Nikolai Krivolapov: «I am very glad that I came to Nizhnekamsk»
29.04.2025
Reaktor forward Nikolai Krivolapov joined the team during the season and immediately attracted the attention of the team's fans, having scored a goal in the very first game. In 23 games he scored 19 (8+11) points.
– Do you remember the moment when you just managed to come to Nizhnekamsk, it was your first game when you scored your first goal as Reaktor player?
– I used to play in the SKA system, in the SKA–Yunior team. There I barely had ice time. I came here with the desire to immediately declare myself, because the first impression can be created once. I need to immediately show what I have learned. I was absolutely not physically ready for the first game, because there was no game practice. The first goal was scored probably due to luck, and my teammates helped me a lot. Maybe not the last overhead goal, but I scored, it was very nice. It was very difficult emotionally, because it happened towards the end of the game, I did not even have the strength to rejoice.
– Another memorable moment is your game–winning goal in overtime, then we had an away game in Perm. It was obvious that you experienced it very emotionally.
– 64 minutes of the game with a tie 0:0, I just wanted to finish this game. And even the commentator noted that Reaktor was not going on the attack to finish the game on shootout series. I thought that I could position my body so that the opponent could push me, and I would have a breakaway due to this. We went 2 on 1, shot practically with our eyes closed, I did not even understand how the puck crossed the line. It was great.
– How did it happen that you ended up in Nizhnekamsk in the middle of the season?
– In SKA we agreed that I needed game practice, we needed reinforcements. The transfer took place on the last day of the deadline. I am very glad that I came to Nizhnekamsk and played half a season for Reaktor. It was a great experience.
– Was it your first visit to Nizhnekamsk? Have you never been here before?
– To be honest, I had never even heard of this city. It is a small town, everything is located within walking distance. I was lucky that there were guys in the team whom I had known for a long time in St. Petersburg - Kondrat Reshetnikov, Chris Muissou, Mitya Semenenok. I played with Kondrat and Mitya in the same station in SKA-Silver Lions, 8 years ago. Then fate, the villain, separated us into different cities, and here we met in Nizhnekamsk. I was driving and knew that these guys were here, and thanks to them, the adaptation went well.
– A lot of St. Petersburg players are on Reaktor team, so it was easier to get used to the new team?
– Yes. Even Mitya Semenenko's parents are friends with me, we have been friends for a long time. I did not cross paths with Makar Kurbatov in St. Petersburg, but it turned out that we have mutual friends. Now we are all going home together for a short while, to take a break during the May holidays. I want to spend some time with my family and friends.
– Perhaps, you need to get rid off your student debts?
– Yes, I am studying in college by correspondence, I have two majors - "Information Technology and Programming" and "Logistics".
– Why did you decide to choose a field far from sports in your studies?
– I studied at Gymnasium No. 56 in St. Petersburg, where we were taught programming and computer science well. They laid a good foundation there, and this encouraged me to continue studying in this direction, and I am interested in it.
– Are you planning to get a higher education yet?
– I have not thought about it at all. As long as I have hockey, I am completely immersed in this work. It is hard to combine.
– After the end of the season, there will be one month of rest before the preseason training camp. How do you plan to spend this time?
– The most important thing is to train well and come to the training camp with the team fully prepared. Even at the JHL level, there is no such thing as someone coming unprepared. From the first day of the training camp, the coaching staff forms an opinion about the players and roughly puts together a roster. Players at all levels have their own training system and hire specialists. I also have grandiose plans. In St. Petersburg, there is a physical training coach, Vladimir Vladimirovich Ponomarev, with whom I will prepare for the season, we worked together back in SKA-Silver Lions. As for ice training, I will go to the training camp - in Yubileiny or in Hockey City, there are options.
– The 2024/25 season, compared to previous years, has increased by a month, because of this there is not much time left for rest. What are you planning to do on vacation?
– I would really like to relax, spend time at my favorite dacha (country house). There is a lake nearby, the atmosphere is great. It's really cool there, especially when the whole family comes, I have three older sisters. Two of them already have their own families and children. I already have three nephews, I'm an uncle three times over, I love playing with them.
– In your family, besides you, did anyone do sports professionally?
– No professionally, the middle sister played tennis, and the youngest has the first adult category in chess. Dad played hockey and football.
– Did he bring you to hockey?
– Oh, I even remember that moment. When I was 4-5 years old, we came to the Yubileiny Sports Palace for a hockey match. My parents noticed that my eyes lit up, I was following the game very attentively. We came again, but this time for mass skating, there they just skated on one half of the ice, and on the other half there was a training session for the SKA-Silver Lions recruitment group. With them was coach Valery Vasilyevich Afanasyev, and he invited me to join the training. He noticed me and became my coach, and that's how I got into hockey.
– When you first started playing at the JHL level, did you feel any competition?
– My first year in the JHL, I was on the SKA-Varyagi team, now it's been renamed SKA-Junior. It was based in the Hockey City, the same place as SKA-1946. Valery Vasilyevich Afanasyev was the coach of this team. There was definitely competition, but there were a lot of guys from my 2006 class, juniors, we had one of the youngest teams in the league. Me, Graf and Potapov were our 2006 trio. In the second match, I scored two goals. I was getting game practice, it was a good season, it was interesting to get involved in all this. And the presence of a large number of specialists was immediately noticeable.
– The 2024/25 season, compared to previous years, has increased by a month, because of this there is not much time left for rest. What are you planning to do on vacation?
– I would really like to relax, spend time at my favorite dacha (country house). There is a lake nearby, the atmosphere is great. It's really cool there, especially when the whole family comes, I have three older sisters. Two of them already have their own families and children. I already have three nephews, I'm an uncle three times over, I love playing with them.
– In your family, besides you, did anyone do sports professionally?
– No professionally, the middle sister played tennis, and the youngest has the first adult category in chess. Dad played hockey and football.
– Did he bring you to hockey?
– Oh, I even remember that moment. When I was 4-5 years old, we came to the Yubileiny Sports Palace for a hockey match. My parents noticed that my eyes lit up, I was following the game very attentively. We came again, but this time for mass skating, there they just skated on one half of the ice, and on the other half there was a training session for the SKA-Silver Lions recruitment group. With them was coach Valery Vasilyevich Afanasyev, and he invited me to join the training. He noticed me and became my coach, and that's how I got into hockey.
– When you first started playing at the JHL level, did you feel any competition?
– My first year in the JHL, I was on the SKA-Varyagi team, now it's been renamed SKA-Junior. It was based in the Hockey City, the same place as SKA-1946. Valery Vasilyevich Afanasyev was the coach of this team. There was definitely competition, but there were a lot of guys from my 2006 class, juniors, we had one of the youngest teams in the league. Me, Graf and Potapov were our 2006 trio. In the second match, I scored two goals. I was getting game practice, it was a good season, it was interesting to get involved in all this. And the presence of a large number of specialists was immediately noticeable.
– You always played under #29, and in Reaktor you got #26. Does the number on your jersey matter to you?
– I played under #29 all my life, because I was born on August 29. Now we were asked to write wishes for the next season by numbers. I chose #29, but there was also Ivan Birdychkin, that was his number. But I won’t be too upset if it doesn’t work out, I can take 16 or 19, those are my parents’ birthdays.
– Is this the first time you’ve left home for such a long time?
– No. The SKA-Varyagi team was based in St. Petersburg, and then we were parachuted to Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region. I am in touch with my whole family very often, it helps at a distance. Just holding the phone in one position for a long time seems to have pumped up my arm. My parents wanted to come to our games if we had made it to the play-in. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Kharlamov Cup.
– The dramatic moment when Reaktor didn't make it to the play-in, was it hard for you personally?
– I have never had anything like that in my life. Perhaps there is a hockey god, and he punished us for something. It was unreal, mega-sad. At that moment, the game was not over, in 0.7 seconds. We went into the shootout, but the mood was like we'd lost. We were leading 2:0 in the shootout, and then the opponent scored 3 at once. What can you do, no one is going to give up games for nothing. At first, I didn't seem to understand what had happened. It felt like we were filming a movie, and now we're going to continue playing hockey again. I wanted to play in the play-in, in the playoffs, to participate in the cup. It was very sad, it took me a couple of days to cope with my emotions.
– Are you following any teams in the playoffs now?
– I follow the JHL more, I support SKA-1946, I have a lot of friends and acquaintances there who play great hockey. I watch Chaika, Makar Opolinsky plays there, we used to play on a team with him.
– I played under #29 all my life, because I was born on August 29. Now we were asked to write wishes for the next season by numbers. I chose #29, but there was also Ivan Birdychkin, that was his number. But I won’t be too upset if it doesn’t work out, I can take 16 or 19, those are my parents’ birthdays.
– Is this the first time you’ve left home for such a long time?
– No. The SKA-Varyagi team was based in St. Petersburg, and then we were parachuted to Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region. I am in touch with my whole family very often, it helps at a distance. Just holding the phone in one position for a long time seems to have pumped up my arm. My parents wanted to come to our games if we had made it to the play-in. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Kharlamov Cup.
– The dramatic moment when Reaktor didn't make it to the play-in, was it hard for you personally?
– I have never had anything like that in my life. Perhaps there is a hockey god, and he punished us for something. It was unreal, mega-sad. At that moment, the game was not over, in 0.7 seconds. We went into the shootout, but the mood was like we'd lost. We were leading 2:0 in the shootout, and then the opponent scored 3 at once. What can you do, no one is going to give up games for nothing. At first, I didn't seem to understand what had happened. It felt like we were filming a movie, and now we're going to continue playing hockey again. I wanted to play in the play-in, in the playoffs, to participate in the cup. It was very sad, it took me a couple of days to cope with my emotions.
– Are you following any teams in the playoffs now?
– I follow the JHL more, I support SKA-1946, I have a lot of friends and acquaintances there who play great hockey. I watch Chaika, Makar Opolinsky plays there, we used to play on a team with him.
