After John Tortorella started coaching the Columbus Blue Jackets, Russian defenseman Fedor Tyutin started getting out of the lineup with a certain frequency, which isn’t a usual situation for him. In this translated interview, originally appearing on the popular Russian website sportexpress.ru, defenseman Fedor Tyutin talked about Tortorella, his team’s season, and Darius Kasparaitis.
* For the original sportexpress.ru article by Igor Rabiner, click here.
– Why you didn’t get to the lineup in the game against Toronto?
– No comment. Better to ask him [head coach John Tortorella].
– Recently the Jackets traded Ryan Johansen to Nashville for Seth Jones, this undoubtedly increased the competition for a spot in the defensive lineup. Maybe this is the reason?
– I repeat: ask the coach. He’ll explain you better.
– How did your team and your role changed since Tortorella arrived?
– Oh… (long pause). Frankly speaking, I am not that willing to talk about it.
– Ok, let’s stop talking about Tortorella. Let’s talk about Bobrovsky. Your team lost most of the games played without him as he was injured. Is it possible to say that the Blue Jackets with and without Bobrovsky are two different teams?
– Of course. A good goalie is half of your team, and Sergei is much more than a good goalie. When he plays the whole team has more confidence. This is why it’s a whole different team.
– Why the whole team, including Bobrovsky, started the season not up to the expectations?
– That’s a good question. I’d love to have the reply for it.
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– Don’t you have an opinion?
– There are many opinions. But I don’t have a concrete reply.
– It will be hard for the Jackets to get a playoff spot. Are you ready for a call to the national team for the upcoming IIHF WC in Moscow?
– The situation is pretty much the same as the previous years. There are still so many games to play. It’s a bit early to anticipate things. We’ll see what happens.
– But if you’ll get a call, are you ready to accept?
– I repeat: we’ll see. The season is still long, there are still three months and a half in the regular season.
– Do you miss Artem Anisimov? He’s having a great season in Chicago. Are you surprised by his success?
– Of course I do miss him. We are regularly in touch. I’m not really surprised about his game. He can score or get other players scoring, he already demonstrated it. He found himself in a good team, he enjoys playing and that is great.
– What Russian players in the NHL are you most in touch with?
– With Bobrovsky. And Anisimov. I try to be in touch a little bit with everyone.
– Anisimov is playing great with Panarin. Do you think they should play together at the World Cup?
– Well, that’s not a question for me. But when you play with a constant partner for a whole season, then it should be easier to play together. Especially in a short tournament like the national team ones.
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– Panarin, Kuznetsov, Tarasenko, Kucherov. There is a new wave of young Russian players whose game seems to allow Russia to bring to the World Cup a better team than in Vancouver or in Sochi. Do you agree? Is a new generation of players growing?
– It looks like that. It’s very pleasant to see our young players being leaders [in the NHL].
– How would you explain the big number of players who left the KHL last summer for the NHL, including your rolemate Evgeny Medvedev, who’s older than you?
– I’d say that the guys wanted to play in the best league in the world, test themselves in a new level and play against the best players. I don’t see anything strange in this.
– Did you never have a chance to get back to the KHL?
– I’m here now and I’m thinking only about tomorrow. And tomorrow I’ll only think about the next day. I don’t think very forward. Time will show.
– Our interview wasn’t the funniest. Let’s try to remember something fun. Was it in Columbus or in New York that they called you Putin?
– Oh that never happened! It was Kasper [Darius Kasparaitis]. Once he mistakenly called me that way talking to journalists. I was never called that way.
– By the way, Kasparaitis is now in Toronto, he organizes an internship for Russian business school RMA students. And not only he organizes meetings like the meeting with Brendan Shanahan, but he also entertains them with stories from his career.
– Kasper is in Toronto?!? Well, now we communicate only once in a while. Everyone has his own life. Sometimes we do talk together, but I can’t say it happens often.
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