Alexei Byvaltsev: "Saint Petersburg is a wonderful city"

- How was your summer?

- After the World Championship in Denmark, my wife and I went to Paris for three days and then we went home and visited our families. Later, I began training.

- Physically, how do you feel?

- To be honest, I don't know. I need to be in peak form for September 1.

- Are you happy with this period in your career?

- So far, everything's fine, the Hockey City complex is great and Saint Petersburg is a wonderful city.

- Was it important for you to move to SKA with Oleg Li?

- Of course it's a good thing. We need to repeat last season's success. Oleg and I are always talking, I only came here slightly earlier because my contract with Amur Khabarovsk ended. On the other hand, Oleg has some issues to sort out.

- Do you know Artyom Zub?

- We played together in Khabarovsk.

- Which other SKA players do you know?

- I met practically all of the guys with the Russian national team.

- Are you familiar with head coach Ilya Vorobyov's demands?

- I have known Ilya for plenty of years, we worked together with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

- The 2017/2018 KHL season was fantastic for you. Are you worried about a possible dip in form here because of the competition within the team?

- What is there to be afraid of? This is a new challenge, I'm a young player and I have a lot to prove on the ice. The coaches will decide how much playing time I am worthy of. Yes, maybe I will earn less points, but the main thing is to become a higher quality player and help the team win.