01 March 2026

Timur Mindubayev: “I’m very happy to have received this opportunity”

Timur Mindubayev, who recently played his first shifts in the KHL for Barys, shared his emotions after the long-awaited debut.

— The emotions are amazing, of course. You could say a dream came true. I’m very happy to have received this opportunity and to test myself at a completely new level. But now I need to keep working hard on myself and prove my abilities to the coaching staff.

— February was successful both for you personally and for Snezhnye Barsy as a team. What changed during that stretch that eventually led to your call-up to the main team?

— The team started playing more united hockey and fighting for each other. Personally, my confidence grew. I believed in my abilities and scored a few goals in the MHL. After that, I got called up to Barys. I only had two practices before immediately playing in a game. Of course, I still need to improve in every aspect. Even sitting on the bench, I noticed how quickly decisions are made here, how fearlessly players battle for the puck, and how fast everyone transitions both to offense and defense.

— You only had three shifts, but in one of them you came close to scoring. Tell us about that moment.

— Vsevolod Logvin gave me a pass, and I carried the puck into the zone. Then Alikhan Asetov made a great play and sent the puck back to the front of the net. Unfortunately, I couldn’t capitalize on the chance. Maybe I lacked experience in that moment. Again, I need to keep working on myself and helping the team.