SKA - Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Press-conference

HC Metallurg Magnitogorsk head coach Ilya Vorobyov:

- It was a good, interesting game. Thank you to the guys for giving everything they had. Yegor Korobkin's goal? It's great when the fourth line scores important goals. The players did a good job.

Interim HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- We tried to stick to the game plan. We played well on the penalty kill, and we created chances. However, it's clear that the most important thing is that the players are returning, we have a lot of work ahead of us. We played to win, so we are disappointed with the result.

- You worked with llya Vorobyov in the past. Did this help when preparing for this match?

- We understand Magnitogorsk's system well. At times, we did stick to the game plan, but individual mistakes were made. It's required to keep in mind that our players only returned to the training process a few days' ago, we let them play today in order to prepare for upcoming games. Furthermore, our young players performed well in recent matches, so competition within the team is high.

- When will Yaroslav Askarov return to the ice?

- First of all, I would like to congratulate Yaroslav with being picked high up in the 2020 NHL Draft, higher than Andrei Vasilevskiy. He has a contract with us for two more years. We are moving in the right direction, preparing for SKA matches and games of the junior national team. We wish for Yaroslav to be healthy again, as soon as he recovers he will be on the ice again. We want him to compete at the World Junior Championship, a competition which we certainly have the aim of winning. It's great that a Russian goalkeeper representing our system was picked so high in the NHL Draft. Is he injured or ill? A lot of our players are ill, while others have recovered. We are hoping that Yaroslav will return soon.

- Marat Khusnutdinov was chosen by the Minnesota Wild during this match. Why didn't he play today? Also, how long can you keep these prospects in Russia?

- We will try to keep them in Russia. Nikita Chibrikov, born in 2003, is an example of a player who decided to play in our system instead of moving to North America. We want players to develop here in their home country. Marat didn't play today because of his health, otherwise he would have been on the ice. He is a player of KHL level already, he proved this against Ak Bars Kazan. We congratulate him with being picked in the NHL Draft and are waiting for him on the ice again!

- When will Valery Bragin return?

- We are in constant contact. A lot of our coaches are ill at the moment, we've just received information that more of them have fallen unwell. As soon as Valery recovers, he will be here again. We're also waiting for Andrei Kozyrev and our other coaches.

- You have a lot of players in the SKA squad now.

- This is a good situation for us, we have more competition within the team. You saw how the young players fought on the ice. Of course, we will have decisions to make concerning who plays in games, but not everyone is healthy yet. The guys are gradually returning. Naturally, we are watching their pulse and how they feel, the doctors are working with them. If a player isn't ready, he won't play.

- You personally had to sit at home for two weeks. How did it go?

- You have to be patient and cope with the situation, listening to the doctors. I would like to thank all of our doctors, we are always in contact. Yes, this is a tough situation both psychologically and physically, but we have to get through this together. Thank you to everyone who was worried about our players, we will return stronger! The main thing is health.