“I really want to play for Belarus in the international arena.” 15-year-old from Mogilev talks about the first championship at the Avangard Academy and how he became the champion of Russia
Defender Stepan Stepanov – about the path to hockey, examples for simulation and the main dream.
The current season is a pupil of Mogilev hockey Stepan Stepanov(2007) a reader in the Minsk Sports School named after Ruslan Salei, but already at the end of October 2021 he stepped into the Omsk Avangard, with the content he became the champion of Russia among youths born in 2007. The Belarusian defender applied for a team of hawks of two ages: he played 24 matches for the squad born in 2006 and recruited 3 (0 + 3) medical workers, for Avangard-2007, under the examination of Belarusian specialist Dmitry Kataev, he went on the ice in 18 respirators, where 10 (3+7) points, and scored 5 (1+4) of them in 8 matches of the final tournament. In an interview hcmogilev.byThe 15-year-old player spoke about his path in hockey – from the Mogilev Sports School to the championship with Avangard Omsk.
How did you get into hockey?
– We lived opposite the stadium, where we constantly filled the box. I have had a love for hockey since early childhood. At the age of 4, my mother brought me to hockey. You can say that she put me on skates. But every morning at 5:45 my dad turned out to get up, dress me and mess around in training. Because it really “went down” to me, and sometimes I inserted the phrase myself and woke up my dad: “Let’s go to practice”. My parents made a big contribution to my formation in hockey.
Also, the first coaches – Kirill Igorevich Bolbat, Ivan Ivanovich Labkov and Sergey Stefanovich Matorin – made a contribution to my development. Sergei Stefanovich and said to my mother: “The boy is tall, we should give him to hockey”. Probably, after these words, my parents gave me to this sport.
I would like to mention the trainers who worked with me in Minsk – these are Stanislav Viktorovich Solopekin and Maxim Gennadyevich Shimansky.
– How often do you come to increased training with other ages?
– When I was small, a little non-technical, that additional classes are cool and necessary. When I already moved to Avangard, I began to understand that I was lagging behind somewhere, and began to go to an increased load.
– For 7 years you worked in Belarus: the head in Mogilev, after moving to the SC “Minsk”. Tell us, how did the option with the Omsk team come about?
– After one of the matches against Dynamo Minsk, in which I scored with an abandoned puck, I was recruited by Omsk scouts and offered to use in Avangard. It was interesting to me, but I was worried. Still, the distance from home is 3,000 km. But, having discussed all the issues with the parents, it was decided to go to Omsk.
– How were you received in Omsk?
– In general, there is a harsh climate, Omsk received me that way. But we immediately became friends with the guys, all the guys are good.
– Did you play the only legionnaire?
– There is also forward Marat Pavlov from Zhlobin and defender Denis Vasilevsky – he is from Novopolotsk.
– How to set up the process of training and education at the Avangard Academy?
– We live in the buildings of the academies, where we study, eat, and my whole life in Omsk takes place in it. The academy itself has 2 ice arenas where we train. The whole season we went to the ice class in the morning, the school was already after, it is located in the academy itself: I went down on the second floor and went to the lessons.
At 8 in the morning we have a warm-up, after – ice for an hour and a half. Each time the training process was built differently. On one day it was shooting training, on the other it was tactical tasks, because it was necessary to get used to the system by which the team plays. After that we had physical fitness training in the strength halls, you need to be physically prepared, otherwise you’ll just be transferred to the ice.
In the evening – a study of training with defenders, separately – with attackers. The skating coach is always on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 19:45 – please come and practice. Not everyone went, of course, only those who really wanted to improve their skating.
The training process differs greatly from what it was in Belarus. Two or three workouts a day is enough to exhaust yourself.
– With Omsk you became the champion of Europe this season. What were your emotions after the final siren?
– Unforgettable. You could go crazy. We became champions ahead of schedule, got a good lead over the final tournament of the other teams and, one might say, won and celebrated in advance.
– In Avangard you play under the 62nd number, in Minsk you played under the 19th, in Mogilev – under the 61st. Is there any difference with what numbers on the jersey of the packaging on ice?
I don’t bother with numbers. Number 19 is my date of birth (January 19) and this number brings me luck. In “Vanguard” it was not possible to take him. In the record of 2006 of birth, I saw numbers from the 62nd. I wish, of course, the 19th, but it did not fit.
– In the debut case for the Omsk team, you managed to play 42 matches in total. How long did you wait for the first goal, and what emotions did you experience after you scored?
– I scored fairly quickly, but the emotions were ineffective, as it happened in a match with a not very strong team regularity. The second goal, which was scored against Magnitogorsk, became more significant. As a rule, there will be more points.
– Did you immediately go to the team among the guys born in 2006?
– Immediately I just went to the Avangard academy, but after several training sessions, I said that I would play for the older guys.
– Does the style and level of children’s hockey in Russia and Belarus differ a little?
– In Russia, hockey is faster. I got the impression that in every city the playground is getting smaller and smaller. A lot of active pressure, which he did not address. I could calmly take the puck, look, think over the situation over Belarus and even score on my own.
– Which of the hockey players do you choose, and what qualities do you like in them?
– If we take the Belarusians, this is Evgeny Lisovets with his search for skating, attack and view of the site. In the NHL, this is Cale Makar, for his great skating and hockey “elasticity”, Victor is also Hedman – I like his size and reliability in defense.
– Evaluate yourself, name your features and environments.
– I do not like to praise myself, but I will celebrate my throw. I consider it a meeting. It is worth working on many, first of all, on skating. I have a height of 189 cm, for children as large as me, skating is very lame.
– Do you follow Mogilev in the extra league, or do you follow your former participants upon arrival from the Mogilev Sports School?
– I followed the partakiad, where there were guys from Mogilev, and many other friends of mine. I expected a little more from them, of course, but still the guys were born well.
– You were included in the extended list of the national team. Most likely, you are invited to tournaments with the participation of the national team U17. Do you have a dream to play in the jersey of the national team of Belarus at the World Championships or the Olympic Games?
– Of course! I really want his country to be in the international arena. I want to play against the Avangard brothers. I think that a lot of guys from Omsk will get into the Russian team. Therefore, there is a desire to measure strength with them.
– What is your personal goal for the near future and towards the player as a whole?
– At the moment I want to gain a foothold in Avangard even more. Hope is long. In two years, and, perhaps, it happens in a year, the MHL begins, where you have to get to! Well, for an exceptional perspective – to play in the KHL and call up to the national team!
What about NHL dreams?
– This is the main goal! These little steps – MHL, KHL, the national team – it’s all the same on the way to the national hockey league.
Source: hcmogilev.by