Pyotr Kochetkov burst into the NHL with full force, and fans instantly fell in love with him—he made his debut just a few weeks after arriving in North America, immediately broke rookie records for the Carolina Hurricanes, and a couple years ago was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. After that explosive start to his North American career—where he also won the Calder Cup and even scored a goal in an American Hockey League (AHL) game—came the routine. He’s no longer the guy with bold, rock-n-roll antics, but a fully developed goalie who now sees many things with a more mature perspective.
That transformation is exactly what was discussed in this translated interview, originally appearing on sports.ru—how and why he became less emotional on the ice, what Carolina lacked in the series against the Florida Panthers, what last season was like overall, and why he dipped in certain statistical categories. Kochetkov reflected thoughtfully on the past season and some career and life moments.
**You can read the interview in Kochetkov’s native Russian by Dmitri Shevchenko on sports.ru here**
Last season, the Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference Final. That can be seen as the glass half empty or half full. “Depends on how you look at it,” Kochetkov says. “If you didn’t win the Cup, it’s a failure—because there’s only one winner. But I don’t want to diminish the work of myself, my teammates, the staff, and the whole organization. Overall, we’ve been showing fairly consistent results in terms of making the playoffs, performing in the regular season, and playing solid hockey in postseason games. Yes, we haven’t managed to win yet, but I definitely wouldn’t say the glass is half empty. We’re on the right path, but only one team wins. The NHL wouldn’t be such an exciting league if everything were clear and predictable. We’ll keep working and try to break through that conference final barrier.”
Now the next step is to somehow get past the Panthers. “Yeah, before it was Tampa, now it’s Florida,” the goalie confirms. “Honestly, there are a lot of good teams—if it had been Toronto, that wouldn’t have been any easier. There are three opponents you have to beat to get to the Final, and they’re all really strong. But Florida, with three straight Finals, really stands out.”
Improving as a Team
In the end-of-season interviews, forward Sebastian Aho said the Hurricanes had everything needed to win the Stanley Cup. It’s not easy to understand what’s still missing. “Probably depth,” Kochetkov reflects. “Florida had a deeper bench, a stronger lineup. They managed the salary cap really well, while we lost some players. Yes, we added Stanky [Logan Stankoven], and I’m confident he’s going to be a big player—he already showed it in the playoffs. But we lost [Mikko] Rantanen and [Martin] Necas—it would be foolish to ignore that, because they’re key players, team leaders. Even though Rantanen didn’t become a leader with us, you saw yourself what he did in Dallas. You could say he carried the team to the second round when they beat Colorado in Game 7. I think we lacked depth, and maybe a bit of that gritty play and the kind of guys who thrive in that kind of hockey,” he adds.
“But I always try to look at it from the perspective of my own game. I need to play better—and again, look at Sergei [Bobrovsky], he played great against us. It’s hard for me to say exactly what we were missing, because on the one hand, hockey is a team sport, but goaltending is very much an individual position.”
Related: Hurricanes’ Pyotr Kochetkov in Make-or-Break Season to Prove He’s the No. 1
It has been said that the Hurricanes have some pretty strict internal rules coming from the team’s head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “I think his image is clear even to people outside the team. And overall, it matches what I see on the inside—so I’m not really revealing any insider info here. He’s a very demanding coach, methodical,” Kochetkov says about his head coach. “It’s enjoyable to work under him. When it comes to training or team rules, I wouldn’t say there’s anything extreme. It’s hard for me to compare with other teams, because I’ve only played in Carolina in the NHL. Of course, it’s a new experience compared to what I saw in the KHL and AHL,” he goes on. “He has his own vision when it comes to the training process and game system. He holds very high standards—for himself and for the team—and that rubs off on everyone. He doesn’t cut himself any slack in his 50s, so he’s definitely not going to cut us young guys any. He’s a true professional who loves hockey—I think he basically lives at the arena.”
Ties with Brind’Amour
If you see photos of Carolina and other teams, the guys even board the plane for road trips in suits and ties. Maybe it is, once again, something that comes from Brind’Amour. “I’ve heard a lot about [Lou] Lamoriello and his shaving and dress code rules, but with us, it’s all pretty moderate,” the goalie admits. “I think 90% of teams wear suits on the road. Do we wear ties? Yeah, we do, but I wouldn’t say the rules are super strict. There’s a schedule, there are clear rules for everyone—like how early you need to be at the arena before a practice or before a game. But it’s not like he’s nitpicky about how someone looks or about everyday stuff—he doesn’t really care about that. I’ve heard that soon the NHL might get rid of the suit rule, and I’m really happy about that. I just don’t like ties—and shirts, honestly, I’m not a fan of those either.”
Moreover, Kochetkov is happy with how the communication with his coach goes. “After the season, we talked about the playoffs and other series. Mostly general hockey stuff—not really anything specific about me or my game. During the season, there are moments I’d like to discuss with him, but my communication usually goes through the goalie coach. Maybe that’s for the best. He doesn’t interfere with the goalie side of things—that actually makes work easier.”
The Russian crew in Carolina lost Dmitry Orlov, who recently inked a deal with the San Jose Sharks. “I won’t lie, I took this news pretty hard,” Kochetkov says. “It’s tough to lose a player like that—and a friend. During the first year, we were pretty close, spent a lot of time together, really bonded. I knew Carolina hadn’t made him the offer he was hoping for, so I figured he probably wouldn’t stay. We stayed in touch when free agency opened. He was going through a tough time, so I didn’t bother him too much.” The goalie said he was surprised to see the veteran blueliner landing in San Jose. “When we talked, there were rumors about other teams, so it was unexpected to hear about San Jose,” he explains. “He told me the whole story—how it all went down, how the negotiations went, and how stressful it all was… Hitting the open market is incredibly stressful for a player. He’s already gone through it twice, so I know a bit about the process.”
Emotions on the Ice
Earlier, Kochetkov said that last season he was trying to stay calmer. “You grow up, you start reflecting on yourself and analyzing your game,” the goalie says. “You internalize some things and try to be less emotional. I started playing more, and I no longer feel like I did when I first entered the league—back then, I had to prove myself and show who I was, to earn that first contract. A lot of it came from the sheer desire to make a name for myself and just break into the league. I never tried to force anything—I’ve just been trying to listen to myself, to my body, to how I feel in goal, and work on improving. Now that I’ve played a few seasons, I look at other things—I want more ice time, I want to compete in the playoffs. When you’re playing a lot, you can’t act as recklessly as when you’re playing only 20 games a season. You have to manage your mind and emotions—it’s part of the growth process. I try not to waste my energy on meaningless stuff.”
Kochetkov also said that sometimes he had to tell himself to stay calm. “The game is fast—things happen, and sometimes you do start to boil. But then you take a couple deep breaths—if you didn’t do anything stupid right away, the moment passes.”
In Game 3 of the Panthers series, Kochetkov got the start. Before the game, there was a lot of praise on Sportsnet from former goalie and analyst Kelly Hrudey—he said Kochetkov battles hard and gives his team a chance to win. However, the Canes lost that game. “We zoned out for six minutes—and that was it. Honestly, they just wore us down. We held on, but maybe I was just one save short. One or two more stops and things could’ve been different. We played pretty well for two periods—including myself—it was 1–1. We missed a few chances, and then gave up the second, third, and fourth goals—it all just fell apart.”
Losing that game was hard for Kochetkov, but also for Orlov and Alexander Nikishin, both of whom were a minus-4 at the end. “It’s the playoffs—you can stew over it or not, but the series isn’t over yet. You have to get back out there and do your job. Of course, it felt awful after the game—I felt terrible, to put it mildly. And mentally, it was rough—but what can you do, it’s our job.”
Kochetkov’s save percentage and goals-against average were worse this season than last. But at the same time, he also set personal records for games played and wins. “It was tough. I dealt with a lot of things that got in my way. I didn’t feel completely healthy—some issues started already in November, and it was just one thing after another. I didn’t want to miss games or let anyone down, so in some ways I put the team’s needs above my own. Maybe I should have taken more time to fully recover, to rest a few extra days. I could’ve skipped a practice or a morning skate, but I never skipped games. The only time I was out was when I had a concussion—everything else, I played through, or at the very least dressed as the backup. By the end of the season, it all caught up with me and turned into this big pile of discomfort—I had to spend so much energy dealing with it, and in the end, the results weren’t the best.”
It looks like Kochetkov is playing deeper in the crease now—he poke-checks less and comes out to challenge less often. He adjusted his style. “I do think I’m playing deeper compared to how I played when I first came into the league,” he confirms. “I’d actually like to play even deeper, because sometimes I feel like I’m flying around the crease, chasing the puck. As for playing the puck outside the crease—I think I’ve started taking fewer risks and avoiding completely reckless decisions.”
Back in 2022, Kochetkov had an early contract with Carolina after only seven career games—a deal that many considered controversial at the time. But that was a solid start for the goalie. “I try to be grateful for everything, and I’m glad I got that contract,” he says. “It’s all good—I’m playing in the NHL. Money is important, of course, but for me, hockey was never just about money. When I signed the deal, I had a lot of serious family-related matters I had to take care of. There’s always something you can nitpick, always something to be unhappy about, but at the time of signing, I had just one decent season in the KHL. I was already tired of being traded, of the instability—financial and otherwise—and all the problems that came with it. This contract helped me, and in the time since, I’ve accomplished a lot. I’ve improved in certain areas and gotten rid of some issues I was dealing with. I’m focused on progress. I’ve got two years left on this deal.”
Money Talks
Kochetkov definitely comes across as someone who understands the value of money. So, probably getting a large sum as a signing bonus hitting his account on July 1 didn’t play such a dramatic role. “I never had that moment where I suddenly started earning huge money,” the goalie admits. “I started in the MHL-B—my salary was 15,000 rubles per month [around $170 at the time]. Then, when I moved up, it became 30. After I signed a new contract, I got 70. In the KHL, I started at 100. Played a little—got bumped up to 250. Then I left Nizhny for the AHL, was earning about the same as in Torpedo. So my income grew gradually. Up until this year, more or less all my money was planned out before the season even started. I always had a budget—if I make X, then I can do Y and Z. Plus, I signed the contract in the fall, and it only kicked in the following season, so I had time to think everything through. I didn’t waste that time—I always try to approach finances with some sort of plan in place.”
In one of his past interviews, Kochetkov mentioned wanting a calmer summer than in past years. It seems to be working out so far. “Overall, this summer has been a bit calmer than last year. I haven’t gone anywhere on vacation yet since I got back. I haven’t traveled far within Russia either—just moving between Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Penza [Kochetkov’s hometown]. In any case, summer always ends up being kind of a rush—you get home and want to see family and friends, plus there’s all the everyday stuff that piles up over ten months. No matter how much you want a peaceful summer, it never really works out that way—but this year has been better.” And it will be interesting to see whether Kochetkov will improve his stats this season after he changed his usual summer plans.
