- Evgeny, tell us about your childhood.

- I was born in Perm. My father brought me to hockey at the age of four. I have a sports family: my parents did skiing, my mother is a Candidate Master of Sports, my father is a Master, and my uncle is an Olympic champion in biathlon. Therefore, I ran, jumped, played ball since childhood. I could have connected my life with football - at that time my father was training an amateur mini-soccer team. But there was no set of children of my age at the “Amkar” Perm school, so the choice fell on hockey.

 

- Why not skiing?

- I am a team player. I do not like individual sports. There were no prerequisites that I would start skiing. Sometimes my family would go skiing, and once again I was convinced that running for long distances was not for me.

 

- Did you become a goalie at once?

- At first I played in defense and it seemed like I was making some progress. I spent three years playing there. But then the team was faced with the absence of a goalie, and the guys and I alternately tried to play “in the frame”.  It didn’t work out for me on the first try - I didn’t put on the shields properly. But I started jumping for the pucks on the ice, and the coach said that I was a born goaltender. And that’s the way it started. Nice goalie uniform of older guys won over me.

 

- When did you realize that hockey became a serious thing for you?

- I cannot say for sure when exactly. When I was at school, I had thoughts like "what else if not hockey?” I was not good at anything else, and frankly speaking, I did not study very well due to frequent trips to competitions.

 

- You worked with Alexander Gulyavtsev in two clubs. Has his approach changed?

- There was one game when Alexander really went hard on me after a missed goal. I rarely came across this, and usually the head coaches do not touch goalies. It was, of course, uneasy. It's hard to imagine something like this now. I can say that he is one of the best head coaches with whom I had to work.

 

- How have you personally changed after your joining to “Amur”?

- I used to be emotionally unstable. People around did not notice this; they thought that I had nerves like steel ropes. But in fact, I was boiling inside. When I moved to “Amur”, I began to gain the confidence that was growing with every game I played. Plus I have matured. I realized that these are not some adults, who come out to play against you, but they are your equals in age, and they play perfectly. Why can't I do the same?! I was greatly influenced by my acquaintance with Juha Metsola. He is an excellent goalie - it’s a pity that he does not speak Russian. I watched his technique, his reaction to victories and defeats. Looking at Juha, one can’t say if he is worried over goals let in, and this is cool. I totally felt confident at the beginning of this season. I play and enjoy the process. By the way, I still continue to watch games with the participation of Juha. I analyze his actions; look at how he chooses a position. I did not miss any of his games. I am the most devoted fan (laughs).

 

- Is there anything you inherited from Marek Langhamer?

- Marek is my equipment guru. If you look at him, everything is neat: straight shoulders, all is nice. As for me, everything hung like a sack. I spied on how he puts on his chest pad. Marek showed how to tie shields properly. And it really helped! Now, I can cover more space at the net, though I don’t have my best stretch at the moment (I work on it every day)

 

- Do not you think that the KHL will begin to reduce the size of equipment, taking overseas experience?

- I think, the size of the form is not much monitored in Russia. There are goalies – no need even to name them - who try to become bigger somehow. They sew things on, stick something on their chest pad. In the case of check, this can be quickly removed so that there are no sanctions. I read a lot of interviews with North American goalies speaking up not in the best way about changing the uniform - the puck can break through.

 

- What is the most unprotected area on the goalie's body?

- I’ll tell you that there was not a single training when I would not feel pain. But you get used to it. It is harder during the summer training camp, when the team trains twice, and the form does not have time to dry. Then you stand, as if you are a target to shoot at.

 

- Let's continue with the equipment and talk about your helmet. Your first painting on it was dedicated to fighters of mixed martial arts. Who helps with design?

- I decorated the first helmet when I was a player of “Molot”. I watched the fights closely, I knew who was playing and in which category. Therefore, the best fighters in my opinion were placed on my helmet - Kane Velazquez and Fedor Emelianenko, as well as the UFC cage and logo. I made other helmets when I was among Amur players. My wife helped me to come up with the design of each one, and of course, I spied on something from foreign goalies. I spied on the idea of my current helmet from Carey Price. He had the similar one when he played for the Canadian national team.

 

- Tell us about the theoretical classes for goalies. How do they go?

- Analysis takes place after each game in which I participate. Even if I come out for just one period. We analyze all shots on target, sometimes individual attacks by opponent that did not end in a shot, but they were important in terms of movements in net. Oleg shows mistakes in choosing a position or notes pluses. We try to find the ideal scheme of action in a given situation. Before the game, Oleg focuses on certain combinations of the opponent, but he says that we should be ready for everything.

 

- Do you have a special preparation ritual?

- Nothing unusual. I like when there is a skatearound before games. You warm up, wake up, and feel better. Before the game, I arrive some time prior to the team meeting - I do not like to rush. There is a certain sequence of actions before the game. However, it can hardly be called a ritual – it is more of a habit. I lay out my uniform, stretch, get dressed - and I’m ready to go on the ice.

 

- Is it easy to knock you out of the mood for the game? For example, put the trap on the wrong shelf.

- I'm not distracted by this. I’ve seen enough of Juha Metsola.

 

- Last season you had one shutout, this season you have seven. What is a shutout for you?

- Shutout is a victory. It gives a lot of confidence in yourself and partners.

 

- You did not let in any goal, making a save of the season in the game with “Vityaz”. Tell us about it.

- This game turned out to be physically difficult for me. I went out on the ice after an illness, I had no strength in my legs after a break for about a week. I successfully played in. The team allowed me to play the first five minutes without any attacks on my net. And the first shot came from the blue line - consider it like a warm-up for me. The father of Vlad and Slava, Sergei Ushenin, with whom I managed to work a little in Perm, says: “If the goalie made such a save, then he had made mistake in his position.” I looked at the moment when Semin got the puck, I could easily roll into the near corner, block it, and only after that change the position for Byvaltsev’s shot. But he complicated the task for himself, and I had to catch this shot by right or wrong.

 

- What did you discuss with the referees?

- They came up and started looking for the puck in the net. I told them that they didn’t have to do this - the puck was trapped. But it seemed to them that the net had moved, so they reviewed the replay of the moment.

 

- Can you recall the most curious moment that you’ve had during your career.

- It was in a youth team. I played for “Oktan”, Perm. We had away game with “Batyr”. Back then, I played with a wooden stick, and somehow planted a splinter in my finger. During the break, I managed to pull it out, but suddenly blood started to issue a lot. The referee sent me away to change. I skated towards the bench. My back-up, of course, had not understood anything, he was calmly watching the game, leaning on board. I approached him saying: "Come out." He has eyes popped out. However, he jumped out onto the ice. And after a few seconds laughing pealed out through the stands. It turned out that he rushed to the net in his regular baseball cap instead of a helmet. If no one laughed, he would have stood in the net just like that. Then it turned out that he had forgotten the helmet in the locker room. I gave him mine.

 

- We often see that you prepare some kind of scrub in the locker room when you go to sauna. Tell us the recipe.

- I love sauna. As for the scrub recipe, Alexander Gulyavtsev shared it with me. He told me about a tool that helps not only to cleanse the skin, but also to lose weight quickly. Just mix ten teaspoons of salt, ten tablespoons of honey and five tablespoons of soda. Mix all this and apply to the body before entering sauna. The first time I tried, it was in summer upon arrival in Khabarovsk. I had to enter the preseason with a certain weight. I was strictly in line with the requirements, but the flight did its job: when I got on scales, I saw some "surplus". But I played tennis, took a steam bath - of course, with a scrub - and four kilograms went away.

 

-You have a tiger tattoo on your arm, half of which is covered with a goalie mask. But you wrote that it was not connected with “Amur”. Where did this idea come from?

- I have long dreamed of a tattoo. But the fantasy didn’t work very well, so I could not come up with anything and put it off in a long box. I gave the task to my wife. We started to look for possible ideas. I thought to draw a bear, because I am from the Urals. The wife made a sketch by hand. It turned out to be a bear with a mask covering half of its face. I liked the idea, but preferred the tiger to a bear, because it personifies not only strength, but also agility and speed, which are closer to me. Then it took me long time to find masters, but as a result, my dream became a reality in the summer.

 

-You're an avid guitar player. Have you been playing for a long time?

-My brother often played the guitar in childhood. He, along with his wife, presented me with my first guitar for the 18th birthday. I learned Victor Tsoi’s song “A pack of cigarettes”. I started with simple compositions in terms of playing. I used to spend a week for one song. But it’s one thing to play, and another thing to sing during your play. Time’d passed until it became the second nature for me. Previously, there was not much time for this. Only the last three years I find the opportunity to play when I want. I think the coolest thing is when you can pick up a song by ear. I still can’t do it. Therefore, I have a notebook with my favorite songs and chords

 

- Will you sing with the fans at the game some day?

- No. I am afraid of public speaking. Sometimes we get together with guys. Valery Vasilyev came a couple of times with other guys from the team. By the way, he sings well and knows how to play the guitar.