RT: When you won last year I saw the events in our capital’s centre. This year the situation was exactly the same. Did these pictures of the entire country celebrating and rejoicing help you to move forward in this championship?

Oleg Saprykin: I think it’s great when the entire country supports one team. I believe Russia was like one big family then. I believe in the future Vyacheslav Bykov and Igor Zakharkin will help us to stay as one family as well, and our players will feel stronger with this support.

RT: What were your emotions and feelings before the final match?

Oleg Saprykin: I don’t think we had any feelings. We were so concentrated on this game. We knew it was sink or swim. Our players and coaches and massage therapists used all their energy to do everything possible to win this particular game.

RT: Sport critics and experts noted before the championship that the team would have relatively few players from the National Hockey League. Most players were from the Continental Hockey League. Do you believe this victory achieved by the talented domestic players could actually inspire the Continental League which has just been launched recently?

Oleg Saprykin: I believe both the National Hockey League and the Continental Hockey League have many talented players. The team which was organized for this moment and which had won the cup for Russia was the most important thing. It’s really great when guys return from the NHL. I myself had played in the NHL. Their players certainly have a lot of talent and experience. It was a really great situation that we won the world championship twice. But in some situations people cannot leave the NHL, for example during the Stanley Cup; and coaches have to look for players within Russia. I believe the KHL players are just as talented as the NHL players; they just play in different leagues.

RT: You’ve had a chance to compare. First you played in Russia, then you went to the NHL and now you’re back in Russia playing for CSKA. How would you compare these two leagues, the NHL and the KHL?

Oleg Saprykin: I believe the NHL’s level is at a slightly higher than that of the KHL but I am sure we are getting close to reaching the same level. I think our playing fields are larger compared to the smaller ones in the NHL, which enables them to have more intense games and more supporters; and more active players who take more shots; and more active goalkeepers. I think these two situations are just too different. I think the KHL will reach this level soon and hockey will become more exciting for people who like and support it actively, just like in the NHL.

RT: Do you believe that now hockey is less popular in Russia than in the NHL?

Oleg Saprykin (AFP Photo / Alexander Nemenov)

Oleg Saprykin: Ice hockey is loved in Russia but not as strongly as in the NHL. The National Hockey League developed faster than our league is doing at the moment. And a very good system has been created there. We are also moving in this direction but I don’t know when we are going to reach our goal. We are progressing and, as I play, I come to understand that things are improving here every year. But I don’t know what the situation with European playing fields is going to be. All this makes the situation more difficult than in the NHL.

RT: Do you think that your performance, especially your double, at the World Hockey Championships can make ice-hockey more popular with our people, change their attitude to the game and make it as good as in the United States?

Oleg Saprykin: I think that all people should love hockey more and contribute to its development. I hope that we are going to see positive changes even this year. I hope it’s not the last victory for the Russian national team, all the major victories are still ahead, and I’ve heard that the biggest celebrations were held on Tverskaya Street. I believe that our fans will support us even more. Everything is in our hands and a lot depends on our coaches.

RT: What can make an athlete return from a league like the NHL where, as you say, there’s great public love of hockey, money, and different conditions? Everything must be better. So what makes people, players, return to Russia?

Oleg Saprykin: I don’t think that they return because of money. Many players spend many years in the NHL and started families in Russia and in Moscow. I think that families are the first to return to Russia. Besides, the national interest in hockey is growing, and they understand that the sport is going to develop and won’t stop where it is now. I think that this interest will keep growing, and the quality of our hockey will soon be as high as in the NHL. That’s why the guys return to Russia.

RT: You say that the national interest in ice-hockey is growing. I’ve recently returned from Yaroslavl which at the moment is a big talent foundry both for Russia and the NHL. Why is ice hockey developing in Russia? Is it because of salaries, good conditions, or sport training camps?

Oleg Saprykin: I think that a lot of things that existed in previous years no longer exist. Conditions and training are the main things. Everything is compared to the NHL, and our experts try to do everything to make local conditions in Russia match NHL standards. It was not so in previous years. Today, it all equates to salaries and general conditions, the selection of players, people who do everything for the Russian national team. I think that all this is elevating ice hockey to a higher level. I think this is also a reason why players who play for the NHL return.

RT: What impact do you think Russian players have on the NHL? If we take yesterday’s quarter-final between Pittsburgh and Washington, Alexander Ovechkin and Malkin were there. How do the Russian players rate in the NHL?

Oleg Saprykin: I think that superstars like Ovechkin and Malkin do everything for the victory of their teams. Their influence is great but they are not the only superstars playing for the NHL. There are many other talented players in the NHL, who, in fact, help these two to be stars. And I think that everybody understands why Pittsburgh defeated Washington yesterday but, nevertheless, it’s just a game in which there are winners and losers. This time Pittsburgh won. I don’t see any tragedy here. I am sure that all the players from both sides showed their best. But I think it’s just sport and a game. I think that both Alexander Ovechkin and Malkin did everything they could but some won and some lost. So it’s difficult to discuss or judge anybody under these circumstances. It’s a game, and I think that each of them went all out.

RT: Who do you think, is the most outstanding Russian hockey player in the NHL

Oleg Saprykin: I think that …it depends on the assessment criteria that you choose.

RT: Well who is a team leader, a leader without whom the team is not the same?

Oleg Saprykin: I would name two hockey players. It’s Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Ovechkin.

RT: So, are they irreplaceable for their teams?

Oleg Saprykin: I think that they are irreplaceable.

RT: And would you yourself return to the NHL if you had a good offer from a good team? Would you wish to go and play there? Or do you like it better in Russia? At least for now?

Oleg Saprykin: I have offers but the situation is such that I have to wait and see. The season has just ended. At the moment I already have a contract with CSKA. I want to take my time.

RT: Not much time is left before the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Naturally, it’s easy to foresee that the Russian-Canadian standoff will again come to the forefront? Can we expect the same situation in Sochi in 2014? Are Russia and Canada really such bitter eternal ice hockey rivals?

Oleg Saprykin: Let’s wait and see how things are going to be in Canada in 2010 and then think about 2014.