Vyacheslav Voynov: "There is more pressure in America"

In an interview with the club's official magazine SKA's Star, Vyacheslav Voynov explained why he chose Saint Petersburg and what he did during his year without ice hockey. We have a large part of that interview for you to enjoy:

- Do you know the film "Brother-2"?

- I have watched it three times.

- In that film, there is a scene with Danila Bagrov meeting a hockey player at training.

- The person playing Dmitry Gromov is Alexander Dyachenko, my good friend. We met in America.

- In that scene, we got a feeling that pressure on hockey players in the NHL is a lot stronger than in Russia. They don't forgive mistakes over there...

- Sportsmen are on more open view there. They are watched under a microscope, you don't hold the right to make a mistake. I remember when we went to an autograph session in a Los Angeles zoo, and we should have been there at 7 pm. However there was a road accident, and we were an hour late. Because of us having training the next morning, the session was cancelled. No one understood that at all, and everyone who couldn't get an autograph shouted at us that they would now support Anaheim.

- Apart from Alexander Dyachenko, did you speak with any other Russians in Los Angeles?

- Yes, we met with other compatriots. That city isn't like the rest of America, there are many Russian speakers and Russian places to eat.

- In October 2014, did you have thoughts that your NHL and hockey career overall was finished?

- No, I just had a lot of anger. I was really angry with everyone who was writing those things about me, they didn't even know me. I had motivation to come back and prove to them that they had written me off too early. Right from the start, my lawyers told me that I would be let out tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, in two weeks. I was preparing to go on the ice, and not for what went on for a number of months.

- Were you sure that you would go on the ice again despite the disqualification?

- Yes. At the moment, the NHL did nothing for me. Their board didn't want my incident to affect their league. They acted as if there was no such hockey player, as if nothing happened at all.

- What did your teammates in Los Angeles do? We have information that despite not saying anything publically, they regretted the fact that you weren't with them anymore.

- The professional players' union were always speaking with me and my lawyers.

- Western unions can generally be influential...

- They can do nothing in court.

- What did your club do?

- I felt the support of the Los Angeles Kings. They had the right to cancel my contract and disqualify me, but they kept on paying my salary for another year. They even let me in the dressing room, and the players treated me well. Everyone understood that something strange was going on. I spoke with the general manager too, and he even let me train with the team. As a result of that, they ended up paying a big fine. I explained to him that I hadn't done anything wrong, and he simply smiled at me and said "I know, everything's ok".

- Do friends always help you out when it's needed?

- The hockey world is big, there are a lot of teams. However, I have a small circle of friends. They have always been with me.

- Did you begin to think about returning to Russia?

- I could have returned to Russia on the 21st of October 2014. I could have calmly bought a ticket, packed my things and left. However, I was confident that the situation will be solved and forgotten, allowing us to carry on living as usual. We even laughed with our lawyers when the newspapers wrote about the fact that I would get nine years in prison.

- In June 2015, you ended up signing an agreement that you were guilty...

- Twenty days before the final court hearing, my lawyers told me that there was a possibility that I would go to prison. I asked them if they were joking. However, the date came closer and the lawyers made it clear what would happen.

- You were told a realistic jail term that you would have to serve?

- When this became known, my lawyers tried to think of how to defend me. We went to the prosecutor, we explained our position and this is what he said: "I believe you, but we can't close the case. You are a hockey player, you are in the spotlight, and if we simply release you, everyone will wonder why". I was then given a guarantee, that I would be given either 90 or 45 days. Afterwards, I would be able to play hockey again.

- You then gave your agreement...

- Yes, after receiving that guarantee I went to court and gave my agreement. I practically didn't say that I was guilty, I simply said that I didn't want to argue any more. I was asked again if I understood the conditions of removing my plea, and the case was closed. I went to prison on the 7th of July.

- Did you have hope of playing in the new season?

- Yes, I would have got out in time for the 17th of September. Only because of this did I remove my plea and give my agreement. Otherwise, I would not have done this.

Read the full interview in the new edition of the SKA's Star magazine.