After Friday night’s victory over the Ottawa Senators, Dmitry Chesnokov and Dmitry Shumin spoke to Segrei Fedorov. The interview in the original Russian is available a Sovetsky Sport.
How are you feeling, Sergei?
“Will wait too long!” [a Russian joke, approximately "We will wait too long I'll start feeling bad."]
What about your first game after coming back? You haven’t played since November 22.
“First of all I am happy that the game turned out to be trouble-free. We held the lead the entire game and won 5-1. There wasn’t a lot of pressure.”
Is your leg still hurting? Are you back to 100%?
“That will never happen. There are no players playing in the NHL who are absolutely healthy. I got better enough to play with physical contact without the pain. That is the most important thing.”
Is that the reason Bruce Boudreau had you playing on the third line to not put too much on you?
“I don’t know Coach Boudreau’s thinking. But our line had the objective of covering Jason Spezza’s line. I managed to get three points. But no one is fixated on personal statistics. The most important thing for me was to get through the game. You know what I mean? Not to get another injury.”
Have you missed hockey a lot?
“A lot. I missed 12 games. It is an awful lot.”
I noticed that there were all smiles when Washington players were shown on the large screen. Is this because injured players have started coming back? You, Mike Green?
“Yes, probably. You can feel the spirit of togetherness with this team. Everyone asks each other, ‘When are you going to play? Come on, buddy, we’re waiting for you.’ Sasha Semin came back a couple of games ago. Now it was my turn… But actually I think that Alex Ovechkin was bored without us.” [Laughs]
Simeon Varlamov is sitting in the locker room with big round eyes now. His debut in Montreal is waiting for him!
“Big round eyes, you say? That’s okay; Simeon will come out on the ice and will forget everything. [OC note: Feds sure predicted that correctly!] Maybe right now he is not feeling quite in his place. But it is good when a person is nervous before an important event. I know it myself.”
7 Comments
if his hockey skill didn’t make him enough of a pleasure to watch (it does), comments like this would certainly put it over the top
it really is a joy to see how happy all of our caps get when their teammates succeed. just one more reason why our team is awesome, whether they win OR lose
Thanks for that. What a sad day it will be when he hangs up his skates for good. I hope he’s back in the lineup tonight — on the other hand, it may be better to save him for later, when it really matters!!
What a fun story that Sergei and the Capitals have rejuvenated each other!
I am constantly amazed at how great of a move trading for Fedorov was – he’s been amazing for our young russians and the rest of the team as well, and I am so proud of the caps for being an organization that he can be proud of and that rejuvenated his career. Its just such a great story all around and it makes me proud to be a caps fan!
Amazing how young he looks on the ice, and how old he looks off it.
Great article mike, he really does seem to be enjoying his time with the Caps. Surrounded by some serious young talent, and getting quality icetime.
Fedorov definitely looks rejuvenated out there. I thought his career was coming to an end in Anaheim, but he certainly got a new lease on life when he went to Washington. His old linemates Bure and Mogilny have been gone for years, but he just keeps on keepin’ on.
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