Emelin – about two captains in Avangard: “I didn’t feel slighted, Kovalchuk did too”

Former captain of Avangard Omsk Alexei Emelin said he did not feel disadvantaged when Ilya Kovalchuk received the same status in the team.

Emelin played with Avangard from 2018 to 2022. In July, the 36-year-old hockey player moved to Dynamo Minsk.

– It was quite unusual when Ilya Kovalchuk became the second team captain during the season. Did you take it well?

– Yes. I know Ilya, he is an authoritative person. It is clear that with his experience he can be a captain. We complemented each other. Many said that we had a conflict because of the captaincy. This simply could not be. I know him, he knows me. We immediately talked, Ilya told me: “You are the captain in this team.” To which I replied that he is always an authority for me. If there were questions, we solved them together. I didn’t feel hurt, and neither did he. We did one thing.

– From the outside, it seems that Ilya is a bright captain who constantly takes the floor in the locker room, communicates a lot with young people. You are much calmer, more reasonable. Is it so?

– I would not say that Ilya is not reasonable. He can give energy to the bench. We tried to complement each other. He is more on the bench, I am in the locker room. Therefore, everything worked out so well for us, ”Sport24 quotes Emelin.