KHL News and Interviews

Nikita Filatov, who was loaned to CSKA Moscow by the Columbus Blue Jackets, keeps on doing great in the KHL. He played 4 games so far and amassed 8 points, scoring 4 goals and giving 4 assists. Filatov also managed to set a new KHL record, scoring 3 game-winning goals in 3 matches in a row.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of his interview published by Sovetskiy Sport, which he gave after yesterday's game against Spartak.

- One can see that now you are playing as if you had wings on your back. Is it because you don't have to focus so much on defence in CSKA as you had to in Columbus?
- Yes, it is. But I wouldn't say that I spend all my time in the offensive zone, I don't forget about the defence too. The defence was the only thing I had been thinking about in the NHL for 1.5 years...

- But nevertheless you intend to return to the NHL next year. What can CSKA do to make you stay?
- The one thing I'm not thinking about right now is where I will spend next year. But I wouldn't exclude the possibility of staying in CSKA.

A few days before Filatov wrote in his conference on allhockey.ru, answering if there was a chance of him staying in Russia after this season:

I highly doubt it. But Ken Hitchkok can really help it.

Two of the best fighters in the KHL finally met each other. Darcy Verot of Vityaz in red-white vs. Martin Grenier of Traktor in black.

As the KHL tries to attract viewers in Europe, Czech TV channel Nova Sport bought the rights to show KHL matches for both regular season and playoffs. Nova Sport is one of the biggest TV companies in Czech Republic and Slovakia, broadcasting important sports events like NFL, Premier League and ATP Tour. Czech site tyden.cz talked with Marek Kindernay.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation.

We will continue broadcasting the NHL, but with a little change of strategy. Broadcasts from overseas got close to zero attention in the working days. All the interest just followed Jagr, from the NHL to the KHL. And the fact that broadcast from America are in a not comfortable hour played its role too.

We'll broadcast games on monday and friday, at 18 CET. We also show some matches on saturday, around noon. We prefer broadcasting matches of Jaromir Jagr's team, but our spectators will see also other teams, for example Dinamo Moscow, where now plays Jiri Hudler" - continued Kindernay.

Vityaz's former head coach Sergei Gomolyako might become one of HK Vetra Vilnius staffers, according to Sport Express. The Lithuanian team is trying to enter the KHL in the 2010-11 season.
It's planned that Gomolyako will assist General Manager Alexander Kharlamov in forming team's roster.
"I have recieved an offer from Vetra some days ago, but to tell the truth I haven't said yes yet. Vilnius is a great city, but first I have to discuss with the team's management. It would be' very interesting to take part to the creation of a new KHL team.
Gomolyako, now 39, played 18 seasons in the RSL, mostly with Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Traktor Chelyabinsk.

Nikita Filatov continues to shine in the KHL.

In his second KHL game he scored 2 of 3 CSKA goals, one of them being the game-winning goal. His ice-time increased by 4 minutes in comparison with the previous game and reached 20 minutes 23 seconds (the best result in his team).

As the result Filatov was named first star of the game.

In this translated interview with Telekanal Sport by Vladimir Italyantsev, Barry Melrose, former NHL head coach and now TSN analyst, talks about Filatov's career in the NHL, about the reasons of his return in Russia and tried shading a light over Nikita's future.

"During the pause due to the Czech phase of the Euro Hockey Tour, both my sons visited me in Detroit" - told Viktor Fedorov to Sport Express.
"Fedor got some problems with his health, he played many games in Magnitogorsk with a pain in the knee. And the doctors in Detroit discovered a fracture in his knee, the one who was already operated. On the first day he could only walk with crutches, but now he can walk alone, even if the situation is far from being perfect. But probably he'll be in Magnitogorsk already on Saturday and he'll carry on the treatments there.
He wants to come back to the normality as quickly as possible in order to help their team which is going through a crisis, even if I fear that he won't be able to return before of several weeks from now".
When asked about Sergei, he replied that "once he returned back in Russia, he started suffering from back aches.
But the situation is getting right, he will restart playing in the next few days". Both Fedorov brothers aren't playing up to the expectations: Fedor scored 6 points in 19 matches, while Sergei scored 13 in 23.

Nikita Filatov had one goal and two assists in his first KHL game played against Traktor Chelyabinsk. In this interview with allhockey.ru correspondent Olesya Usova, the young player talked about the impressions felt in his debut with CSKA, about his new line mates and also about his experience with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Nikita Filatov, who was loaned to CSKA by Columbus Blue Jackets, scored game-winning goal and added 2 assists to help his CSKA defeat Traktor 4-1 in his first game in the KHL.

Filatov got team's second best time on ice among forwards - 16:40 (Denis Parshin was first with 18:27).

CSKA's head coach Sergei Nemchinov noticed that Filatov is a bit out of condition but added that he would get accustomed soon and start playing even better.

Ak Bars Kazan captain Alexei Morozov scored his 500th point in Russian championships on 20 November in the game against Lada Togliatti where he registered two assists.

Morozov scored 232 goals and 268 assists in 514 games. Most of the points he got while playing for Ak Bars (412).