Ilya Kovalchuk News and Interviews

Russian superstar Ilya Kovalchuk will be back with the New Jersey Devils as he will re-sign with the team. The contract's details will be released during a conference the team will host on Tuesday afternoon.

Kovalchuk is a recent addition by the Devils as they added him to their lineup during the 2010 NHL trade deadline. But the move didn't boost the Devils like expected as they were defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers during the playoffs' first round.

During this year's free agency Ilya Kovalchuk was reported to have refused offers from the Los Angeles Kings, the Atlanta Thrashers and SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.

SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL has offered Ilya Kovalchuk a $42M, 3-year contract (which makes its $14M per year), as reported by Russian newspaper Sport-Express.

In case Kovalchuk accepts the offer, he will also get a huge signing bonus.

SKA has long been trying to get Kovalchuk (we wrote about this in November, December and February).

Team Russia defeated team Finland 5-0 in the last Qualification Group game of the 2010 World Championship. Alexander Ovechkin ended his goal streak.

Team Finland started well the first period, putting a lot of pressure over Varlamov. But despite a long 5-on-3 chance with Alexei Emelin and Dmitry Kulikov in the penalty box, the Finns didn't manage to score. With the teams back on even strength Kulikov had a good chance getting out of the sin bin, but he was hooked down by a defenceman, thus drawing a penalty for Bykov's team. On the consequent man advantage team Russia cycled well the puck, but couldn't get it into Vehanen's net.

Team Russia released the preliminary roster for the upcoming 2010 World Championship, that will be played in Germany from May 7th to 23rd.. Bykov and Zakharkin made some changes from the LG Hockey Games line-up. The roster is made up of 11 NHL players and 12 KHL players. The team's captain isn't decided yet. Most likely the starting goaltender duties will be shared between Eremenko and Varlamov, with Koshechkin acting as third goalie.

Goalkeepers:
Alexander Eremenko (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Vasily Koshechkin (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Semyon Varlamov (Washington Capitals)

Defencemen:
Konstantin Korneev (CSKA Moscow)
Vitaly Atyushov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Dmitriy Kalinin (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Ilya Nikulin (Ak Bars Kazan)
Alexei Emelin (Ak Bars Kazan)
Denis Grebeshkov (Nashville Predators)
Dmitry Kulikov (Florida Panthers)

Forwards:
Maxim Afinogenov (Atlanta Thrashers)
Evgeny Artyukhin (Atlanta Thrashers)
Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)
Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals)
Alexei Tereschenko (Ak Bars Kazan)
Artem Anisimov (New York Rangers)
Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey Devils)
Nikolai Kulemin (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Maxim Sushinsky (SKA St. Petersburg)
Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant Mytischi)
Sergei Fedorov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Viktor Kozlov (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Alexander Frolov (Los Angeles Kings)
Alexander Svitov (Avangard Omsk)

Ilya Kovalchuk gave an interview to Russian newspaper Sovetskiy Sport where he talked about going to the World Championship without a contract in the NHL, his favorites to win the Stanley Cup, what Russian players agreed to do after failing at the Olympics.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation.

Many thought that you won't play for the national team. It is very risky as you don't have a contract for the next season in the NHL. Besides your wife gave a birth to your son in March. Was this decision hard to take?

Kovalchuk: "After failing in Vancouver all guys agreed to go to the World Championship if there is a chance. We must win and make this season end well.
My wife Nicole understood me at once, told me that the whole family would be watching games on TV and cheer for us. She and the kids stayed in Miami. I spent a week there and flew to Russia."

As reported by the official site of the Russian Hockey Federation, forwards Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey Devils) and Alexander Frolov (Los Angeles Kings), as well as blue liner Denis Grebeshkov (Nashville Predators) have been added to team Russia's roster for the upcoming 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany as their NHL teams were excluded from the Stanley Cup run.

This is surely a boost for team Russia, who will miss Anton Volchenkov and Igor Grigorenko due to injuries. Bykov and Zakharkin will be also without Alexei Morozov, Danis Zaripov and Sergei Zinoviev, all sidelined with injuries. Salavat Yulaev's Alexander Radulov got a mild injury too and will miss the upcoming LG Hockey games in Sweden, but will play in Germany.

The 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament has probably been the biggest disappointing ever for Team Russia. The early quarterfinal elimination against Team Canada was the worst result ever.

As soon as the tournament was over for Russia, we published the Top 5 reasons for this fail, now RussianHockeyFans.com judged all the players on the roster.

After the 4-2 victory against Czech Republic many players agreed that the Ovechkin hit on Jagr turned the momentum in Russia's favor. Team Russia players felt that this was the key event of the game and it helped their team getting the edge over Czech Republic.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of short quotes taken right after the game from Sergei Gonchar, Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeny Nabokov, Alexander Ovechkin and Anton Volchenkov.

Ilya Kovalchuk talked about the bad powerplay of team Russia in the 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament, the changes that the team will undergo for the next game against Czech Republic and his ice time in an interview to the Russian newspaper Sovietskiy Sport.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation.

Here is the latest news from the Russian team at the Olympic Games 2010 in Vancouver.

Evgeny Nabokov will start in the game against the Czech Republic
Igor Zakharkin, Russian coach to Pavel Lysenkov of SovSport: "We think that with Nabokov in the net our players feel more confident."

Sergei Fedorov missed a practice
Zakharkin: "Fedorov has an individual program. But he's alright, there is no injury."

New lines in the game against the Czech Republic
Zakharkin: "Maybe we are going to switch the center forwards. We think that Kovalchuk's efficiency should be higher. We remember what chemistry Malkin and Kovalchuk had at the World Championship 2008, but two years have passed and they are different players now, their styles changed too. There is a bit of imbalance on the Kovalchuk-Malkin-Afinogenov line. We hope to fix it."

Team Russia has chosen its captain and alternates at the Olympic Games 2010.

According to Russian newspaper Sovetskiy Sport, Alexei Morozov will be the captain, Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk will be the alternates.

Alexei Morozov was the captain of the Russian team on two latest World Championships.

The Russian team practiced for the second time in Vancouver.

According to the Russian channel "Russia 2" the lines were:

Ovechkin - Datsyuk - Semin, Grebeshkov - Korneev.
Kovalchuk - Malkin - Afinogenov, Gonchar - Tyutin.
Zaripov - Zinoviev - Morozov, Markov - Nikulin.
Radulov - Fedorov - Kozlov, Kalinin - Volchenkov.

"I was sure that our line would look like that", said Evgeni Malkin to Russia 2. "I agree with the coaches, it's an optimal combination".

"I supposed that our line would look like that because we played together during the Olympic camp", Ilya Kovalcuk told Russia 2. "It is a good, interesting and dynamic line. I think if we try hard we can be very useful to the team."

Translation by RussianHockeyFans.com

Alexander Medvedev's quest for signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a KHL contract for the 2010/11 season goes on, despite the recent trade that brought the Russian sniper to New Jersey.

This is what SKA St. Petersburg's president said to gazeta.ru:

Alexander Medvedev: "Atlanta already regrets that they parted with Kovalchuk. On the other hand New Jersey almost secured themselves a playoff spot. We are still considering to transfer Ilya to the KHL. I'm going to attend the game New Jersey - Philadelphia, I will talk to both Ilya and his wife after the match."

Read also:
SKA to offer Kovalchuk a contract?
SKA of the KHL is interested in Kovalchuk

Ilya Kovalchuk has been traded to the New Jersey Devils. It's rumored that before the trade the former Atlanta Thrashers captain, one of the NHL top snipers, turned down a 12-year offer.

Kovalchuk costed the Devils defenseman Johnny Oduya, forward Nicklas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier and the Devils' 2010 first round pick.

"New Jersey is a good team and it's a great chance to go far in the playoffs," Kovalchuk said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It's sad at the same time because now - I can say it - I've been a Thrasher for eight years. I'm appreciative of everything, the organization and the fans."

Kovalchuk's first match as a New Jersey Devil will be on Friday night against Toronto. His first match against Atlanta is scheduled for April 6th. "That’s going to be an interesting game" - admitted Kovalchuk while speaking to WJLA-TV in Washington.

The talk around Ilya Kovalchuk's contract with the Atlanta Thrashers goes on. In an interview with The Atlanta Journal Constitution the Russian superstar said that he feels "very confident" about a new contract.

When asked if he's frustrated about the lenght of time it's taking:

“No, not really. I just try to focus on my game and my goal to make the playoffs. I don’t care about the contract situation. Everybody goes through it. It’s not frustrating at all. … It’s not easy to sign a deal. Whatever it takes, we’ll take our time.”

I feel very confident. Like I said, I like everything that’s been done over time. It’s not an easy thing to sign a long-term deal, and if it has to take until the last second, that’s what it takes. You never know.”

Kovalchuk's five-year, $32 million contract will run out next june. In this season he scored twenty-five goals and forty-seven points thirty-eight matches. Recently he scored his 600th NHL point.

It took 579 games to Ilya Kovalchuk to score his 600th point in the National Hockey League. In his 579th effort, during the second period of a match between Atlanta Thrashers and Buffalo Sabres, he scored the first goal of the game with a top-shelf wrist shot from the slot.

In this season Kovalchuk scored 25 goals and 47 points in 32 matches, numbers that make him the fourth top goal scorer and the eighth top point scorer in the league. He's also the fifth forward with the most average time on ice with more than 22 minutes a night. He logs in average only eighteen seconds less than the mos used forward, slovak Marian Gaborik of the New York Rangers.

The official Russian Hockey Federation site has released Team Russia's roster for the Olympics in Vancouver.

Goalkeepers
Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Sharks, NHL
Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes, NHL
Semyon Varlamov, Washington Capitals, NHL

Defencemen
Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens, NHL
Ilya Nikulin, Ak Bars, KHL,
Dmitriy Kalinin, Salavat Yulaev, KHL
Konstantin Korneev, CSKA, KHL,
Denis Grebeshkov, Edmonton Oilers, NHL
Fedor Tyutin, Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL
Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL
Anton Volchenkov, Ottawa Senators, NHL

Forwards
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings, NHL
Sergei Fedorov, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, KHL
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers, NHL
Maxim Afinogenov, Atlanta Thrashers, NHL
Danis Zaripov, Ak Bars, KHL
Alexander Semin, Washington Capitals, NHL
Sergei Zinoviev, Salavat Yulaev, KHL
Alexander Radulov, Salavat Yulaev, KHL
Viktor Kozlov, Salavat Yulaev, KHL
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, NHL
Alexei Morozov, Ak Bars, KHL

Russia's coaches Vyacheslav Bykov and Igor Zakharkin call this roster 'preliminary' and say that the final roster will be known on the 15th of February.

9 out of 23 players represent the KHL which makes its slightly less than 40%.

4 players come from Salavat Yulaev of the KHL, the team coached by Bykov and Zakharkin.

Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk gave an interview to Russian site sportbox.ru where he talked about the Olympics in Vancouver.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation.

Q. How often do you think about the Olympic Games in Vancouver?
Kovalchuk: "Pretty often, but right now I'm focused on playing for the Thrashers. We got into a functional slump and now have to get out of it as soon as possible."

Alexander Medvedev, the president of SKA St. Petersburg and the KHL, in an interview with Russian newspaper Sport-Express stated that SKA is going to offer Ilya Kovalchuk a contract.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of this brief interview.

- We do have an interest in Kovalchuk. We know that the Thrashers are going to offer him the maximum salary within the limits of the salary cap. But there are differences between the tax systems in the USA and Russia so our offer can turn out to be better. It's up to Kovalchuk to decide where to continue his career.

- Have you talked with Kovalchuk already?
- We're talking!

Ilya Kovalchuk fought Matt Cooke after the Pens forward bumped into the Russian sniper during the 3rd period of the Penguins-Thrashers game.

SKA St. Petersburg's president Alexander Medvedev declared that his team is interested in signing team Russia's superstar Ilya Kovalchuk, whose contract with the Atlanta Thrashers will run out at the end of this season.

"Yes, Kovalchuk is really in the short list of players we are interested in", said Medvedev in an interview to SportsDaily.ru

In spite of his healthy economical situation, the Gazprom tycoon will have hard time in getting Kovalchuk's signature under a contract, especially considering that it's rumored that he has been offered 100 million dollars for his next contract.

The winner of two World Championships and one Maurice Richard trophy still hasn't decided on his future, most likely waiting for the evidence that Atlanta became the winning team he's asking for in order to remain into the A-town.