Pyotr Khokhryakov: "The fans in the Ice Palace are better than in Canada"

- I'm not one of those who lets bad matches circle around in my head. I try to forget defeats quickly, take something from them, and move on. In the last few games we haven't scored a lot, as we are focusing more on the defensive side of things. There isn't much time left before the playoffs now, and we need to approach them in good form.

- How did you get into hockey? Most SKA fans don't know that much about you.

- My parents got me into the sport when I was five years old. They themselves weren't sportsmen, but there is practically nothing to do in Nizhnekamsk, so to keep me and my brother off the streets we were introduced to hockey. His career didn't work out, whereas I am doing well.

- Do you remember your first KHL match?

- Of course! I was 17 years old, and we played against Dinamo Minsk at home. I even gave out an assist. Coach Vladimir Krikunov believed in me, and when I was 20 he joked that I was already a veteran of the team.

- Did you know Nizhnekamsk's most famous hockey player Nail Yakupov a long time before the 2012 NHL Draft?

- In 2009 we played in Neftekhimik's farm club together, Reaktor. He was only 16, and he didn't pass enough, always showing off his skills. He returned to Neftekhimik during the NHL lockout, and he had become a totally different player - a lot more serious. I have heard that he isn't playing that well in the NHL now, but I don't ready the news at all.

- You took part in the 2010 World Junior Championship. What can you remember from that experience?

- It wasn't great - we lost and came in only sixth place. We played well during the group stages, and then somehow lost to Switzerland in the quarterfinals - I still don't understand how that happened. They even conceded 17 goals during their next two matches. Probably, we didn't pumped up. The tournament was in Canada, and their fans left a big impression on me. However, I now know that the Saint Petersburg Ice Palace supports the team even better.

- In Penza, you were a teammate of ex SKA player Andrey Sigaryov.

- After matches he and the Alshevsky brothers always made great shows for the fans. I never took part myself, I sat on the sidelines and watched. Even though Dizel aren't in the KHL, the fans love their hockey there.

- Stanislav and Yaroslav Alshevsky are twin brothers. Was it not hard to play in the same line as them?

- They confused me at first, and then everything became easier. Even when one of them picks up the phone, I know who it is. With Dizel Yaroslav was name as the best forward of the VHL, but he didn't want to go to Sochi to collect his prize. Stanislav took his passport with him, and collected for his brother without any problems at all. They understand each other perfectly.

- A couple of years ago you had a fight with an Avangard player. How did it go?

- I made a rough, but fair, play against him, and he didn't like it. The fight then got into the top five of that particular KHL season. That was my first and so far only fight in my adult career.

- Vladimir Krikunov, your old coach in Neftekhimik, liked very intense training camps.

- Yes - some people sit on a truck, and other have to pull on the ice. Actually it is a very normal exercise, but the main thing is to not have breakfast beforehand, as it might all come out. Sometimes during the pre-season training camp we may not train on the ice for two weeks - it is very strange for foreigners.

- When you signed for SKA, did you ask ex SKA players in Nizhnekamsk for advice?

- Maxim Rybin told me immediately that I will need a car. That was very useful advice, as in Nizhnekamsk everything is very nearby. I have a car, and I am pleased with it.

- Two years ago you played in one team with Maxim Sokolov, and now he is one of SKA's coaches.

- Maxim hasn't changed at all, he is the same serious person. In Nizhnekamsk we were amazed - he was already 40 years old, yet he trained harder than anyone else. He is still in good shape now, as he works out with the players in the gym.

- Can you speak English well? You are playing with Roman Cervenka and Jimmie Ericsson in one line.

- No, unfortunately. I understand what they tell me, but I very rarely reply. We are trying to build up some sort of chemistry, and we tell each other where we are going to move. However we aren't scoring a lot, and it hasn't yet come together.

- Your birthday was when the team was on the road.

- Yes, when we were in Riga. Well, when we were on the plane leaving Riga. I don't have any time to celebrate it now either as we are training, but the main thing is that we won on that day. Neftekhimik usually lost when it was somebody's birthday.