Ivan Kovalyov: «I am looking forward to the start of training camp»
21.06.2024
Neftekhimik defenseman Ivan Kovalyov joined Neftekhimik in December last year. His contract was extended for two years. In this interview Ivan talks about his hockey career path, an offer from Neftekhimik and upcoming season.
– Ivan, there is more than a month until the start of the preseason camp. How do you spend your time?
– This off-season is turning out to be the longest in my career, since we have never been asked to join teams in August. During previous seasons, we joined our teams in the end of June or July. Plus, we ended the season, unfortunately, very early due to the fact that we did not make playoffs. I had a lot of free time, which I devoted to household things and study. I managed to spend more time on education. Of course, I have been getting ready: I continue to work out in the gym and jog daily. So I keep my good fit. There is no other way. I am looking forward to the start of training camp.
This year I was able to visit Kamchatka and Sakhalin, also, I went fishing for the first time in my life with an overnight stay. It was great. There are beautiful places. We caught fish that are not found in central Russia. In general, I am not a fan of fishing, but I had to visit such places. Russia is a big and beautiful country. While you have the opportunity, you should try to visit different parts of it.
For the first time I was in Thailand. It was a little unusual, you know, there is a different climate. There we visited many interesting places, beautiful islands, and tied different food. I liked everything very much.
– You joined Neftekhimik in the middle of the season from the VHL team.
– In Yaroslavl, where I am from, I was unable to get my place at the KHL level. I was waiting for my chance, playing in the VHL. In the middle of the season, more precisely in December last year, Neftyanik Almetyevsk wanted to part ways with me. To be honest, this was an unexpected decision. After that, I have got an offer from Neftekhimik. This is the opportunity I had been waiting for long enough. Thanks to Oleg Leontyev and the management of Neftekhimik for giving me the opportunity to play in the KHL.
– You are a student of Yaroslavl hockey, where already at the children’s and youth levels there is hard competition for a place “under the sun”. Was it difficult to survive in such conditions?
– It is not for nothing that the Yaroslavl hockey school is considered to be one of the strongest in Russia, where competition is at very high level. In order to survive, you must always work on yourself, become better than others.
It is well known that competition makes athlete better and is an excellent motivator. I will tell you my story. There are two children's hockey schools in Yaroslavl - Lokomotiv and Lokomotiv-2004. I studied at Lokomotiv from 7 to 12 years old, but they told me to think about whether it makes sense to continue playing hockey. Then I moved to the Lokomotiv-2004 school. My coach was Evgeny Perov. Now he is a coach at Spartak Moscow. He gave me a chance, revealed my abilities, and until the end of the children's hockey school he was my coach. We had a good team that took prizes at the Moscow Championship, many guys were called up to Russian youth teams at different ages, the competition was high. Let’s even take the JHL, when many children dropped out after graduating from the children’s hockey school, less than half made it into the JHL. There was tough competition, it’s not strange that the Loko team is considered the favorite for the Kharlamov Cup from year to year.
– What is significant about the past season for you? What kind of good and bad things you can name?
– This season was a memorable one, because I managed to move from the VHL to KHL Level, and, probably, this is what is significant in the first place. Plus, for myself, I realized that I can play in this league and benefit the team. I would also note the atmosphere at KHL games. It is complety different from the VHL.
We were upset that we were just a little short of making playoffs. We will try to fulfill this task in the coming season.
– In recent years, a lot of VHLplayers have received offers from KHL teams. Many of these guys are not lost at a higher level. Moreover, they showed their best side. An example is Andrei Belozyorov, who showed his scoring qualities. Maybe it makes sense for teams to search and find players in the VHL?
– Yes, I agree, many VHL players are capable of playing in the Kontinental Hockey League. There are quite a lot of examples recently. The players have moved up to a higher level and are playing at a very decent level. But here, in my opinion, everything is not so simple. The question is how the player is able to perform this or that task of the coach, in what role the coach sees him. After all, players who receive an offer to KHL teams were previously in leading positions in their VHL teams. In a higher league, they need to work with renewed energy, show perseverance and patience in order to play at the new level.
Clubs should take a closer look at VHL players, because many of them were trained in strong hockey schools and youth teams.
– How quickly did you manage to get comfortable in Nizhnekamsk? What do you like the most here?
– I got used to Nizhnekamsk quite quickly; it is a small city, somewhat similar to Almetyevsk, where I spent 2.5 seasons. I like that everything is close enough, there is everything for a comfortable life. There were no problems.
– What are your expectations for the upcoming season?
–The next season promises to be interesting, there will be a new format. For the first time there will be 68 games for me. It will be interesting to get this experience. The main thing is to achieve a team result, play every game to win, achieve results, make playoffs and please our fans.
