Follow me for KHL/IIHF/NHL hockey coverage
Once Jalen Ramsey said - ''I've never tried skating, but if I trained for six months, I could probably crack the NHL.'' And although we know that it's a bull and it's not realistic for anyone to pick-up hockey and perfect it to the level where one could play professionally after six months, let alone NHL - AkBars Kazan of the KHL made a very interesting announcement on Friday morning.
The team announced that they have signed forward Yevgeni Savin to a contract. But there was a twist - Savin was previously known as a football forward with experience in Russian Premiere league who retired in 2015.
This very interesting announcement was handled in a very serious manner by the Russian club, they even went as far as pointing out that the player could be in the line-up for teams next KHL game.
The following is the press release from AkBars Kazan:
We've signed 34-year old Yevgeni Savin who has previously represented „Lokomotiv”, „Anzhi”, „Tom”, „Amkar”, „Krilya Sovetov”, „Ural” un „Tumen”. He has 166 game experience in the national championship scoring 46 goals (43G3A).
Seems okay-ish right? Sure - but nobody had mentioned that the statistics and the team names are coming from soccer instead of hockey.
The newly signed player has already practiced with his new team. Savin had already appreciated the help from his teammates and thanked them for helping to settle in with the team and other little things like helping him put on his equipment. He even admitted that hockey isn't a total stranger to him - ''I've played some of it as a kid and during the breaks in soccer season.''
''KHL is a big challenge for me. I arrived to Kazan to show that I can compete with hockey players. As for the negotiations with the team - they went by fast. I asked them if they needed some help and they agreed. The most important thing for me is not to die on the ice in the first practice and that the coaches give me at least five minutes of ice time in a game. Of course, I would also like to score a goal'' he said.
The player noted that playing in teams next game would be a little premature - ''I can stand on the skates a little, I tried to practice, tried to take part in the drills. Before the practice, I went out there to attempt some penalty shots, scored two of them which makes me very happy.''
On a more serious note, he pointed out that it would probably take three to four years to become a part of the team and one would have to play hockey his whole life. ''I just want to experience the atmosphere, try myself as a hockey player, I want to practice with the team and get ready for their next KHL game.''
Savin wasn't sure on the length of his contract (amateur move, should've hired an agent). ''I told coach Bilyaledinov that I will do my best to make progress and I will try not to interrupt the practices. He was like - Okay we will try''.
The contract was officially signed and registered to the KHL system and according to that - the player has been signed up until December 26th of 2018.
The coach himself in a very serious voice explained that Savin is not ready at all and he has to work hard. He also advised that the player should probably go through the whole summer camp. Eventually, Bilyaledinov cracked no longer being able to hold a serious face and laughed a little. While teams GM Rafik Jakubov announced on the social media that team had found good forward stating that ''We hope that Savin will be able to boost our offense''.
It has to be noted that Kazan will be hosting the 2019 KHL All-Star game and AkBars team has boosted their marketing strategy. Savin himself is taking care of a popular YouTube channel in Russia called ''KraSava''.
The team's representatives in talks with media did not rule out that the player could dress for December 17th KHL game against Avtomobilist which theoretically is possible due to the try-out contract the player had signed.
Join the Discussion:
»