Kirill Savitsky: "We need to continue working on ourselves and try to use our moments"
27 May 2022

Kirill Savitsky: "We need to continue working on ourselves and try to use our moments"

Attacker of Barys and the national team of Kazakhstan Kirill Savitsky summed up the results of the World Championship, and also spoke about his recovery from injury.

- Kirill, how is your health? According to the broadcast, that episode in the match with Germany looked terribly.

- I had a headache for two days, but there is no concussion. There was a trough effect. Our doctors did a great job, reacted quickly, sutured . I think it will take two weeks to totally recover. I'll rest for a couple of weeks and get ready for the new season.

- The national team of Kazakhstan fulfilled the main task, but it seemed that the team was ready for more. Considering that we lost four matches by just one goal.

- Yes, we have left a lot of strength in these matches. We brought the meetings to such a result ourselves. There were unnecessary calls, unforced errors, but everyone was fully stretched. After each meeting, we talked with the guys, improved our game from match to match.

- You started the championship in a link with Sagadeyev and Starchenko, then moved to the forward group to Valk and Mikhailis. Was it difficult to change tactics, because there was not much time for getting used to each other?

- After unsuccessful matches, the coaching staff changed combinations. Of course, we had to change tactics quickly. At first, Zhenya Rymarev played in the forward group of Curtis, but he was injured right before the start of the championship. Probably, the main disadvantage is that we played a lot shorthanded, left a lot of strength. In attack, we tried to create chances under the net, throw, put up, tap in.

- Everyone says that the level of the current World Championship was higher than last year. Can you compare these two tournaments from your point of view?

- Most likely, yes, the level is higher this year. This was especially felt by the defenders. They acted very clearly in their zone, practically did not let us control the puck for a long time, immediately went to the selection in almost any situation, they caught a lot of pucks on themselves. And for almost every mistake in any zone, we were immediately punished with a dangerous moment or a scored goal.

- This season you scored your first goal in the KHL and at the elite World Championship. How does it feel?

- It's always nice to score. Probably, when I scored in the match against Denmark, some kind of load fell off. And I could have scored more in other matches. We need to keep working on ourselves and try to use our moments.

- If you remember the match with Denmark, let's try to figure out what happened in that game?

- Even now it's hard to describe it. In the first minutes it seemed that the opponent was ten times faster and stronger than us. When they came to themselves, the score was already high. Probably, that result affected the next match with France. I think if we had played against France a little later, the result could have been different. But what to say about it now. The score was on the scoreboard. It turns out that we were just spending time in the first two games.

- Which match will you personally remember the most?

- I will definitely never forget the match with Germany (smiles). We had a good match against Canada, we fought. It's always nice to play with such a strong opponent. It was also interesting with the Swiss, a mobile team, plays a good pass.

- According to the percentage of neutralization of most opponents, our team became the worst in the group stage. You yourself often played shorthanded, what happened to this component?

- All the teams played very well under the net, locked the goalkeeper, there were good shots. There were also unpleasant redirects for us. Four or five pucks came rebound, the puck changes direction, and the goalkeeper can't do anything anymore. Luck in these moments was not on our side. Again, with Denmark, we missed a lot shorthanded, and so it went on. We constantly analyzed these moments on video. But, for example, in the match against Canada, one threw, the other corrected, and the puck came rebound from the third one. It's hard to do anything here.

- Let's take a little break from hockey. How did you spend your free time? If, of course, it was.

- Basically, we walked around the city. There were electric scooters near the hotel, it was possible to move around on them. The palace was not far from the hotel. There was also a small lake near the hotel, where we had morning team walks when we played at lunchtime. What I remember is that there are a lot of athletes in the city, running at every step or doing something else. And there are no traffic jams, even in the city center, almost everyone moves by bicycle.

- Was there any moment at the tournament that you remember from the negative side?

- Probably the day when we played against Canada, and there was an incident in the arena. We were already supposed to leave for the game, and the match in front of us hasn't even started yet. We woke up, held a meeting, then again a suspended state. We started playing already at 21:30, the night league turned out (smiles). As a whole, everything went well. The arena seems to be old, but not bad.

- In conclusion, according to tradition, a few words to the fans.

- I can only thank our fans for their support, they came to every match. We heard each of their game, thank you for being with us, you lived through all these moments, both joyful and not so much. Thanks also to those who sat in front of the screens at home. We have all walked this path together.

Photo – IIHF press service.

General Partner of Barys HC – "Samruk Kazyna" SWF JSC 

Partner of Barys HC - Tourism and Sports Industry Support Fund SQ 

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