At the beginning of the season, Vityaz, who now lives in Balashikha, looked like a hopeless outsider in the Western Conference, but the resignation of coach Alexander Zavyalov after another big defeat allowed the club’s management to start looking for ways out of the crisis. . As a result, Vityaz reached an agreement with Dmitry Ryabykin, a specialist who last season worked in Avangard (head coach) and Metallurg (assistant to Ilya Vorobyov), but both times the matter ended in dismissal.
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However, the new entry of “Bob Hartley’s heir” into the KHL has so far clearly been more successful. With Ryabykin, Vityaz played fast and aggressive hockey, began to win and score points in every game and returned to the fight for the playoffs; At the moment, the Balashikha team is only five points away from the top eight of the cup. In an exclusive interview with the “Championship” correspondent, Ryabykin said:
how and why he decided to start working at a club that is sinking; what changed in Vityaz’s game and how he changed after last season’s failures; what conditions he had to work in Balashikha; how Hartley’s system can work without stars in the lineup; why in “Vityaz” it is easier than in “Avangard” or “Metallurg”; Is there any resentment towards Omsk after the dismissal?
“Why did last season have to be disturbing? “This is the life of a coach.”
— You have been working with Vityaz for almost two months, the balance of wins and losses has improved, the team’s game has changed. Are you happy with this start? — I like our trend, but I can’t say I’m happy with everything. There are aspects that we still have to improve.
—How long did it take you to understand all the processes of the new club?
“I’m probably still getting used to it.” Somewhere it would be possible to improve the defense, but now we don’t have that opportunity.
— In general, were you not afraid to undertake this project? “Vityaz” seemed depressed at the beginning of the season and you are a young coach who needs a reputation for success. – No, there were no worries. I knew what I was getting into and I was sure that this was my chance and I had to take it.
—Did you immediately respond to Balashikha’s offer? —We talked for a couple of days, but in general we decided everything quickly.
— Have you set the goal of returning to work this season? – I would like to, of course. The longer you are away, the faster they forget you.
—It turns out that last season didn’t mislead you? – No. I analyzed everything, drew conclusions and moved on. Why should I knock him out? That’s life, that’s life as a coach, nothing supernatural happened.
Dmitry Ryabykin at the head of Avangard
Photo: Svetlana Sadykova, photo.khl.ru
— Did the location of “Vityaz” also influence it? After all, your family lives in Moscow. – This is one of the reasons. In addition, Balashikha is a family city, a family setting.
“There were times when a player came onto the ice and paused, asking what to do next. But I understood that I had to wait.”
—What goal did the leaders of Vityaz set for you? And was there talk of trustworthy credit? —The goal is the playoffs. We’re not talking about credit, but what’s the point if I’ve just been appointed? I didn’t even ask myself this question.
— I mean that, perhaps, they can count on you not only here and now, but also in the future. “I realized a long time ago that you have to live in the present, not in the future.” And work here and now. It is unknown what will happen next.
— Is the arrival of Alexey Bondarev to the coaching staff your initiative? – Yes, sure. I know Alexey very well as a person and as a player. I saw him working as a coach. This was one of my conditions for working at Vityaz, that Bondarev was at the headquarters. Helps work with defenders.
Dmitry Riabykin and Alexey Bondarev
Photo: Victoria Trufanova, foto.khl.ru
— His first games at the head of Vityaz were away from home and the team lost the first three games with an aggregate score of 2:16. How is it taken? Don’t you want to give up everything? – No, that didn’t happen. First of all, the day after my appointment we had a match against Spartak. As we brought information to the guys, as we changed the structure of our game… I completely understood that it would take time for them to simply understand what to do on the ice, where to run. This is good. Yes, then we missed a lot, it’s always unpleasant, but I understood that I had to wait. There were even times when, for example, a player came out onto the ice and stopped, asking what to do next, where to go. Nowadays, for many people everything has become more or less automatic.
— I suppose that during that series away from home you still looked more at the team than you tried to influence it. — The familiarization process, of course, was underway, but at the same time we immediately began to convey new information to the guys. And he watched how they perceived it. The volume was large and not everyone can do it quickly.
“I want Vityaz to be a hard-working team. We don’t have as much skill as Ak Bars, Avangard or SKA.”
— With you, “Vityaz” came to life mentally. Did you focus on psychology, among other things? – You see, I believe that if you play correctly and meet the coach’s requirements, the result will come sooner or later. There is a saying: “Do everything that depends on you and then it will turn out like a curve.” The main thing is that no one can tell himself that he has not worked hard enough somewhere. So, hockey is a game, and there are games where you have the initiative, but the result is not in your favor. You also need to go through this and learn. But sometimes it’s the other way around. This is a game, there is always some luck, fortune or lack thereof.
—And if we talk about the game system, how can it be changed if there is almost no training process? —This is the greatest difficulty. The boys need to recover, it is a very busy season, there is almost no time left to train. We are trying to get out of the situation by showing a lot of videos and communicating a lot with the guys. We are looking forward to the break, there we will have to give the boys a few days of rest and then work hard on both physical preparation and tactics.
—How did you manage to wake up the Vityaz legionnaires? — A few days after my arrival, Scott Wilson returned to duty, and this affected the others. Secondly, our system is familiar to our foreigners, because almost all Americans play this type of hockey. They understand it and I think it was easier for them than for anyone else on the team to accept this system that has been familiar to them for a long time.
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— He does not hide that he trusts Bob Hartley’s work. Are the pillars of this system aggressiveness and intensity? – Yes, we want to be a working, working team. Let’s be honest: we don’t have as much skill as Ak Bars, Avangard or SKA. We need to achieve results through desire, efficiency and aggression.
—So this system works even without the presence of star players? – You see, any system works if you implement it. There are many systems in hockey and they all work. Some people just like one style, others another.
—Are you trying to teach the players? – This is what we do. We have a lot of young people, Alexander Darin himself plays up front for more than 20 minutes per game, we have Ivan Savchik, Vladislav Tsitsyura. If we take the average age, Vityaz is a very young team.
—Are you still in contact with Hartley now? – Certainly. We communicate and talk constantly.
Bob Hartley and Dmitry Ryabykin at the Avangard All-Star Game
Photo: Vladimir Bezzubov, photo.khl.ru
“I doubt that any of the stars of Avangard or Metallurg will say that we had conflicts”
— After leaving Metallurg, you said that not all hockey players managed to understand each other. And at Avangard there were also certain communication problems. Has anything changed now in terms of communication with players? – Yes, I drew small conclusions. I won’t say much has changed, but I’m trying to convey the information more clearly.
— Can this be called the main result of your internal analysis? – Any normal person, after a season like this, will sit down and think about what was wrong and what can be changed. That’s life: get up and move on.
— As a young coach, do you find it easier to work when there are no great players on the team who can talk backwards? – Yes, I wouldn’t say that I had any problems with the stars in Omsk, in Magnitogorsk. I doubt any of them would say we had conflicts.
— In Vityaz there is objectively less pressure from fans and journalists. Do you feel more relaxed at work? – Less distracting, yes. More focused on his job, less hockey-related environment. But there isn’t much difference.
— In Omsk he did not have a beautiful history as coach of Avangard, but this city and the club still occupy an important place in his career. Are there any resentments left after leaving? – No, why be offended? If it does not show results, then it will be removed; This is a normal phenomenon. You just have to offend yourself, nobody fires a coach who shows results.
— But in many ways you became a hostage to circumstances: a month of away games, a series of defeats from the beginning… – Accept. Somewhere, maybe the management should have been a little patient. But life is not lived in subjunctive modes. There is only the here and now.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS