Semin is a Panther! Says Ovechkin's Dad
by tuvanhillbilly on Jan 26, 2010 1:03 AM EST
in Translations
48 comments
Pavel Lysenkov at Sovetsky Sport has done it again-another "War and Peace" sized interview, this time he caught up with Alexander Semin after the Philadelphia game. Enjoy.
***
Alexander Semin didn't appear at practice for the second time in a row, even though we agreed on an interview at Washington's practice facility, Kettler.
Where's Semin? I asked one of the local reporters.
"Did you see how he played against Philadelphia?" they answered my question with a question.
He scored two points.
"And the passes he made? And his moves? He's not a forward, he a genius! If he can play like that all the time, he doesn't need to practice!"
Is Sasha having any problems with his wrist?
"He had a doctor look at it in New York. He said it didn't need an operation. He could play, but it would hurt a bit. He will be totally healthy by the Olympics."
From out of the dressing room door comes Alexander himself, wearing a stylish jacket, a t-shirt with a picture of a blonde on it, and a cap with the number 28- his jersey number.
"Actually, I have an appointment. A meeting," said Semin. "I've only got ten minutes."
...We sat down and started talking, and we talked for almost an hour.
I DON'T THINK SOMEBODY PUT THE EVIL EYE ON ME
According to the local reporters, you are playing so well now that you basically don't need to practice.
"There's another game tomorrow. You do have to rest sometimes, and it's an optional practice. If this was the start of the season, I'd be skating non-stop. But we've already played fifty games, and to keep up this schedule you have to be well rested."
"Everything is just fine with my health. If I were to feel some pain, I wouldn't go on the ice. At the beginning of this season I did play like that, and ended up not being able to shoot like normal. You always have to fully recover."
Some folks say "if Semin can stay healthy, it would be frightening to imagine what kind of player he would be!" If you recall, at the beginning of last season you were the scoring leader in the NHL
This season turned out the same way. I started out well, but then once again I got hit in a situation that looked perfectly safe.... Let's hope things will get better. There can't always be injuries. I don't even know how to explain them. They just come out of nowhere."
Maybe you need to go to church to ward off the evil eye?
"I go to church. But I don't think that anybody has put a spell on me. Look how many injuries there are in the NHL this season. Can every hockey player really have that many ill-wishers?"
What moment in your career do you consider your peak, when basically everything came together on the ice? The World Championship in Quebec? The beginning of last season?
"When you've got your act together, then everything will go well. I'm happy with how I'm playing right now. I'm not having any difficulties."
Does your game change from time-to-time? In the past, some have said "Semin takes too many unnecessary penalties". Now when you watch Washington, you don't really see that now.
"In the past there were some stupid penalties. But this is my fifth season in the NHL, and I know when, why and how they will penalize you."
IT WAS MORE INTERESTING AGAINST THE SWEDES IN QUEBEC THAN AGAINST THE CANADIANS
When are you flying to Vancouver?
"February 14. I already have my ticket."
Who is going to the Olympics with you?
"My parents are coming on the 16th of February. I don't know if I'll be able to see them in Vancouver. Probably only in the stands. This is my first Olympics. Basically I don't know what is going to happen there, how we will be quartered in the village. But I'm not really thinking about that. If you imagine one thing, then nonetheless something else will actually happen."
Are you nervous?
"There's no need to get butterflies. That might even hamper you a little bit. You just need to go out on the ice and play, like any other game. If you remember Quebec, well yeah, the finale is the finale. There was seething passion and excitement. But when the game starts, everything disappears."
"And really, the match against the Canadians was not as interesting as it appeared, not like the group meetings with the Swedes. When their defenseman injured Morozov and Ovechkin made the game-winning goal with six seconds left in the game."
"But I won't say that every team is able to win gold when they've lose 1:3 and 2:4. So the finale really shouldn't be underestimated."
You made two goals then. Yeah, I'm sure, that was the best game of your career.
"I just made two goals. Nothing outstanding. There was no use philosophizing about it, we had to go out and win and that was all. We had to play as a unified team."
I give up. So what game then do you feel was your best?
"Well, for example this year we played Montreal. I felt really easy out on the ice, and I made two goals. Sometimes in the NHL you just run back and forth, and it gets really hard. And then it's as if there is this powerful burst of energy, and you don't feel any tiredness."
CLOSE YOUR EYES IN THE NHL AND YOU'LL TAKE ONE UPSIDE YOUR HEAD
The fans can't wait to see the Washington line of Semin-Fedorov-Ovechkin at the Olympics.
"Let them wait. I'm not worrying about this. Of course I'd like to play again with Fedya, but it is up to the coaches to decide who is going to play with whom. After all, they say that Pavel Datsyuk might even be at center for us. I can't say anything about this, because I've never played with Pasha."
Did you see his shootout shot against Chicago?
"I heard that Datsyuk once again toyed with the goalkeeper. That doesn't surprise me, that's his style," smiled Semin."
Do you keep in contact with Sergei Fedorov?
"Yea, we talk on the phone. He tells me about Russia."
Do you find that interesting?
"Maybe for him this is something new, but for me nothing in Russia surprises me. I played at home during the lockout. How much can it change in three years?"
They've formed the KHL, they've changed the organization, the rules...
"Whatever! Look, Viktor Kozlov went to Salavat, and he says that the rules are just the same as they always were. Unless they knock you flat out on the ice, the game goes on. It's not like in the NHL, where just a little hook on your opponent will get you two minutes."
But it's obvious that your connection with Alex Ovechkin will be kept for the Olympics. Even Sasha himself says that it's easier for him to play with you than anyone else.
"We really know where each other is going and where they will be open. We can make a pass without even looking."
Right now you are playing with Tomas Fleischmann and Brooks Laich. Do you have the same mutual understanding?
"We haven't been on the same line very long, so we don't have that level of communication yet. But I'm really happy with this line and we are playing well."
But you guys aren't telepathic yet, so you can't make passes with your eyes closed.
"I was just giving an example. I don't really do that. If you close your eyes in the NHL, you'll take one upside the head. You can't get away with that."
THE MOST IDIOTIC MOMENT IN MY LIFE
I talked with the legendary Bobby Clarke from Philadelphia, and he said that Ovechkin was a bull on the ice. He crushes everyone under him and goes straight ahead. Would you agree with Clarke?
"People go out to kill him, but Ovechkin doesn't care. Nobody can handle him. It's difficult to beat him single-handedly. He's a great forward and he skates well. Well, you look at him yourself," - Semin nods towards the door, where as if on cue Ovechkin and his dad appear.
So what animal could you be compared to on the ice?
"Now there's a question!" Semin exclaimed. "I'm not going to answer that myself. Uncle Misha! (Ovechkin's dad- TH), what would you compare me to?"
Papa Ovechkin thinks for a moment and responds "A panther! There's something feline like about Sasha's game. And how about how he scored that goal against Philadelphia? He crept in and - bam!"
Alexander, you really do give the appearance of an unflappable person.
"Why pay attention when someone is trying to provoke you during a game? You can understand why they are doing it - to make you lose control of yourself so they can get a man advantage. For me, all these jabs and insults are just a bunch of baby talk."
When was the last time that that Alexander Semin lost control of himself? Not necessarily in a game, but maybe in real life?
"Even when I fought with Rangers defenseman Mark Staal, I wasn't overcome with emotions... No, I'm not that type. I never explode."
And when you were dropped from the Russian national team in 2007?
"At that time I was just in shock. I didn't understand why this happened. Everyone was more or less given a heads up. I told them when I was arriving. It was a five hour flight from Krasnoyarsk. I called from the airport and asked where I was supposed to go, and they told me "You don't need to go anywhere...".
"I think that head trainer Vyacheslav Bykov wasn't given the correct information. That's why there was a discrepancy. But there's no use in trying to find someone to blame now."
Especially since a year later you had a happy ending in Quebec.
"But for me, that whole story was a big surprise. I didn't even want to watch the Moscow World Championship. But I watched all the games, even when we lost to the Finns in the semifinals."
Was it painful?
"It was offensive. You could be there, but instead due to some incomprehensible dispute you are sitting at home. I returned back home to Krasnoyarsk on the exact same plane. I purchased a new ticket, and then flew for another five hours. This was the most idiotic story in my life."
Did you learn some lesson from it? Did you start being late less often? Did you start trusting people less?
"No. That's in the past and I've forgotten it. I don't think about it anymore."
AFTER THE GAMES THEY GIVE ME COOKIES AND STUFFED ANIMALS
This will be your first Olympics. In the past, you've only watched the Olympics on television. What moment was the most memorable for you?
"During the Nagano Olympics I was just a kid. I watched hockey, as much as they played. I remember five goals by Pavel Bure against the Finns. But that was a long time ago."
"Perhaps the brightest spot was our game against the Canadians in the Turin quarterfinals. But after the score was 0:3 against the Finns, I didn't watch those Olympics anymore."
"I don't know why the Russian team did so poorly during the semifinals. Maybe they didn't have enough attitude. I also wasn't there. Although it could have been..."
You weren't selected by GM Pavel Bure or head coach Vladimir Krikunov?
"Why rake up the past? It was my own fault."
So what then? You were invited, but turned it down?
"Absolutely not! It's just that I was playing well up until the 2005/2006 season, but right before the Olympics I went into a slump. So I was a candidate for the national team. And I could have gone to Turin to play with Ovechkin."
Let's not talk about sad things. Sasha told the story about how you guys were vacationing in Krasnoyarsk over the summer and went someplace back in the sticks, and in some country store Ovechkin was recognized by some old grandma?
"It wasn't really a country store, it was a yacht club. But it really was located far from town. Ovechkin went in, and this granny cried out "am I dreaming?". She couldn't believe her eyes for the longest time. But then she was finally convinced that this was the real Alexander Ovechkin. She was all in tears, the poor thing. I don't think she had ever been to the city in her life. She lived and worked somewhere in the woods, but she knew about Ovechkin."
So have you ever had any remarkable meetings with fans like that?
"Nobody in Krasnoyarsk knows me," smiles Semin.
I don't really believe you. Maybe fans sometimes give you presents or write poems for you?
"It happens in America. I come home after a win, and on my porch there are cookies, stuffed animals, cards. Truthfully, I don't know who all this is from. The messages aren't signed. But I read the cards. I find them interesting."
SASHA AND I HIT THE MCDONALD'S DRIVE-THROUGH
Your mom lives with you in Washington and cooks pelmeni and other Russian dishes for you. Do you ever eat hamburgers?
"Sure, why not? Sometimes a trip to McDonalds hits the spot. I go there with Ovechkin. For instance, we were playing in Tampa, and after the game we went to one restaurant after another and they were closed, so what could we do? Wander all over the city? We went to McDonalds and got some Big Macs and fries."
I can only imagine how dumbstruck the Tampa fans would be, walking into a fast food place and seeing two NHL stars, Semin and Ovechkin, sitting there.
"They wouldn't have seen us. We went to the McDonalds drive-through in a taxi, and then went back to the hotel."
What do you do in your free time in Washington? I know you like to watch Russian mini-series. "Vanyushina's Children" for example.
"The last miniseries I watched was about Wolf Messing, who could predict the future. It's a good film, but serious. This guy lived his life for other people. He was used by everyone. He could read minds and he helped Stalin and a lot of other politicians."
Have you ever had a moment when you could read thoughts or do an exact prediction? You had a revelation and it came true?
"The day before the finale, I predicted that we would beat the Canadians in Quebec by a score of 5:4. And that is what happened."
Not too bad...
"You just have to know how!"
Did you use some logic in your prediction?
"What was the final score when we beat the Finns in the seminfinal? 4:0. And the score in the bronze match where the Finns beat the Swedes? Also 4:0. The Swedes in the other seminfinal lost to the Canadians 4:5, so there was my math. I thought that the score for us should also be 5:4."
"I said it out loud, and after the finale I was in the showers with Ilya Kovalchuk. I said ‘Hey Ilyukha, do you remember I said that we would win 5:4?' ‘Yeah, I do remember.'.... So there it is, a premonition."
Where do you prefer to rest up in the summer, in Krasnoyarsk or in Miami?
"Definitely at home. I really don't like to fly a lot on vacation. I get enough of the nomadic lifestyle in the NHL. But you still think about someplace to go off to, where there is sun, sea and water. After one trip to Turkey I've lost interest in trips like that.
"Krasnoyarsk is my home. I can rest body and soul there. I spend 4-5 months, all summer there. Miami-I'll go lie on the beach there for a week after the season is over. There's not really anything to do there. It's boring."
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We’re really spoiled with all these, thank you Tuvan!
Tom Brady is Sidney Crosby, except Tom Brady has felt the touch of a woman, and has his own house.
by Ovechwin on Jan 26, 2010 1:22 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Chatty Sasha
How very nice to see him coming out of his shell. And with the occasional smile even. :-)
Relaxed healthy Sasha is a scoring machine. Opposing goaltenders, Beware!
Thanks again for another smashing translation, Tuvan.
IS KEPTIN NOW
by Your Nation's Capital on Jan 26, 2010 1:23 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I love the reactionof Ohlund? there, just like “are you kidding me?”
Я Харт не так ли?
by Capsfan07 on Jan 26, 2010 2:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I’m pretty sure the photo is from our 5-1 rout of the Nucks early in the ‘08-’09 season. That was a super fun game.
"My face is my mask."
by jakeshapiro on Jan 26, 2010 2:18 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I figured that’s what game it was, since we played in Vancouver this year. I remember a couple of Semin goals, a Jurcina goal, a Nylander penalty shot goal and a Clark? goal. Also Brent Johnson’s 100th career win and the franchise record for fewest shots allowed. Feds was also robbed by Luongo with some left hand larceny.
Я Харт не так ли?
by Capsfan07 on Jan 26, 2010 4:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Ahhh, I remember the days when Circles played for the Caps… I think he was even one of the Three Stars…
"My face is my mask."
by jakeshapiro on Jan 26, 2010 11:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I think that’s the first Semin tally, when he curl and dragged around one guy and split two other Canucks with a backhand deke and beat Luongo—IIRC “Semin, finds the room!”
Ovechkin = Green Backs
by red army line on Jan 26, 2010 8:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
“It happens in America. I come home after a win, and on my porch there are cookies, stuffed animals, cards. Truthfully, I don’t know who all this is from. The messages aren’t signed. But I read the cards. I find them interesting.”
This is awesome. I wonder just what people write on these cards.
Tuvan, you spoil us. More outstanding work, creeping in during the middle of the night.
Only YOU can prevent idiots from commenting!
by Knee high to a duck on Jan 26, 2010 5:59 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Wonder if the cookies use Hershey’s chocolate?
by miseenjeu on Jan 26, 2010 7:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I wonder if he eats the cookies. I sure wouldn’t.
"We've got armadillos in our trousers. It's really quite frightening."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 26, 2010 8:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
That’s pretty amazing and endearing on both parts.
by Seminrocks on Jan 26, 2010 7:37 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I wonder if someone gave him an emo bunny.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
by oldemystix on Jan 26, 2010 12:08 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Nice work.
Love the McDonalds story.
"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."
by gfcaps fan on Jan 26, 2010 6:47 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
yeah, pulling into the drive-through in a taxi, nice.
by Elliotte on Jan 26, 2010 7:00 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Wonder how many people saw “Semin is a Panther!” and thought he’d been traded for Vokoun and Weiss.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Jan 26, 2010 7:23 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Don't know about who we'd have got
But my first thought was “We’ve traded him . . . to the Panthers?”
by Skinsmaniac on Jan 26, 2010 7:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Heart skipped a beat nonethless
No idea who we would’ve gotten, no idea why it would make any sense…but for a split second I was freaked.
Thanks so much for these interviews, they’re always a fantastic read!
by Flash-fried on Jan 26, 2010 9:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Who needs coffee in the morning when you’ve got the ’Rink?
I sorta figured that headline would get your attention :)
"I tried to capture the spirit of the thing"
by tuvanhillbilly on Jan 26, 2010 9:39 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I agree with the feline perspective, but I was thinking more siamese cat.
by Fehrskine on Jan 26, 2010 9:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Naah -Siamese cats are way too noisy.
I need a snappy signature...
by IRockTheRed on Jan 26, 2010 10:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
And they sing those annoying extremely non PC songs with each other
Aim for the head baby Jesus
by Doncosmic on Jan 26, 2010 10:48 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
And they are better fighters.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
by oldemystix on Jan 26, 2010 12:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
My first reaction was oh no, but at least we got Vokoun.
by Racin23 on Jan 26, 2010 9:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It definitely gave me a jolt to wake me up this morning.
by RED503 on Jan 26, 2010 9:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I was like oh noes and then I lol’d.
I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere near the place.
by zephyr on Jan 26, 2010 11:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Well I was awake enough to catch the “Says Ovechkin’s Dad” part, so I thought it was some Russian thing, kinda like calling an older woman a cougar.
by Elliotte on Jan 26, 2010 11:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I can see how some of his moves on the ice would be considered cat-like, but he doesn’t remind me of a cat at all off the ice.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
by oldemystix on Jan 26, 2010 12:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Saw your tweet, but to my great credit, didn’t bite.
by mechanicsville on Jan 26, 2010 1:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Re: KHL
Tuvan: another fantastic translated interview. Thank you, otherwise we would not have the opportunity to read such interviews.
I noticed in the printed version a set of boxed questions regarding the KHL; I hate to be a beggar, but can you translate that, too? I took Russian in college eons ago and a very crude reading seemd to lend something interesting at the end.
by Seminrocks on Jan 26, 2010 7:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
KHL Portion of Interview
Right you are, Seminrocks! There was a small sidebar story with Sasha Panther giving some thoughts on the KHL— I just didn’t have time last night to get to that, but our buddy TJ over at Alex Ovetjkin did. Here is a translation of that part of the story.
"I tried to capture the spirit of the thing"
by tuvanhillbilly on Jan 26, 2010 9:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Great, great work Tuvan! There’s another tiny missing part: when Semin is asked if the fans leave him cards with “Marry me!” (Ovechkin gets lots of those), the reply is “Never happened. And it’s useless.”
Sasha is tough.
by fnralch on Jan 26, 2010 10:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
You’re right! Two little lines I missed— and how great they were! Pavel asked Semin what people write (on the cards), and he replies “they tell me to score more goals, things like that”, and then the line that fnralch pointed out about the marriage proposals. Good stuff and thanks fnralch for noticing that!
"I tried to capture the spirit of the thing"
by tuvanhillbilly on Jan 26, 2010 11:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Sasha Panther -
60% of the time, it works every time.
by Gin and Tonic on Jan 26, 2010 8:32 AM EST reply actions 11 recs
Any Anchorman reference deserves an immediate rec, especially one as accurate as this.
by hocknlax on Jan 26, 2010 9:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
So apt.
I love Rec. Rec’y Rec Rec.
Game-Over Green? Canada-Over Carlson!
by Scott in Shaw on Jan 26, 2010 9:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the translation. As someone who hasn’t always been a big fan of Semin, it’s nice to get a little insight into his personality.
I’m surprised he finds Miami “boring,” though. I’ll bet Ovie doesn’t feel the same way. Or maybe he’s just never been to South Beach.
by Caps_Chick on Jan 26, 2010 10:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
That’s because you have never witnessed the excitement and awe-inspiring beauty that is the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric dam, one of the top attractions of his hometown.
by Gin and Tonic on Jan 26, 2010 10:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Speaking of Siberian Dams..
I just hope they take better care of it than the Sayano-Shushenskaya dam in nearby Khakhassia, which suffered a catastrophic failure of a turbine back in September due to lack of maintenance.
"I tried to capture the spirit of the thing"
by tuvanhillbilly on Jan 26, 2010 11:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The disaster happened in August, was described as “a hydroelectric Chernobyl”, left upwards of eighty engineers and workers dead or missing, and very nearly killed two of the world’s best hockey players.
IS KEPTIN NOW
by Your Nation's Capital on Jan 26, 2010 11:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
whoa! awesome linkage find, YNC!
"I tried to capture the spirit of the thing"
by tuvanhillbilly on Jan 26, 2010 12:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I thought Ovie said last year that he didn’t find FL interesting. It’s Feds who likes the area.
(Yes, I know about the avatar hounding - just pretend mine is invisible.)
by oldemystix on Jan 26, 2010 12:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Feds bought his parents a house down there. That’s where he stashed his crazy father the last few year he played in the NHL! But, yeah, Feds likes any area where hot women are abundant.
Kung-fu Rink Rabbit
On Draper having to wear a USA jersey at practice: "well at least the Wings can settle bets without involving gold plated desert eagles!"
by RedBirdie on Jan 26, 2010 12:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I loved the part where it’s asked about Ovi meeting the lady in the woods in the small store and Semin is like, it wasn’t some small country store, it was a yacht club – haha.
I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere near the place.
by zephyr on Jan 26, 2010 11:13 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
unabashed Semin fan
He’s a great interview, in his native language at least.
by DonnieKnutts on Jan 26, 2010 11:48 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
PROPS
Love these interviews…….I never got any stuff like this B.J. (before Japers) and don’t know how I lived without it :)
V is for Varlamov!!
by V_is_for_Victory on Jan 26, 2010 1:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Washington
|
67 | 45 | 13 | 9 | 99 |
|
Atlanta
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66 | 28 | 28 | 10 | 66 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
66 | 27 | 27 | 12 | 66 |
|
Florida
|
66 | 27 | 29 | 10 | 64 |
|
Carolina
|
67 | 28 | 31 | 8 | 64 |
(updated 3.12.2010 at 9:20 AM EST)
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