Alex Ovechkin and Fedorov brothers

August 14, 2007

Moscow, Russia - The Moscow Dynamo is expecting Sergei Fedorov. Ovechkin has already started his training there.

Alex Ovechkin started his training yesterday at the team's facility in Novogorsk. The team had a day-off yesterday and Ovechkin was skating alone, but starting today he will be trained with the core of white'n'blue Dynamo team. The head coach of Dynamo Vladimir Krikunov told to Pavel Strizhevski, the reporter for Sport-Express, that Sergei Fedorov asked the permision to train with the team as well. His brother, Fedor Fedorov, has recently signed the contract with Dynamo. But so far Sergei Fedorov hasn't announced when he is planning to join the team.

Update (Aug. 17) ...

According to Sport-Express Sergei Fedorov joined his brother Fedor and Alex Ovechkin in training on Tuesday, August 14th.

Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg...

Malkin & Co. started training under the guidance of Barry Smith

The St. Petersburg SKA opened their pre-season training yesterday. Nine players not belonging to SKA roster attended the pre-season training. These are Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Alexei Semenov, Viktor Kozlov, Andrei Nikolishin and four North American NHL players, individually preparing for the season with the Head Coach Barry Smith. Alexander Radulov will begin training on ice in the next few days.

"I love the way the NHLers were training today," said Barry Smith in a conversation with SE correspondent Eugene Nefedov. "Despite the fact that this was their first training on ice after a long break, they showed a very high level of skill and professionalism. For them this is a great opportunity for the best possible preparation for the season. And SKA now has set the training process that involves not three, but four groups of players which is much better."

Q. Please tell us more about the four North American players who came to St. Petersburg.

A. It is David Moss from Calgary, David Liffiton from the Rangers, Mike Weber from the Buffalo Sabres and Josh Beaulieu from Philadelphia. They arrived to St. Petersburg to get in shape before their team's training camps.

Q. Is it possible that one of them will continue his career in SKA?

A. No, they have signed contracts with NHL teams, and we have invited them solely for the purpose of optimizing the training process.

"It was a little tough, of course," said Malkin on his impressions of the first training under the guidance of Smith. "I would say, unusual. I didn't skate for two months. But in general I had a very positive impression of the first day."

Jamie Heward joins SKA

Jamie will be the fourth international joining SKA. He is 36 years old and played 381 games in NHL.

"I know how Jamie played in the NHL, and I am confident he will add a lot of credibility to our defensive line," said yesterday the new SKA head coach Barry Smith in an interview with a SE correspondent Eugene Nefedov.

Q. Do you already know who he will be paired with?

A. Not yet. After Heward will join us, we'll try him with all defensemen, and only then I will make the final decision.

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