Vasili Demchenko: hockey player always needs to set higher goals

The toughest away game was against Dynamo Moscow

Tell us a little bit about the most recent away series. Traktor got 6 out of possible 12. Is that a good result?
Fifty percent of points is okay, I believe. The Vityaz game was great; the Dynamo game was okay, but we got into it too little too late when we were already trailing.

Now, on to the next two games against Medvescak and Slovan.
Medvescak, huh? I allowed two near corner goals, so there is certainly my fault in this loss.

What was the toughest opponent among the four teams? Slovan, for instance, took 43 shots on your goal.
The biggest pressure was against Dynamo Moscow, I think; their puck control and passing are great. The Slovan game was tough too, but D-men helped me a great deal. The shots they took were more about deflections and rebounds; however, the last five minutes were definitely the toughest.

A lot of criticism was directed to the quality of ice in the Zagreb arena. Did you notice anything of the sort?
At the warm-up, I felt as if the ice was of poor quality; the puck would bounce unnaturally and so on, but when the game began, everything was fine.

So, functionally speaking, was the Dynamo game the toughest of the four in the away series?
Yes. Maybe this is also because this was the first away game, and we were kind of out of rhythm.

You are one of the youngest #1 goalies in team history.
What is the point in playing hockey if you always think you are going to ride the pine for the rest of your career? Every hockey players has to set higher goals, and I think this is the right attitude.

Tomas Bjuhr is an experienced coach

Let’s move on to your stats. Do you know that you are among the top five goalies in the league when it comes to saves percentage and GAA?
I do follow my stats, but I don’t care where I rank; I am more interested in how other goalies perform.

You played ten consecutive games from buzzer to buzzer. Is this rhythm usual for you or is it still difficult to adjust to?
No, I am used to playing a lot. I played 56 games in MHL for two straight seasons. The most important thing is to catch this rhythm and stay in it.

You have been coached by your father, by Fredrik Mikko, and now by Tomas Bjuhr. Anything you would like to say about him?
Tomas is a lot like my father, an old school type of coach. He is a very experienced specialist; I have learned a lot from him.

Traktor has recently played against Metallurg Novokuznetsk where your father works as a goaltending coach. How often do you talk to him and does he give you any advice?
Yes, we talk on the phone after each game. He points out to me the mistakes I make; this is how it’s been from my childhood.

You once played along Andrei Vasilevsky in junior team Russia, and now he is with Tampa Bay Lightning. Do you follow his career?
I read some things on the Internet, but I don’t have time to watch games. I had a chance to see him in the summer when Lighting battled Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals. By the way, I would like to take this opportunity and wish him the best of luck!

Was his rise to stardom in the NHL a surprise for you?
Not at all; he worked his tail off to get where he is now. I might have been better than him at some point, but things change, and it just so happened that he jumped straight to the NHL.

We were in Dominican Republic for our honeymoon. Surfing is great there

Soon Traktor is set to face several tough opponents from the Western Conference. How many of their games did you watch? And one more thing – what is your attitude to Spartak’s return to KHL?
Spartak is a very good team. I know a lot of guys of my age that played in Spartak. They love the team, as do the fans.

Youhavejustmentionedtheguysofyourage.Do you and other alumni of Traktor-1994 meet or go out?
We often see each other in the city, but don’t get together a lot.

Who are your best friends from that team?
Artyom Babtsev and Vova Zhuldikov. Others are friends too, but not that close.

Tell us a little bit about your wedding that took place in the summer.
The preparations were just crazy. At first, we did not plan on organizing anything; we just wanted to have a family dinner of sorts. But then our parents called us and said: "If you don’t want to celebrate, then we do!” That is when we started this planning; it took us two weeks to organize everything, and I think the ceremony went well.

What about the honeymoon?
We went to Dominican Republic.It was our first time there, and we liked it a lot. One thing though – if you want to go there, you better bring your friends with you because there are too many foreigners there, and if you don’t know English, there is not too many people to talk to. Surfing is cool there, we liked it a lot.

Do you want to surf more in the future?
Sure,why not? I am not talking about professional stuff; just take a ride on the board, that’s all.

Is it difficult to pull off?
It seems difficult at first glance, but when the trainer pushes you to stand on the surfboard, it is fairly simple.

So, you don’t have to be a professional to try it, do you?
Yes. The trainer is waiting for the wave while you are lying on the board. Then, as the wave appears, he pushes you, and you stand up on the surfboard. It must be more difficult to do all by yourself, but I haven’t tried that.

Tell us about your new mask design. Where did the idea come from?
Well, I always think about how this or that picture will look on the mask. Then I called one of Chelyabinsk artists, we got together and discussed how to place these pictures. One of the sides has a picture of a tank and my father on it because my father was a tankman. I wanted to have a picture of the city in the night on the other side, but we could not pull it off, so we placed a picture of nature instead.

You choose new goaltending gear for each season. Could you tell us about the specifics of this process?
Experienced goaltenders already know where to order the goaltending gear that they often use. Young goalies often experiment with their equipment and then choose what suits them, myself included. I love everything new, and I still have not decided the gear of which manufacturer I like the most.