, we have been working in the chosen direction for the fifth season. Something, of course, is adjusted depending on the time, on where hockey is moving. But in general, there are no significant changes.

There was no desire, if possible, to repeat everything that happened a year ago in the off-season? After all, then there was a gold championship.

Do you mean fourth place in the Romazan tournament that year? We definitely didn’t have such a desire.

You said that Keenan's dismissal and your appointment happened unexpectedly. In that situation, could you refuse, or is this an offer from the category of those that are not made twice?

To be honest, I didn’t expect this to happen during that championship. We had a verbal agreement with the club management that I would start working with the team from the 16/17 season. But what happened happened. And when they tell you: “You accept the team from today”... I think they don’t refuse such offers.

- How much time did you have to think?

Essentially, I was presented with a fait accompli. We had an hour and a half to two hours to prepare a meeting with the guys, tell them briefly what we would change in the game, what we would work on in the near future in training. In other words, he said what we need to change to become better.

You took over a team that was not at all in the leading group, after a home defeat from Salavat Yulaev (4:6). Meanwhile, they understood perfectly well that no one canceled the high tasks of the team. At that moment, was there already a plan on how to correct the situation?

There was a little over an hour of time to sketch out an initial plan of where to start work. At the same time, the whole team understood that no one removed or canceled high goals and objectives for the season. I understood that with these guys we had a chance to achieve our goal. And we did it!

- What did working with Keenan give you?

I would expand the question and answer. It's not just Mike I'm grateful for. I was influenced to one degree or another by all the specialists with whom I had the opportunity to work. I am grateful to my father, and Paul Maurice, and Tom Barasso, and Mike Keenan, and Michael Pelino. You always take the best from everyone in your work and try to learn something. And this is some kind of “mix” in coaching. And with Keenan we have a very good relationship remained.

The victory in the final over CSKA will be remembered for a lifetime

After the coaching staff was renewed, did you have to conduct individual conversations with the players? How difficult and time-consuming were they?

Undoubtedly. This is a constant process in the life of a large team. I won’t say that it was difficult or time-consuming - we worked with each hockey player individually: with someone, a few words were enough to convey what was required of him on the ice, with someone we had to analyze game moments and conduct video analysis... .

- Can you highlight the most negative and most pleasant moments of the last championship?

As for the negative, these are several games in the regular season that we ingloriously lost. And there were four defeats in a row - an unpleasant streak. And you probably already know what the most pleasant moment is (smiles). This is winning the Gagarin Cup in the hardest final with CSKA! And such moments remain in memory for a lifetime!

- Metallurg has limited transfer activities to a minimum. There are only a few newcomers to the club, as well as retired players. Are you completely satisfied with the championship lineup?

We returned Dima Kazionov to the team, inviting his brother Denis. We took young Ilya Berestennikov, let's see how he performs during the season. And, to be honest, there is not much choice on the transfer market. In addition, we should not forget that several years ago the vector was set for training our own personnel and reserves to strengthen the team - from the pupils of the local school. And we hope that the young guys we are attracting and watching now will progress. We believe that in a couple of months they will occupy the niches that have become vacant in the team.

Is there a youth team guys who deserved a chance to debut in the main team? Surely you have looked through a large group of players from the “Steel Foxes”...

This is my fifth year watching youth. In our club system we have a training camp for young guys. They come out to work with us in the summer a little earlier than the rest of the team, and we see their work, their functional state, their desire. And the question of “bringing” the guys up to the main team largely depends on the guys themselves, how ready they are to play at a higher level.

- The championship is long, and there will be games in which you will certainly trust the young ones...

We still gave the guys a lot of chances to prove themselves at training camps and in test games. We liked some of them and stayed on the team, while others are still too early to play as starters. But we will carefully watch the guys, how they will play and develop further.

Despite our experience of victories, in a number of preseason games it was noticeable that we lacked passion on the ice and game emotions. We often talk to the guys about this topic. We need to add exactly this element. Everyone understands that the post-championship season will be much more difficult; we also went through this experience when we won the Gagarin Cup in 2014.

Do you think I don’t want to win the Gagarin Cup again?

- Did you review any matches from last season in the summer?

No. To be honest, there was no time. It was a very difficult and difficult season, and our vacation was short.

- Did you borrow the Gagarin Cup for a couple of days?

No, I didn't take it. The past season took a lot of emotions and strength. You know what the path to the Gagarin Cup was like for us, then the World Championship and work in the national team. I needed to take a break from hockey and be with my family.

When asked about motivation, players most often say standard phrases: play in the KHL, fight for the Gagarin Cup. Well, what if all this has already been achieved?

You ask everyone who works and plays in the KHL - does he want to win the Gagarin Cup? There’s just one trophy, but there are many who want to win – today there are 29 clubs in the league! And it’s unlikely that any of the teams will tell you that they don’t want to win anything. Another thing is that it is necessary for a solitaire to develop from many components and factors within the team. In addition, we mentally look at the goal differently. For example, in the NHL they often say: “you have a chance to win,” but here you can hear: “you have to win.” But that doesn't mean no one wants to win the cup again.

Do you think I don’t want to win the Gagarin Cup again? Or is the same Danis Zaripov against winning the bowl for the fifth time? Personal motivation is always there. Another question is that psychologically defending a title is much more difficult than winning it. I read the book “Autobiography” by the famous Alex Ferguson. He has an interesting phrase there: “Conquering something is one thing, but defending what you have conquered is another step up.” And I told the guys this at the first meeting after the vacation.

Today, Metallurg has many titled and experienced craftsmen who have already achieved a lot. Is there any fear that they might become satiated and lose their desire to fight in every match?

I would put a different thought into your question. The fact is that no matter how we talk to you, no matter how we refer to experience and skill, there is a human factor. After the dream has come true, the goal has been achieved, some devastation sets in. Especially on an emotional level. And, despite our experience of victories, in the preseason in a number of games it was noticeable that we lacked passion on the ice and game emotions. We often talk to the guys about this topic. We need to add exactly this element. Everyone understands that the post-championship season will be much more difficult; we also went through this experience when we won the Gagarin Cup in 2014. And I don’t think that those who won the Gagarin Cup twice as part of Metallurg do not want to experience joyful emotions again. But the guys will need some time to “reboot” and start the season with new thoughts.

I think Mozyakin’s talent was somewhat underestimated

In a number of pre-season games, it was noticeable that the leaders of Magnitogorsk, led by Mozyakin, continued to pull out matches. Are there any candidates for leading roles in the team, and in general, do you see players who are already playing for Metallurg who are capable of fully replacing your leaders over time?

There are always candidates. Will they take on this role and be able to be leaders? This difficult question. I think that the days when teams were built according to the principle of Tikhonov’s CSKA, where all four lines played that could decide the outcome of the meeting, are long gone. In modern conditions there must be people who score and make results, as well as players who, as they say, “carry the piano.” Everyone understands this.

Sergei Mozyakin will probably overtake Boris Mikhailov in this championship and become the country's most productive striker of all time. How do the team plan to celebrate this event? Which of the greatest players do you associate Mozyakin with?

Let's not guess or anticipate the event. But as soon as it happens, we within the team will definitely congratulate Sergei. Of course, this is a significant event in his career. The way he performs on the ice, the way he trains and the desire with which he comes out to play speaks of him as a great master. I think his talent was somewhat underestimated. And Mozyakin, in my opinion, with all his attitude deserved to be among the greatest players of Russian hockey.

Have you had any difficulties interacting with experienced players? Stars and accomplished players have their own opinions...

I have and will have my own opinion. This is a working process, and so far no difficulties have arisen. If the team leader didn't have his own opinion, he wouldn't be what he is.

My father said that I had surpassed him. We laughed

- Having won the cup, have you changed as a person?

I hope not. But it’s not for me to judge.

- Did you talk to your father in the spring, discuss the victory? Is he proud of you?

Of course, he is proud of me and our team. He told me: “I won my first cup at 43, you at 41 - it turns out you surpassed me.” We laughed with him.

It's no secret that one of the components of a club's success is management. At Metallurg you work with Gennady Velichkin, perhaps the most authoritative manager in Russia. Was it easy for you to work together? He used to fire coaches after the championship...

We worked well together. In some ways our opinions and views coincide, in others we disagree. But these are working moments. We argue our point of view, listen to each other and move on.

As a result, the coach is always blamed. Do you have confidence that there are people behind you or next to you who will not betray you?

Good question. There is confidence in this. I trust everyone who now works with me at headquarters.

The current match with CSKA is a new page in the history of the KHL

- How much do you think the circle of contenders for the Gagarin Cup will change this season?

I can only say based on the teams that I was able to see live. For example, we played against Omsk at the Romazan tournament, and I liked Avangard. Both in terms of the organization of the game and the depth of the squad. I think Omsk residents can compete for the leading position. As for other contenders, this will be noticeable by December. But, as a rule, there are always teams that present surprises. Perhaps this will be the case in the new season.

- How do you like the Chinese KHL project?

I feel great about this project. I think this is interesting. It's nice that in Chinese club Vladimir Yurzinov Jr., our specialist, will work. And the fact that the Chinese entrusted us with developing their hockey is also a big plus.

Dmitry Chernyshenko said at the team's celebration that you attract gold like a magnet. What is the secret of this magnet?

Didn't think about it. Let's not magnetize this topic so as not to jinx it.

- What else might surprise you as a coach?

As for surprise, I don’t know. I’m just interested in working and noticing everything related to hockey. In what direction is it developing now?

- How close is the team that was at the end of the season to the ideal that you would like to see?

At the beginning of the season, it is difficult to bring the team to the form in which it was, say, in the spring playoffs. We will reach the peak gradually. It is impossible to play in August the same way as in April - it is simply physically unrealistic.

- Did you study your closest rival, CSKA, in the summer?

We watched some of their pre-season matches. They sorted them out. However, just like they did us. Last spring, we in the national team met with Igor Nikitin and laughed, he said: “I already know you inside and out.” Of course, in three months some things have changed. Nuances have emerged.

- Internally, for you, will today’s match with CSKA be a continuation of the spring final or a completely new game?

We won that final battle. The current match is a new page in the history of the KHL.

- What result at the end of the next season will you be satisfied with?

We haven’t had a team meeting before the start yet. But everyone understands perfectly well that Metallurg always has ambitious and lofty goals. What result will suit me? We will try to win as many matches as possible, please our fans and defend what is very dear to us, what we do not want to give away.

Ilya Petrovich VOROBYOV

Player Career: Frankfurt Lions - 1993-99, Krefeld Penguin - 1999-01, Adler Mannheim - 2001-03, Lada - 2003-06, Metallurg (Magnitogorsk) - 2006-07 and Khimik - 2007, Frankfurt Lions - 2007-10

Achievements: silver medalist World Youth Championship, champion of Russia, silver medalist of the German championship.

Coaching career: “Loko” (Yaroslavl) - 2010-11. - trainer; Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) – 2011-12, coach; "Metallurg" (Magnitogorsk) - 2012-15. - senior coach, 2015-present - head coach.

Since September 2014 - coach of the Russian national team

Achievements: silver and bronze medalist at the World Championships, two-time champion Russia, two-time winner of the Gagarin Cup.

But there is a bronze medal, won under King. Vorobyov's only goal in the playoffs for Metallurg then caused a lot of noise. Phantom goal in the second semi-final match with Avangard allowed Magnitogorsk to equalize the series score. In the 59th minute, the puck actually hit the goal, but quickly flew out of there, hitting the woodwork. Chief Judge Tsyplakov then turned back time. But what is most surprising: Ilya Petrovich was listed as a foreigner in King’s team. He has always been one in the Russian Super League.

Our information:

Vorobiev Ilya. Role – striker. Born March 16, 1975. Height 184, weight 86. Graduate of Riga and Moscow Dynamo.

He played for Metallurg from 2005 to 2006. Assistant head coach of Metallurg since the summer of 2012.

In the regular national championships for Metallurg he played 50 matches, 7 goals, 9 assists, 38 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, 11 matches, 1 goal, 3 assists, 6 penalty minutes.

Titles in Metallurg: Bronze medalist of the Russian Championship 2006.

Career: At the age of 18, he moved to Germany with his father, playing for Frankfurt Lions (1993-1999), Krefeld Penguin (1999-2001), and Adler Mannheim (2001-2003). Then he played in Russia for Lada (Togliatti, 2003-2006), Metallurg (Magnitogorsk, 2005-2006), Khimik (Mytishchi, 2007). He finished his playing career with the Frankfurt Lions (2007-2010).

He was involved in the Russian youth and youth national teams to participate in the U18 European Championship (1993) and the U20 World Championship (1995). Silver medalist of the 2001 German Championship as part of Adler Mannheim; participated twice in the German All-Star Game hockey league (1999, 2001).

After finishing his playing career, he performed administrative work for the Russian national team for some time. In the 2011/2012 season, he made his debut as a coach in the youth club Loko (Yaroslavl), where his father was the head coach. In December 2011, he became the coach of the revived Lokomotiv.

In total, 403 matches in the German championships, 118 goals, 158 assists, 546 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, 42 matches, 9 goals, 15 assists, 52 penalty minutes. In the Russian championships, 204 matches, 30 goals, 51 assists, 256 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, 27 matches, 4 goals, 7 assists, 22 penalty minutes.

Ilya Petrovich, your playing career in adult hockey began in Frankfurt, where your father went to coach in 1993. Then you were only 18 years old, and you found yourself in a completely different country, with a different culture. Didn't you want to stay here in Russia?
Then? I wanted, and even had such thoughts, to stay in Dynamo Moscow. But the family left; times were not the best for the country. In some teams They didn’t pay salaries for six months, and the money they received was by no means the same as now. Therefore, at the family council we decided that I was going.
Back then the German league was somewhat similar to the AHL. There was no limit on foreign players, but the German team did not perform very well at the World Championships. How did you find playing there: was it easy or was there really some challenge in terms of improving your professional skills?
In the early 90s, teams were allowed to have two foreigners on their roster, then three. Then they began to admit all Europeans, and then, indeed, they opened everything up. Yes, the League resembled something like A HL, only on European sites. Therefore, it was interesting, there was growth both in skill and in character. The most important thing, I think, is that my character has been strengthened quite well.
Did Pyotr Ilyich manage to achieve good results with Frankfurt?
The first year the team was recovering. During this period she received the right to play strongest league. We finished the next championship in the middle of the table. For the team we had, this was a good result.
You and your younger brother Alexei had no other options other than becoming hockey players?
No, there were options. And even almost in the senior year, or a couple of years before graduation, my father said that we could go to study. But then everything somehow became better, and things turned out better. Then I went to study. And my brother is now studying to become a lawyer.
Pyotr Ilyich is a very strict coach, but as a father he is also very strict?
When I played under his leadership, all the first “bumps” went to me.
Did he raise you more or did your mother?
You know, that’s how we were raised back then. Athletes spent their entire careers at the base. I saw my dad once a month, and even on vacation in the summer. And once for two hours after the game a week. Therefore, our mother raised us mainly.
Since what generation has it been customary for you to name your children by name Peter and Ilya by inheritance?
I don’t know how long ago, but my grandfather is Ilya Petrovich. However, now we have changed the tradition a little. My son's name is Nikita, not Peter.
What was Nikita's grandfather's reaction?
I don't know, I didn't ask.
Is your brother closely connected with hockey now?
Plays at the amateur level. Sport is like a drug. Once you've tried it, it's hard to give it up. Therefore, naturally, he trains several times a week, but the main thing is his studies to become a lawyer.
Why did you spend most of your career in teams coached by Pyotr Ilyich?
Let's do the math. I wouldn't say most of my career. Out of eighteen years, I spent six years under his leadership. At first there were no other options. Then he invited me to Lada from Germany. And then half a season in Atlanta.
Can we say that Frankfurt in those years was actually the German Lada? That is, he played similar systemic hockey to what the team from Tolyatti later showed?
Last season, as you remember, the two most organized teams played in the KHL finals...
Do you remember how you played on the same line with Malkin at Metallurg? What are your impressions?
Very good. Already at that time in the Super League, he took the puck from behind the goal and, during the power play, he himself entered the opponent’s zone with it. The guy was 18 years old. Now he is different. He has added a lot of positive traits: character, ability to work. Everything is only positive. He had already become a man, but when I played with him, he was still a boy. Well done Zhenka! With his talent, he took a huge step forward. He could just be good player in the NHL, but became a star. And it maintains the level. Just great!
In the last championship season for Magnitka, you left Metallurg in December 2006. Fyodor Kanareikin explained this decision by the fact that you have German citizenship. It is because you are a foreigner that they broke up with you. And they still gave you a medal later?
I didn't see the medal.
However, recently at a performance in a match between veterans “Metallurg” and “Traktor” you were named the champion of Russia.
I don't call myself that.
What about the reasons for parting with you as a player six years ago? What are the real reasons?
That's probably true. King wanted me to be a working player: win faceoffs, get under the puck. It was in this role that he saw me, and I coped with it quite well. And then the team started losing, and he was fired. A new coach arrived - Fedor Leonidovich, who believed that a foreigner should score. Maybe somewhere I had a different role in this team. Maybe, on the other hand, I stopped questioning myself. Although I did what the coach asked me to do. And he did well, in my opinion. But that's how it happened.
It turns out that you were a foreign player at Metallurg?
Yes. I was a foreign player all the time in the Super League. Throughout his career he was “a friend among strangers, a stranger among his own” (laughs).
During the game, you sit behind the players with an earpiece, and Sergei Gomolyako sits above with a walkie-talkie. Thanks to these modern technologies Did Metallurg manage to win specific matches?
We won or we didn’t win, it’s all a common matter, it all adds up to a common piggy bank. It’s difficult to say specifically, but there are some points. I ask Gomolyako to look at the team’s progress and see what we can change in it. After the end of the period, Sergei Yuryevich can tell me his thoughts about the game. This is right. It's the little things that add up.
What interesting things did you take from Maurice’s work?
You know, a lot of interesting things. A little different direction than mine. A completely different direction from how we worked with my father last year. A lot, I won’t reveal anything specific now, but there are a lot of interesting things.
Colleagues note that you interpret Maurice very correctly at press conferences. How do you know and speak English so well?
Thank you. You yourself said that the German championship was open to all foreigners. Managers, coaches, players spoke English. Therefore, I have been communicating in English in terms of hockey for a long time.
Are the coaching staff happy with the atmosphere in the locker room?
The atmosphere in the locker room? We are going through quite a difficult time right now. The period after the pause and now is not very good, so the atmosphere in the locker room should not be particularly good, it should be working. After this pause, we will try to change everything, and not play too beautifully, but just score points, bet on the result.
Does Metallurg have any at the moment players who may leave the team because they are not playing as expressively as the coaching staff would like?
In fact, now a lot depends on the things that are happening overseas in connection with the lockout in the NHL. If the lockout ends, players we are happy with may leave Metallurg. Therefore, we will not run ahead of the locomotive; we read the press every day: what will happen there, how everything will turn out. A lot will depend on this.
Surely coaching staff Metallurg has a kind of plan “B” if the lockout in the NHL ends. How will the Magnitogorsk team play then?
The game will not be as bright as it is now in attack. Let's go back to the schemes that we used at the beginning of the season, when we didn't have these guys. That we had to squeeze out every goal and try to concede one less goal if we scored two. We will continue to work, we will have young guys play.
How unexpected was the invitation to Metallurg last summer for you?
Gennady Ivanovich called and asked if I would like to try myself as a coach here. I immediately agreed, it was very interesting for me to return to Magnitogorsk, because for me it is not just a city, but a station in my life, from which I left good impressions, despite the fact that I left the team in the middle of the season. I really enjoyed playing here.
What did you know about Paul Maurice before meeting him in Magnitogorsk?
Knew what he looked like. While preparing for the meeting, I read his biography. Then he came here for three days, and all this time we talked about hockey from morning to night.
You played under the leadership of King, now you are working together with Maurice: how much do they different people and coaches?
They really are different. Judging a coach and a person when you play and he coaches you is one thing. And when you work with him, it's probably different.
You, Barrasso and Maurice are left-handed. Have you noticed this?
I was retrained according to the Soviet system, I held the stick in right hand, but in childhood I was still left-handed, as I was told. Yes, we pointed out that among us coaches there are more right-handers than in the entire team.
Why can't a team win in overtime and shootouts?
We hope to break this barrier after a pause. I think it's more psychological. We are working on this, hopefully we will correct the situation. It has to break through at some point. I remember the match in Omsk. In overtime we have a “clean” zone, they have a “sunset” zone for all five minutes. We have seven chances, they have one shot, after which the puck hits our defender’s stick and flies to the top nine. It’s difficult to explain, but we will work and try to correct the situation.
What aspects of Metallurg's game need to be strengthened?
We didn't have the most efficient period in terms of scoring points. We spend a lot of time in the attacking zone. Indeed, we have moved away somewhat from how painstakingly to play defense. During the December pause, we concentrate specifically on painstaking work in defense.
Denis Platonov and Mats Zuccarello just can't find their game. What is the reason?
I can't say anything about this because it wouldn't be right for the players. Everyone has their own opinion, we try to bring every hockey player to his best level. We will watch and help those who have reduced their speed. Trying to get them to recruit them and play better.
Metallurg does not have a right-handed defender. Big problem for the team?
At the moment, when we still have the NHL team, judging by our implementation of the majority, it’s not a very big problem. Not yet, but this is such a stumbling block that the team needs a right-handed defender.
Which position on the team would you like to strengthen? Does Metallurg need Sidney Crosby?
Again, this issue is related to the lockout. If the lockout does not end, then we will look and think about who to strengthen depending on financial capabilities. It depends on the details, as the management and coaching staff deem necessary: which position to strengthen. If we are allowed to do this, we will need to strengthen it.
How long is Cal O'Reilly out for?
Cal had surgery, it was successful, and we hope he will play again this season, at least in the playoffs. This is an optimistic forecast.
Why doesn't Metallurg score so many goals when playing with equal strength?
Correct question. We are working on this too. Since our majority is pretty good, it seems like we no longer need to score in equal numbers. In fact, it is necessary. That’s why we work on playing in equal numbers in training.

The interview was conducted by Arthur IVANNIKOV.