Defeat in the final can be perceived in different ways. If, as a tragedy, the team long and stubbornly went to the cup. It’s like the end of an era where leaders are slowly leaving the stage. Or as the first step towards building a championship team. It would be correct to interpret Magnitogorsk’s silver, which was one step behind in the Gagarin Cup but lost to CSKA, in this way. Yes, I lost extremely disappointingly and I was ahead by a score of 3-1. Some will even call it an embarrassment or a coaching defeat. But in front of the “steel workers” was a car that worked for almost ten years and did not break. CSKA is a team where the coaches have changed, the composition has been adjusted, but the spine and most importantly the game principles have not changed.
Whereas “Metallurg” has only one year in its current form. From the moment Ilya Vorobyov decided that the team should be built according to other principles, due to innovations in the rules and global trends. The coach, who previously preferred to work with big players, hired fast, miniature technicians. As a result, Leipsik, Maya, Zernov and Goldobin gave the coach the final. We didn’t win the trophy, but we came up with a bold idea, which is sometimes even harder. But it is clear that Magnitogorsk does not have enough experience, both individually and as a team. They did not live together as much as CSKA players. So they trembled at the decisive moment.
Magnitogorsk, if not a team dynasty, at least had everything to complete what had begun. Legionnaires are mostly North Americans who are ready to play in Russia as opposed to Europeans. This is already a big help. Pashnin leaves, Dronov and Goldobin think about their future, but Yakovlev remains, and Zernov and Karpov sign new contracts that do not force Metallurg’s payroll. Ural residents are still far from the salary ceiling. But the problems came from an unexpected direction. At the end of May, Vorobyov was practically alone in the yard, and on the coaching staff. It all started with the departure of his Latvian assistant Viktor Ignatiev to his homeland in early March.
“His departure was frustrating. We talked, we talked. We have the smallest coaching staff. They put the goalkeeping coach on the bench because without him we would have been both – ridiculous for the final. CHL. Instead, we are looking for experts. As Henry Ford said, “B people hire C people to make them look better. And the A-level category hires A+-level people to make them stronger.”– Vorobyov shared with our colleagues from Sport-Express.
Ignatiev at Metallurg worked with the defenders. Judging by the fact that the team reached the final, the Magnitogorsk team survived the loss. However, Mark French was a much more important figure in the coaching staff of the Ural super club. The veteran Canadian has worked as a head coach in leagues ranging from junior leagues to the AHL and Switzerland. And you remember him from Medvescak’s first season, when the Croatian team made a fuss in the KHL and even crushed CSKA. Together with Vorobyov, they formed an effective tandem, in which coaches from different cultures exchanged ideas in search of truth.
“He has a contract that he took with him. He will consult with his family.– Vorobyov spoke only a week ago about the fate of the French.
As a result, the 51-year-old specialist did not sign the contract proposed by Magnitogorsk. Either the situation in the world was affected or the key was the desire to work again as a head coach, not an assistant. The French headed for German Ingolstadt. This team last played in the DEL final in 2015 and the year before they became champions. Mark will try to restore his former glory and win his first title in Europe. He previously won the Calder Cup twice in the AHL. However, in terms of composition, Ingolstadt is more like a middle peasant.
However, the prospects of the German club concern us the least. Vorobyov lost two key assistants in just a few months. Another is suspect. The fact is that the goalkeeping coach of Magnitogorsk is a foreigner. Rumors that the Slovenian Klemen Mohoroch would follow Ignatiev and the French are already circulating on the telegraph channels. As a result, it is only coaches-analysts and physical education specialists who do not actively participate in the training process and are not on the bench during matches. So who will Vorobyov make up the new coaching staff? So far, there is no hint of this. And it will be extremely difficult to find the best specialists on the market.
As a rule, coaches take as assistants people with whom they once played or worked. Vorobyov, interestingly, had many different assistants in his career, and they changed quite often. Can someone return to Magnitogorsk? Alexander Golts was recently released from Sibir, but after failing to secure a more or less good majority in Novosibirsk, it is not worth waiting for his return to the Urals. Anvar Gatiyatulin and Alexey Kudashov, with whom Vorobyov worked together in the SKA and the national team, were appointed head coaches in the KHL. The same applies to Viktor Kozlov, the successor of Tom Lyams in Ufa. Maybe Mike Pelino will return to Magnitogorsk, which has already happened once again? His short collaboration with Ak Bars came to an end.
Even if the Magnitogorsk administration, together with Vorobyov, persuaded Goldobin and Dronov not to go to the NHL, people who are ready to stand on the bench to the left and right of Ilya Petrovich will have to conduct a difficult search. And judging by the rhetoric of the head coach of the “steelworkers”, they should be not just “dumbs” but fresh minds of their own. Overused candidates will not work. We need ambitious professionals who have never worked in KHL before. The ideal scenario would be to invite a foreigner like the Frenchman and promote a coach from the club system like Stanislav Shumik who did a great job with the Steel Foxes. Aries is young, but he doesn’t blink. At the same time, the lift between the youth team and the main team can also be repaired with the help of it.
💥💥💥 You won’t believe it, but only a few beat this game! Although it may seem very easy to everyone at first!
