AO in pretty good mood
Alex sits down with Pavel Lysenkov and talks (excerpt):
How do you spend your summer vacation? What did you do after the [IIHF] World Cup?
It's only a month so far. I'm just resting. Now I plan to stay in Moscow. Later I'll go to France for five days with Ilya Nikulin.
And what about Turkey, your favorite vacation place?
I already was there, stayed for five days. It was a quiet hotel, no disco. I was swimming and sleeping.
When will you start training?
Closer to August. Last year I trained with Ilya Kovalchuk. And now I don't know who I will train with. There were some plans, but everything has already changed. I understand how important it is to build the foundation in the off-season. But this summer I might change my training system.
What do you feel about so many injuries in the NHL? Crosby and many other stars got injured. Vancouver's Raymond received vertebrae compression fracture in the Stanley Cup finals.
It's hockey, unpredictable game. Relax for a second and injury will find you. It's like the [Soviet] pioneers would say, "Be ready!", [answer] "Born ready!" [Similar to boyscouts' "Be prepared!" -tj]
Semyon Varlamov is now without a contract. What should he do, stay in the NHL with a small salary or return to Russia?
Varlamov is already an experienced player. He knows what is what. Maybe Semyon just makes a calculated pause in negotiations. God help him to remain in Washington. Everyone loves and respects him.
Are you sorry that Capitals won't visit Russia?
Very much! I have already phoned to all the relatives and friends, said that in the fall you would see me playing in Russia. Was hoping that the guys from Washington would see Moscow. But the two leagues couldn't agree on some small details. It's a shame ...
Any news that in the last few days shocked you?
I try to live quiet and peaceful life. I don't watch news. I just relax and go out with guys and try to forget about everything. Went to a movie [premiere] lately, the movie "All Inclusive". It was very funny.
What can surprise you?
Today I was really surprised by your questions. And recently I was surprised in Chelyabinsk when I visited it. I discovered a new world!
Reporting live,
this is your field reporter Emily.
http://www.argumenti.ru
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16 comments:
Disappointing he hasn't started training yet and that he doesn't intend to start for another month. If he really wants to change his system, then he needs to get working on it. Whether he has a trainer there are many things he can do informally until he finds one.
It sounds like this summer won't be well-spent eaither.
Good for Ovi - he deserves a break and part of the summer off!
I wouldn't say it won't be well spent. To be honest, he deserves a break. He hasn't been out partying like last years. He's allowed to go out and relax.
He's in much better shape than he was this time last year as well. He's taking better care of himself.
It depends on what he considers training. He's already been swimming and resting his body- both very good health wise, especially for someone with reoccurring injuries.
If he's smart, he'll probably start off small and sooner than august, with stuff like running or simple exercises that might not be considered "training" by him. It's better to start off small, for longer time and work up than going straight into a heavy workout. Hopefully he'll do that. I can only imagine he would.
I'm worried that his plans fell through, though. Hopefully he'll pick something up that will work out, maybe train with Semin or someone else.
BTW, Semin- who just got back from Turkey- has already started training, mostly running, I believe. Good to know he's getting ready as well. Hopefully he'll have a great season, earn another contract!
Speaking of contracts. I hope Varlamov re-signs. He seems optimistic in the situation. Good to hear everyone loves him!
He's had over a month to rest and heal and relax. Yes, it's been OVER A MONTH factoring in his participation in Worlds.
Last year, Ovie said he wanted to work on his wrists over the summer. There is no evidence that he did. Even before he was slashed his stick handling seemed off last season, not to mention how out of shape he looked in general.
This year, the determination he spoke with to improve himself and change his training after the Caps were eliminated sound like they are falling by the wayside. Change takes time. Following his typical schedule won't cut it.
Nicky, who had a more serious injury, has been practicing 5 days a week for several weeks now. So, two of the three most skilled players on the team are training before June ends, and what is Ovie doing...? He's talking about beginning his training a month from now.
Until Ovie follows through, his words are empty. It looks like his Moscow lifestyle is sucking him in again.
Yeah, that's true. He's not like Semin, who pretty much lives a normal Siberian life when he's at home. Ovechkin seems to live it up a bit more.
I really wish he would work on stuff sooner, but he's got to have a life, he has that right. He should have a balance though. Days filled with swimming, running, gym for a couple hours, nights can hang out with friends. Eat healthy and focus on problem areas such as his wrists and thighs.
I've done fitness/workout plans for people before, mostly for high school athletes, but it's the same basics. He really needs to find balance because every week he's not working on staying physical, he tones down. Especially with drinking.
Also, if he worked on it now and kept the weight down he could improve his speed and agility from last season, where he had lost some edge for some time.
Again, I think his plans falling through bring more fear than his late start. If he goes back to his last trainer, who clearly didn't work out, we're looking at the same thing over again. I think he needs to find some older, more determined guys to work out with than Kovalchuk.
Also, it's very good to hear other Capitals are keeping up with their routines. Backstrom working so hard is really refreshing to hear. I don't think his play last year, or anyone's is a reflection of what this year will be. Except maybe Neuvirth, he can keep it up.
Already I don't like where this is going with Ovie. I agree with O, he's had over a month to rest and relax and here he is talking about waiting until close to August to start training.
Ovie's words about doing things differently this time around seem empty and meaningless. His training plans have fallen through, and he doesn't sound like he's come up with Plan B or is even interested in a backup plan.
IMO this is very disappointing, and leads me to believe he's learned nothing about the importance of the offseason to lay the foundation for playing hockey. IMO the circle of friends who I suspect have contributed to his bad habits and behavior in the past continue to influence him. It looks more and more like Ovie won't let hockey interfere with his living it up lifestyle instead of the other way around. Too bad, because I really had high hopes he would finally grow up and change his ways. :(
Oh and one more thing. I wasn't too keen on the possibility of the Caps opening their season in Russia. Given what Ovie tells us about his delayed training plans, now I'm not at all sorry the Caps won't be going to Moscow. The last thing the Caps need is for Ovie to continue his offseason partying into the regular season. The Caps can do without him going out to enjoy the Moscow night life with his friends instead of focusing on playing hockey.
For some guys, training means different things. Maybe Ovi is talking about serious training on ice or in the weight room. I'm sure he's doing some kind of cardio/light weight training now. Guys need this time to rest their bodies for the long grind. No one, not even a pro athlete, can sustain peak performance year round. Those who try weaken their immune systems and are more likely to suffer illness or overuse injuries.
@BobbyG,
We'll keep our fingers crossed that he has a more developed backup plan than he's letting on. I don't expect him to reveal all to the media, but it would be nice if he didn't sound so lackadaisical at this point in the summer.
@Anonymous,
Many of us on this board are familiar with what it takes to keep in shape at a high level. Ovie seems to do better with more structure. I think we can conclude that he doesn't get enough of that in Moscow.
Ovie has also reached an age where it is increasingly necessary to maintain a certain level of fitness. If he doesn't, he'll be spending more of his training time catching up rather than moving forward.
Another thing he hasn't followed through on (yet), where is the photo from Moscow he was going to Tweet? That shouldn't take much effort. Follow through. Follow through. Follow through. Big or small, follow through.
@O: I agree to wait and see. However, if the Big Z Zdeno Chara, the CAPTAIN of the Stanley Cup champion Bruins, shows up at the Tour de France next month to bike the mountain stages...
BobbyG, preparing for "Questions will become answers" Part 2
Part of me wonders whether or not Ovi is just pretending like he's not doing too much 'cause he wants to take everyone by surprise. If people know he's already training hard, then they're gonna be prepared for him. If they think he's partying, they're not gonna expect him to be in shape and ready to go.
I have a feeling that we're gonna see a super in shape and focused Ovi.
Justin Bourne had an interesting exchange with Chesnokov on Twitter today:
@jtbourne @dchesnokov He really said "closer to August?" Wow. Some guys start skating then, but are training like...any day now
@jtbourne @dchesnokov Wow...that's really, really interesting. Weber, Keith, Getzlaf, Heatley and others that summer in Kelowna start lifting May/June
I don't know if Ovi has a tendency to downplay what he does, but I know last summer Semin was interviewed in Russian press and he claimed that he wasn't working out at all. But it was just Semin being sly, he showed up and had a great few months at the start of the season until he was injured. He was like that the previous season too, having a great start. I wouldn't mind Ovi going to Siberia to work out with Semin!
I wouldn't get too worked up over this. I don't know, none of us are with him every day, we really don't have a true sense of what he's been doing. I'm not going to jump to conclusions so soon about him not following through with things when we really don't know for sure.
And is him not tweeting his photo from Moscow like he said really that big of a deal? I would like to see it too, but it was one little tweet about something really unimportant that any normal person could easily forget about.
I'll wait and see. Wait to see when Ovie actually starts his training. Wait to see what shape he's in when he reports to training camp in September.
As I posted on another thread, Ovie was already training long and hard in St. Petersburg in July 2007. In the 2007-2008 season he set the single season scoring record for LWs with 65 goals.
So yes, I'll wait and see what goes down with Ovie for "Questions will become answers" Part 2.
@Anonymous,
The photo Tweet isn't big in and of itself. It does add another thing to the list of things he said he was going to do and never followed through on.
It is one of the things that bugs me about some people since I prefer people didn't throw out promises they aren't going to fulfill.
Something that small could be crossed off the to do list in a matter of seconds.
All the photos posted by paparazzi and friends and party people don't count. They aren't coming from him.
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