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10 April 2008-The Playoffs are just around the corner More…
11 November 2008 No. 168-V(17668)
D. Chesnokov
Washington Forward Alexander Semin: "The Palm Trees Will Be Blooming When We Win the Olympics in Sochi
"I don't believe that Semin actually gave that interview" wrote one fan on our feedback page after Soviet Sport published the first part of a conversation our correspondent had with the Washington forward (November 5 edition). "He is such a quiet person! You'd have to talk with him for three years in order to get that much out of him." Believe it or not, it really was Semin, in person. And just so you can be totally convinced that Sasha can talk interestingly about himself, here is the second part of the interview with one of the best goal scorers in the NHL.
photo: Yahoo.com
"I LOVE BALL HOCKEY"
This year Washington coach Bruce Boudreau has started playing you not only in the power play, but also on the penalty kill. Previously, this would have been hard to believe.
"Boudreau approached me before the start of the season and said "I saw how you and Fedorov worked on defense during the world championship. You know, I really liked what I saw, so now you and Ovechkin will be out on the penalty kill." And that is what happened. Your confidence builds up when you are in the game and not sitting on the bench.
Generally, I like it when the other team has a one man advantage. It's easier to play on a foursome than on a fivesome."
I'm surprised to hear that.
"It's easier, no doubt about it. You see, it's more difficult to attack than defend. Your opponent is moving the puck around in his zone, and you just stay in place and actually control his maneuvers. Nobody is pressing you, nobody is flying into you aggressively. I've loved playing four-on-five ever since I was a kid."
But you're from Krasnoyarsk. Did you give "Russian hockey" a try?
"You mean ball hockey? Of course."
Did you have any success at it?
"I played soccer in the summer and hockey in the winter--both puck and ball hockey. I trained in the regular hockey section, and only played in the ball hockey games. I made it onto the local "Metallurg" team, and everybody feared me like death."
Why?
"Because we destroyed everyone, one after another, and I made a lot of goals."
So why didn't you stay with ball hockey?
"I don't really know. I'm just more attracted to the puck. Plus my dad prefers Canadian hockey."
So could you prove yourself in two types of hockey, like Vsevolod Bobrov?
"Times are different now. When I was a nobody, then yes, I could do whatever I wanted. But a professional can't sit in two different chairs."
"A VERY DANGEROUS FORWARD"
I wonder, are they afraid of you in the NHL?
"Am I that frightening? Don't worry, I'm not going to kill anybody on the ice" laughs Semin.
But you are a really dangerous forward.
"I've always played like that. It's just that this season I've been able to make lot more goals. I'll say it again-- having your coach believe in you is important for any player. If a hockey player doesn't have that, then forget it, you might as well change teams. Why bother banging your head against a wall? No matter what, that won't get you anything."
And now you might be considered for the Art Ross and Maurice Richard trophies, for the best goal scorer and points leader in the NHL.
"Sure, but why try to guess the future? The season is a long one."
But surely you want to be recognized as the best?
"Of course! But if everything I wanted came true, that would just be a fairytale. I have something to strive towards... Injuries often get in your way. That is what happened last season, and I didn't return until up towards spring. Both in Russia and in the NHL I often have to play injured."
How did you get ready for this season?
"That is a trade secret" says Semin evasively. "Well, okay, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. I worked with a personal trainer from Krasnoyarsk, Ilya Latyshev. He is a former downhill skier. We wanted to be sure of what type of foundation we put down over the summer. We really didn't want to start the season on a high note and end it in the dumps."
"MY IDOL IS PAVEL BURE"
When you are on a breakaway, do you know ahead of time how you are going to feint?
"Sometimes. My crowning move is to shoot from the weak hand. I move in, look at the goalie and move according to the situation. You have to think instantly, in a fraction of a second."
If you had the opportunity to play on a team with any hockey players in history, who would you choose?
"I'd immediately choose Pavel Bure...I've already played with Fedorov, and also with Jagr. Even with Fetisov..." says Semin, thinking out loud.
When did you ever play with Fetisov?
"Not with him, but against him. Earlier this year I played in an amateur game against some veterans. I'd also choose Pavel Datsyuk. I'd have Fetisov playing defense, as well as Zhora Karpovtsev. I think he'd be good. I'd put Zhenya Nabokov in the net. He is an outstanding goalkeeper."
Why did you immediately choose Bure?
"He is my idol. Do you remember the old "Bolshoi Hockey" tv show? It came on Saturdays at 9:30 am. My dad would wake me up and I never missed it. Ever since I was a kid I rooted for Vancouver."
Did you dream that they would choose you in the draft?
"I never even could imagine that I would someday be playing in the NHL. This league was just something unobtainable. I didn't understand how you could make it into it. It seemed like it would be easier to make it into outer space."
Are you acquainted with Bure?
"Not really. I've only seen him once. Before the Olympics in Turin, when he was the GM for the national team. He came to our game. The funniest thing is that I wasn't chosen to go to the Olympic games, but as I understand that was the decision of the coach, not Bure."
Maybe you will still get to meet him sometime, under more favorable conditions. So what famous person would you like to meet?
"What use do I have for those people?"
What do you mean? Can you imagine Alexander Semin right beside Angelina Jolie?
"Hollywood stars are just normal people, just like me. They just make movies, and more people know who they are. There is nothing else special about them."
"BRASHEAR PACKS A WALLOP LIKE VALUEV"
Do you like any other type of sports? You mentioned something about downhill skiing.
"I first went on skis when I was eight years old. They drug me halfway up a mountain and said "go for it", so I went down. After that it was a long time before I went back up on the mountains. I was afraid. So three years ago during the lockout I went back to those very same mountains. They seemed smaller now, so I went down them all day long. I didn't fall down once. The moral of the story is that if you can stand up on skates, you won't have any trouble on skis. The main thing is to keep moving."
Do you go skiing often now? Do you like extreme sports?
"Actually our NHL contracts forbid us from skiing. There is a fine for this. I love extreme sports, but only on the tv. I like watching ultimate fighting, where Fedor Emelianenko participates. Man do those guys pound on one another!"
Does toughguy Donald Brashear ever do any ultimate fighting?
"It happens sometimes, but Donald is a true fighter. I remember once when this young guy from Dallas went after him. Brash laid him out with just one from the left. Clean as a whistle. It's too bad that Donald isn't always out on the ice. He got injured not too long ago. A puck flew by him, and he decided to stop it. He took a strong hit on three of his fingers."
On his left hand? His fighting hand?
"It doesn't make any difference to Brashear with which hand he beats you. Look at his hits. They are just like Valuev's."
Speaking of hands, they say that you have the most technical hands in the NHL.
"When you speak of good hands, I really like Pavel Datsyuk. I've never seen hands like his before. I played against him in the Superleague-2005 finals, in the third game. Datsyuk could have buried our "Lada" team in regulation time, but he missed the mark. I went up to him and jokingly said "You're just a piece of deadwood". And then on a breakaway he made the deciding goal. He called his own number."
On the other hand you have a deadly wrist shot. Simeon Varlamov told me that "Semin's wrister is like a lot of other players slapshots"
"I myself don't know where I get such power."
From training?
"Only at the beginning of the season do I pay a lot of attention to my shot, so it's not that. It's just that when I was a kid I always had a puck with me. If I wasn't shooting it during practice, I'd be shooting it at home. You can't teach shooting. You either have it or you don't."
"OVECHKIN WON'T BE OFFENDED"
At what moment did you realize that you had become an elite forward?
"I haven't yet realized that."
Wait a minute-- I mean you are a world champion, one of the best goal scorers in the NHL.
"So what. I still don't have that understanding. I'm telling you the truth"
It's often said that Semin is in the shadow of Ovechkin in Washington. Does this bother you?
"Sasha has been in the spotlight since he was a child. This doesn't bother me. If all this praise for Ovechkin had just fallen out of the sky, or if someone had been pulling him along by his ears, then I would be the first in line to tell him this right to his face. But it is apparent that the guy has done all this by himself. Look at his statistics. Yes, Ovechkin is in the spotlight, but for a good reason. He earned it."
What will Sasha Ovechkin's reaction be if you beat him in the goal scoring race?
"He will not be offended in the least. This is hockey, not tennis, where you are just playing for yourself. Ovechkin is not one of those guys who only thinks about himself and not about the team."
What do you think about the NHL considering banning it's hockey players from participating in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi?
"I think it will all work out. Otherwise why even bother having the winter games? Are you going to punish the entire world just because the NHL and KHL can't come to some agreement? This is not right. And who would it end up punishing the most? Only themselves. If the NHL players are not allowed to go to Sochi, then Russia will easily take the gold.
I really want to play in our Olympics. Holy cow! I'll be 30 years old by then, at the peak of my career. Summer, Sochi, hot weather-- what else do you need for happiness?"
Wait a minute-- what kind of hot weather will there be in February?
"What kind of weather do you think there will be in Sochi? 20 degrees at least. The palm trees will be blooming when we become champions. You'll see."
Click on icon above for original story in Russian at sovsport.ru
Photo: D. Chesnokov