David Romanov: «The guys in the locker room supported me»

30.11.2024

Reaktor player David Romanov talks about his hockey path, Reaktor team and this season.


– David, how did you join Reaktor?
– I played in Orenburg, for Sarmaty team. There was no team there as such, it broke up and stopped participating in the JHL. Then my mother, brother and I decided to go to tryout in Nizhnekamsk, to the YHL team Neftekhimik 2006(coach Sergei Kasymov). Why here? Nizhnekamsk has a great hockey school, especially since I managed to play against Reaktor when I was on the Sarmaty roster. I passed the tryout and stayed. In general, I have been everywhere. I started in Nizhny Novgorod, in the Torpedo team, this is my first school. And from the age of 13, I began to actively move to different cities - Klin, Moscow, Orenburg, Nizhnekamsk. In Moscow, I had a tryout with the Spartak team, but, alas, I could not resolve the housing issue.

– How did you find it to move from home so early?
– Only the first year is hard, and then you get used to it. Now my parents sometimes come for a couple of days.

– The move to Nizhnekamsk was probably not so difficult, did you easily fit into the new team?
– It was difficult for me to open up in the YHL team. I do not know why. The first two months there were some difficulties both with the game and playing time. And then I opened up, adapted to the team’s game, understood what the coach demanded of me, began to score points, get more playing time, and everything became good - in terms of the game, for sure. I am grateful to my coach Kasymov Sergey Rasikhovich, I have grown quite a bit under his guidance during my year in the YHL.

– Was your transfer to Reaktor a surprise for you or was it expected?
– I definitely did notexpect it. In the spring, I was taken to training with the youth team, but nothing more. Then they told me that they would sign me to the main contract. At first, I didn't believe it. I thought they were playing a prank on me. Sergey Rasikhovich told me that now I had to work five times harder. After signing the contract, I came home to Nizhny Novgorod on vacation and rushed to train every day inspired. I felt a great responsibility to the coaches, my parents, and to myself, and I trained all summer under my brother's guidance. I even managed to train with the guys from the KHL in the summer, thanks to my brother Igor Rudenkov, he invited me. When the team got together in the summer, I immediately felt like one of them, especially since I already knew many of them, and the guys accepted me well. We have good guys.

– After the first matches in the new league, did you notice any differences from the JHL?
– Everything is faster here: speed, you need to make decisions faster. The training process is structured differently – training sessions are longer, we have time to work on tactics more, and in general on all aspects, fronts. And here you want to work more, you need to progress and try, the coaches help a lot.

– How do you assess your start of the season?
– I expected more from myself, I wanted to score and assist more. I definitely have not fully opened up yet. I ran cross-country in the gym, maybe I overdid it, and this affected the start of the season.

– After scoring two goals, what did the guys tell you in the locker room?
– The guys in the locker room supported me, the coaching staff congratulated me. It is good that we won that match, and with a score of 7:3 against the Snezhnye Barsy. Everyone was happy, and I was the happiest that day. I do not think that this is my achievement – my teammates helped me, first of all, I thank them, without them nothing would have happened.

– What do you attribute the not very successful start of the season to?
– The start was really a bit crumpled against Togliatti's Ladya, because after two victories in tournaments everyone was so inspired, confident in their own abilities, really wanted to prove themselves, and, probably, burned out a little. But we settled all the problems and played great matches against Tolpar. Maybe it was also difficult to get together after the pre-season training camp, because there was a lot of hard work during that period.

– How did you get into hockey?
– At first I went into boxing, because my older brother does it. I trained, but I really liked it. But my cousin Igor Rudenkov played hockey, played in the KHL, and so I also became interested in it after him. I told my mother that I wanted to try. And from the very first training session I realized that this is definitely my thing. I started at the age of four, and I still want to play hockey.

– Now you have a whole week without games. Do such breaks disrupt your playing rhythm?
– I do noteven notice it. It makes no difference to me. During breaks, we train more intensively ˜ we run in vests, cylinders, play a two-sided game with the UHL. We work in the gym. There is no time to be bored.

– Do your parents watch your matches?
– They always watch, but they do not praise you often, they mostly say that you need to play better and work harder.

– Where are you studying now?
– In Orenburg, in my third year at the Olympic Reserve School, I am learning the profession of a coach.

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