| 04 March 2011
Photo courtesy of Scott Slingsby
Viatcheslav Voynov is solid, aggressive, quick thinking and unselfish. Called Slava by his teammates and fans, Voynov is in his second season as a defenseman for the Monarchs. This 21-year-old was a second round pick in 2008 for the Kings organization, and he has gone above and beyond his call of duty. Last season, Voynov accrued 10 goals and 29 points in 79 games for Manchester.
This season, he leads defenders in scoring and already has 40 points and 12 goals. He almost never turns pucks over, but in crucial moments he finds the open space to attack and the intuition to score. Voynov sees the ice completely, knows where his teammates will be at all times and isn’t afraid to use his tremendous slapshot to light the lamp. His +/- score so far is 17, the highest on the team and a strong indication of his abilities as a puck-moving defenseman. Voynov also had the honor of playing in the AHL All-Star game for 2011 in Hershey and helped to lift the Eastern Conference team to an 11-8 win over the Western Conference. Though Voynov’s first language is Russian, we had a chance to talk to him with the help of a Russian translator, Glen Frieden.
SB: Where are you from in Russia?
VV: Chelyabinsk.
SB: What can you tell us about your city?
VV: Well, about a million people live there. It’s a sort of industrial city with many factories. In general, just a normal town.
SB: What is hardest part about living so far from home?
VV: In principal, I’m already used to it. The first year was difficult in that I was not with my family or my friends and I didn’t know that much English. Just being in a different country, where everything is new – that was hard.
SB: Does the difference of languages bother you still?
VV: Well, I more or less know English now, and I understand it well, only speaking it is still difficult. That somewhat limits my interactions with people.
SB: Tell us about your time at the All-Star Game.
VV: It was a lot of fun. There were interesting contests and such the next day, there was the game, there was another Russian guy and I hung out with him. The organization was great.
SB: When did you know you wanted to become a hockey player?
VV: When I was six-years-old my dad brought me to a hockey game. We watched it, he asked me if I liked it, and I said yes. He asked me if I wanted to try it, and I said yes. I started practicing, and everything came together and I made it onto a team…
SB: What do you miss from Russian cooking?
VV: Right now my Mom is here… so I don’t miss anything.
SB: Ah, when did your mom get here?
VV: She got here three weeks ago, already in one week she leaves. So, she’s just here for a month.
SB: What’s the best thing about life in the US?
VV: Hmm… More than anything, it’s different people here, there’s a difference in peoples’ outlook. I would say people are more welcoming here, you can always ask people for help and they’ll help you. And I’d say that it’s like that in Russia too, but more so here… somehow people are friendlier, things are organized like that.
SB: What’s your routine to prepare for games?
VV: Well, usually there’s a skate in the morning, then eat a good lunch, then 2-3 hours of sleep, and that’s it - then you come back to the stadium, get ready, get into uniform, warm up and play.
SB: Who on your team helps you the most?
VV: Campbell helps me out well. Also, Oscar. Everyone, really.
SB: Two more questions – Whose your favorite hockey player?
VV: At the moment, I don’t have a favorite. But it used to be Ray Bourque.
SB: Nice, there you go. Last question – Do you have a favorite book, or movie?
VV: Book, unfortunately, no – I don’t read books. But movie – probably Fast and Furious.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
