Nikita Filatov: I think it’s no secret that I’m a first or second line player

An early bird

You have recently arrived in Ottawa. Why so early, weeks before the start of the training camp?

I consulted the club’s managers and we decided it will do good for me. There’s a new team, new atmosphere, everything is new. We decided it will be enough for me to blend in the team. I want to just do a bit of skating with the guys, get to know the coaches and team personnel.

Aren’t you afraid you’ll get wrung out too early and won’t be able to do your best in the training camp?

No, I’m not. Last season I even arrived six weeks before the camp began, but that was too much, perhaps. I believe three weeks are exactly what I need. In addition to that, there are no strict limitations or requirements in terms of training before the camp. The only compulsory thing in our program is the gym, while the ice is optional. Training with fitness coaches is only five times a week. For example, I only skated three times this week. So, as you may see, the program is quite relaxed. Of course, the loads are serious in the gym, but they do us a lot of good. It will all help me prepare myself better for the camp.

What does your schedule looks like?

My day usually begins like this: I get up at 8 a.m., have my breakfast, then somewhere around half past eight the guys come for me. We take a car together with the Swedes and go to the arena – it’s a five minute drive from the house, where I live. At 9:15 we begin training in the gym, it takes about an hour and a half. Then there are like 40 minutes to rest. After that, we drive to the training rink, as we don’t skate in the main one.

The road doesn’t take more than three or four minutes. There are guys from various NHL teams who train with us there. We work with the coaches for like 20-30 minutes – they give us some exercises to warm up. Then we play each other either 5-on-5, or 4-on-4 – it depends on how many people we have available. In fact, at 1 p.m. we are all free. Usually we go somewhere to eat together. It’s depends on what mood we’re in.

Many people have been suggesting you will play together with Jason Spezza, there was even some talk about the Filatov – Spezza – Alfredsson line. To what extent is it real in your opinion?

I think it is premature to draw any conclusions. It’s still more than two weeks left until the training camp. Let’s wait and see. But, of course, it’s a great honor for me to be put in the same line with them, even as a suggestion. What can I say? Of course, I’d be only too glad to play with them. They are great players and legends of the NHL.

You have said recently that the general manager of the Senators had promised you a place in one of the first two lines. Did he really do that?

I was a bit misquoted. Of course, I could never say that someone had promised me something. People just thought it up as if I meant it. It didn’t look good, because I really didn’t say that. Yes, there was such a conversation. I think it’s no secret that I’m a first or second line player. I just don’t fit in the third or the fourth one with my style. So if I make it into the squad, I will be either in the first or the second line.

Therefore, it is easy to assume that they will try to put me with Spezza and Alfredsson. Still, I’d like to reinforce it, no one ever promised me anything, and I just could not say anything like that. I can only hope that the said interview wasn’t translated into English, otherwise there would be a lot of unwanted talks.

Something like skiing

You came to Ottawa for a couple of days in July almost immediately after the trade. Couldn’t the Senators wait another month?

It was purely my own desire. They didn’t insist on me coming. I was on vacation in the Dominican Republic at that time and it was only a six-hour flight to Ottawa rather than the usual eleven. I thought it was right. It is a big change, a big step in my career. It was not hard for me to take a break from my vacation for two days and to meet the managers and the guys. I think it was the right decision. They were even a little bit surprised, as they didn’t expect I will suspend my holiday and come to Ottawa.

What did the coaches tell you after that trip?

Well, what else could they tell me? Nothing special. I just made myself acquainted with the management. For example, I found out in what capacity did they see me, what kind of player do they consider me to be, and so on. We talked a bit about when I have to arrive right before the camp. There were no specific discussions during those two days. I’d say we just got acquainted with each other.

There were reports that you have been training in equipment that didn’t fit you and was way too big.

In fact, it’s kind of true. You may guess I didn’t take any hockey equipment with me to the Dominican Republic, so I came to Ottawa without it. I knew there was a training camp for rookies, but I couldn’t even imagine I would skate there. By then I hadn’t been skating for like six weeks. However, I was offered to skate with the guys and even to take part in a training match. As a rule, everyone comes there with his own equipment, so naturally there was a little mess-up.

However, the reporters that made a mountain out of a molehill. The equipment did fit me perfectly. The only problem was with my skates, because, you know, skates are such a thing that new ones will always cause some discomfort – you will chafe your feet even if they fit your size. They gave me skates of a bigger size. I felt myself like these were skis. However, I didn’t chafe anything. Especially because I didn’t intend to bend over backwards and show something incredible.

Did you already choose yourself a number to play?

Yes. I will wear number 21, because 20 and 28 were already occupied.

The Bronze City

What do you make of Ottawa after Columbus?

Of course, I didn’t have time to look at it properly, but I already have an impression that it’s not a metropolis. It’s not New York, it’s not Los Angeles either. However, it still leaves nice impression. To tell the truth, Ottawa is even like Columbus. The green is everywhere, everything’s quiet and neat. However, I haven’t been to the center of the city yet. The arena is situated somewhere in a thirty-minute drive from the downtown, and I live right next to it. As far as I understood, it’s the more relaxed and family-oriented part of the city, although I was told that there’s not much rush in the downtown as well.

Aren’t you disappointed that the arena is located 25km from the downtown? Back in Columbus, it’s place is in the heart of the city and you used to live literally three minutes away from it.

But here I will probably also live five minutes away from the arena. I don’t think there’s a problem about it. It makes no sense to live namely in the downtown. Here, the arena is surrounded by restaurants, shops, and things like that. Many of the guys, by the way, live in this part of the town. Especially as when the roads are empty – and the traffic jams here, I was told, only occur before and after the games – it doesn’t take more than twenty minutes to reach the downtown. In Moscow it sometimes takes you an hour to get anywhere.

A couple of years ago Ottawa hosted the World Junior Championship, where you took the third place, losing to Canada in the semifinals despite leading five seconds from time. Shouldn’t you hate the Senators’ arena?

Of course, you can’t forget things like that. But I can’t say I hate this arena or have some feelings of that kind. Even though it was a terrible defeat, that World Championship was still successful for us: we won the bronze medals. I believe it was the most successful tournament of my career, so I’ve got a lot of good memories from it. Moreover, even now, when people come to take an autograph or just exchange some words, it’s that World Cup that they tell me about. They go like ‘we’ve seen you here two years ago, you played very well’. You could feel the city is very much into hockey.

Did you already notice any difference in terms of attitude to hockey between the Americans and the Canadians?

Again, I’ve only spent a week here. But, yes, it already feels that the difference is huge. And that’s despite the fact that the camp will only begin in three weeks. The guys have been telling me what’s going on here during the season – it sounds impressive. Let’s face it, everyone knows hockey is the No. 1 sport in Canada – even a religion, I’d say. It has no competitors here. In America, hockey is the fourth most popular sport. So, I think, is all logical.

Strangers unanswered

You are probably afraid to open your Facebook page now – it should be flooded with messages.

In fact, I’m not that much into Facebook. Of course, I see there’s an incredible amount of people adding me to their friends lists. However, almost nobody of them actually writes any messages. They’re either too shy, or understand I wouldn’t answer. Honestly, I never reply to the messages from people I don’t know.

Ottawa is, by and large, a typical Canadian village. Were you surprised to see it’s the country’s capital?

That certainly surprised me. Ottawa is not like a typical capital at all, no comparison with Moscow. An absolutely provincial town. If one doesn’t know Ottawa is a capital, he would probably never think about it. But I do not care about that. Let it be a capital, no problem.

When you’ll play for the Senators, your game will be scrutinized almost under a microscope, and I mean both the fans and the press. Such a burden of responsibility – do you like it or not?

I haven’t thought about it yet, but somehow I think it won’t be a discomfort for me. Hopefully, I’ll be able to calmly deal with both successes and perhaps even some failures, whether they are personal or concern the whole team. I will be open for criticism. It’s normal that in a place, where people love hockey so much, they will thoroughly discuss me, criticize me, and so on. It’s natural.

You’re temporarily living with a host family, which is typical for some minor league players, but not those from the NHL. What are your impressions?

It’s the first time I live this way. The club’s management offered it to me, and I like it here. The people have been treating me well, we’ve become friends. I live in a house owned by a couple with a small child. The father works for a company that sponsors the Senators. He is the sales director for Molson, a well-known Canadian brewing company. He works in the same building, where we train. So sometimes he would even give us a ride in the morning and take us back to our place in the evening.

The family has been helping me a lot. It’s much cheaper and more convenient than staying in a hotel. First of all, it’s home-cooked meals. Secondly, it’s still a home, and, therefore, it feels much more comfortable. I’m glad that the directors were able to arrange it this way, and the family agreed to take me. I would like to tell them all how grateful I am. Those three weeks I’m going to spend at their place can’t be compared to how I would live in a hotel.

Paul MacLean, who will be at the helm of the Senators this season, never worked as head coach in the NHL before. His assistants – Mark Reeds and Dave Cameron coached last season’s OHL finalists. How will the lack of the coaching staff’s experience affect the team’s results?

Frankly, I don’t pay attention to that. You can’t call a man, who spent so many years with the Detroit Red Wings, a debutant. During his career he has worked with many well-known players and even legends of the NHL. This fact speaks volumes.

by Andrey Osadchenko