Unfortunately, many Russian fans are only interested in following the NHL. But the domestic KHL does not even attract with top matches and playoffs. At the beginning of summer, many sports functionaries also noted that, in general, hockey is losing popularity in our country. To fix this, they offered various options: a reform of the KHL calendar and even the creation of a new dynamic 3v3 league.

However, this summer the KHL attracts attention not because of revolutionary decisions. Firstly, the upcoming season has already intrigued fans who want to see how the Ak Bars dream team will perform, whether Torpedo will make noise in the league under the leadership of Igor Larionov, etc.

Secondly, even the pre-season games gave fans reasons for discussion and debate – the story of Matvey Michkov’s injury, as well as 149 penalty minutes and mass brawls in the first period of the Avangard-Sochi match. At the same time, fans and the media talk more about the Sochi club than about the most talented young player in Russia. Many condemned the team of Andrey Nazarov for initiating fights and believe that such a team has no place in the KHL.

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Maniac Trainer

Nazarov headed the Sochi club in September last year. The appointment of a controversial coach was received negatively by many. Still, the reputation of a specialist runs ahead of him. And for the fans, Nazarov is more associated with scandals, and not with sporting successes. So, for a coaching career that began in 2007, he only twice reached the second round of the KHL playoffs. But during this time, Nazarov has accumulated a lot of unpleasant episodes and disqualifications.

For example, in 2014, a coach made obscene gestures towards fans and was suspended for six games. And when he headed Vityaz, he even got into a fight with a fan using a stick. There was also an incomprehensible story with the beating of the head physician of the SKA. All these antics shocked even North American journalists, who gave Nazarov the nickname “maniac coach.”

However, it is wrong to think that the KHL teams need a specialist only because of his tough temper and scandals. Nazarov earned a reputation not only as a “maniac coach”, but also as a man capable of taking a club with limited capacity and budget to the playoffs. So it was in his native “Tractor”, and then in “Donbass”, “Severstal”, “Barys” and “Neftekhimik”. The coach in a short time turned any team into a strong team, with which it was difficult to play even for the leaders.

And most importantly, Nazarov loves and knows how to work with young hockey players. Under him, they revealed: Evgeny Kuznetsov and Evgeny Dadonov in Tractor, Artemy Panarin in Vityaz, Vadim Shipachev in Severstal and others. The coach has always trusted young hockey players and gave them a place at the base. And thanks to the great playing time, hockey players got the opportunity to grow professionally.

Andrey Nazarov / Photo: © KHL / Yury Kuzmin

But the fans hardly remember these qualities of Nazarov, but talk more about the specialist’s love to turn any team into a team of tough guys. And the coach himself only fuels all these arguments. When he first headed Sochi, he immediately outlined the club’s development vector.

– I would like to see aggressive, interesting hockey from Sochi. So that the fans say after the game: “How cool it was.” If I hear this, it means that the guys have tried. Translated into Russian – so as not to say “dull shit.” This is what scares me the most. It is necessary to remove this phrase – and everything will be fine, – said Nazarov.

Stop being sad

We can already say that Nazarov successfully implemented his idea. Before the start of the pre-season tournament, which is taking place in Sochi these days, most journalists and fans called the match between the local club and Avangard the most anticipated. And this despite the fact that the Russian U25 team and SKA are also participating in the tournament. The fans were waiting for the match with the participation of the team from the basement of the standings more than with the national team and the eternal KHL contender – the merit of Nazarov.

And the meeting lived up to all expectations – already in the first period, the teams collected 149 penalty minutes! At the same time, the hockey players decided not to delay the removals and started a five-on-five mass brawl after the starting face-off. After the judges seated all the participants in the brawl on the penalty box, it might have seemed that hockey would begin soon. However, the hockey players of Sochi were not enough, and they continued to challenge Omsk to fight.

In total, for the starting 20 minutes, the teams got as many as nine fights. At the same time, Avangard won in most cases. Despite all the endless virtual battles, the players found time for hockey – the teams scored two goals in the first period.

Andrey Nazarov / Photo: © KHL / Yury Kuzmin

And after the break, the leggings no longer flew off the hands of the athletes, and the audience watched the beautiful goals. Both in fights and in terms of the game, Omsk players looked better – 6:4 victory for Avangard. The result is quite predictable, because the composition of the Omsk team claims to be the champion. Sochi, on the other hand, has mostly young players who will have to give everything in the regular season in order to cling to the playoffs.

And if we talk about the aggressive style of play and the abundance of fights in the match performed by the Leopards, then this is Nazarov’s favorite way to rally the team. Oleg Znarok also knows how to create a strong team that will fight for the coach, but his methods are more intelligent. Nazarov’s methods are more fun and the fans love them. Sochi puts on a show and makes the fans fill the stands, which is vital for the KHL.

Nevertheless, there were also those who compared the match with the participation of the “leopards” with the circus and believe that Sochi residents are a disgrace to the league. But if the meeting with the team from the basement of the standings is called the most anticipated, it means that the Sochi residents are doing everything right. And they do not disgrace it, but decorate it.