Nikita Boyarkin: "I will approach the new season with the best version of myself"

Nikita Boyarkin, the goalkeeper of Barys, who will miss the upcoming World Championship, told how his recovery is going and shared his plans for the near future.

- Nikita, after the announcement that you will miss the World Championship, you went off the grid. What are you doing now?

- When it became clear that I still wouldn't be able to compete at the World Championship, I passed all the tests and went to the hospital. I was operated on immediately. I've been recovering for a week now, and my leg is slowly returning to its original position.

- How long will your full recovery take?

- Recovery will take about a month and a half. I hope that by the beginning of the training camp of Barys in the summer I will be ready to train fully.

- How would you rate your first season in the KHL?

- I think the season turned out to be mixed: there were both good and negative moments. I made conclusions for myself, together with the coaches – work on mistakes, understood what needs to be worked on more. I will approach the new season with the best version of myself (smiles).

- With the transition to a new league, do you have to change your style of play?

- I haven't changed anything much. Only somewhere, perhaps, I began to play a little bit better. In general, everything remained the same, and the mood for the matches, too.

- Did you follow the final series of the Gagarin Cup? Who did you prefer, given that the guys you know well from the Kazakhstan national team play in CSKA and Metallurg?

- The final turned out to be very interesting, the teams showed the beautiful hockey. I didn't give preference to anyone, I just watched that interesting confrontation. I want to congratulate Darren Dietz on winning the Gagarin Cup, he has been going for that for a long time.

- You probably don't need to ask about the final between Saryarka and Arlan?

- Yes, I also watched those matches. It also turned out to be a tense series. Here, I think, the youth of the Saryarka guys played an important role. Probably, they have more strength left for the decisive match. Congratulations to the team on the second championship in a row!

- Do you keep in touch with the guys who are at the training camp in Latvia now?

- We keep in touch with most of them, discuss how the situation is there, how everyone is doing. We can discuss some personal topics. Everyone is in touch, the time is like that now.

- What do you think, which of the goalkeepers participating in the second cycle of the training camp is capable of becoming the first number of the team?

- I think all the guys are worthy, everyone can benefit. Everyone has some good qualities of their own, and everyone can become number one. It will probably be difficult for the coaches to decide on that choice. I would just like to wish everyone good luck, everything will work out for them.

- Is the national team of Kazakhstan able to improve its last year's result at the World Elite Championship?

- There are always chances. We have a good combat team and coaching staff. I am sure our team will make every effort to improve the result and get into the playoffs.

- Now you will have enough free time from hockey. What are you planning to do?

- There are no global plans. I will be engaged in my recovery after surgery, I will pay more attention to that. Maybe it will be possible to go somewhere to rest. But the initial task is to recover properly and start preparing for the new season.

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

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

Share with your friends