Yevgeny Khatsey: Barys won’t surprise Traktor
- This series could be called a faceoff between two friends and
two renowned coaches in Valery Belousov and Vladimir Krikunov. Belousov prefers
attacking hockey while Krikunov, conversely, prefers focusing on the defense. I
think it’s going to be an exciting series. Being a Chelyabinsk native, I
believe that Traktor is going to prevail and advance to the second round. Hardly
will Barys be able to surprise Traktor.
- Chelyabinsk team has been consistent in the last two seasons. Traktor is now showing great hockey; this especially concerns Kuznetsov and 17 year-old Wonder Kid, Valery Nichushkin. Besides, Valery Belousov is a veteran coach that has seen a lot in his career. Krikunov is an experienced specialist too, but still I think Barys will have a tough time in this series. Many of Barys’ players have recently played for team Kazakhstan at 2014 Olympic qualifying tournament which might play to their disadvantage simply because of the fatigue factor. So all in all, I think Traktor will eventually advance to the conference semifinals.
- Chelyabinsk team has been consistent in the last two seasons. Traktor is now showing great hockey; this especially concerns Kuznetsov and 17 year-old Wonder Kid, Valery Nichushkin. Besides, Valery Belousov is a veteran coach that has seen a lot in his career. Krikunov is an experienced specialist too, but still I think Barys will have a tough time in this series. Many of Barys’ players have recently played for team Kazakhstan at 2014 Olympic qualifying tournament which might play to their disadvantage simply because of the fatigue factor. So all in all, I think Traktor will eventually advance to the conference semifinals.
