According to the regulations, each team in the upcoming season must have two "limiters" in its composition. One is born in 1996, the other is born in 1997. You can do without them, but then you have to limit yourself to a noticeably truncated application. Who among those who will receive an almost guaranteed place in their clubs is worthy of close attention? We have selected the top 20 young players that fall under this rule. Today we bring to your attention the first part of the list.

20., goalkeeper ("Admiral")

You can ask Vladimir Yurzinov Jr. or, say, Yegor Mikhailov about how hard it is sometimes for the heirs of the great. It happens that in their entire career they cannot come out of the shadows. The persecution of Maxim Tretiak began long before he had his first training session with the first team of CSKA. Fueling the fire was a challenge to the Russian national team, even if it didn’t go beyond the training camp. Everyone around is sure that any promotion of Maxim on the career ladder is the merit of his grandfather, who is also the president of the FHR. Moving to Vladivostok is a great chance to get rid of this offensive cliché. Tretiak Jr. has already won his first victory in the preseason, "drying out" the league's newcomer "Kunlun". It would seem that he is only the third goalkeeper of the Admiral, but Ivan Nalimov's illness makes Maxim's debut at the start of the championship possible. Be that as it may, he is one of the most talented goalkeepers in 1996 in the country.

19. Ilya Dervuk, defender (Vanguard)

After Avangard released Vladimir Tkachev and Maxim Kazakov to Admiral, and exchanged Nikolai Glukhov to Traktor, the number of young Omsk hockey players in the team dropped sharply. One of those who still enjoys the trust of Evgeny Kornoukhov is Ilya Dervuk. He is even called the favorite of the head coach of the hawks, with whom they crossed paths with the youth team. Dervuk could not get through to the last MFM, but his position in the club is almost unshakable. Especially after the changes that took place in Omsk this summer. Vladimir Shalaev gathered four or five defenders of the high level, but the depth of defense leaves much to be desired. Judging by the pre-season matches, a place in the third pair of Ilya is almost guaranteed.

18. Alexander Mikulovich, defender (Kunlun)

After not the most successful youth world championship, the Chelyabinsk citizen did not try his luck overseas and came to Russia after three seasons in the Ontario League. True, the young defender did not return to his native Tractor at all. Alexander Mikulovich joined the Kunlun team, where Vladimir Krechin, the former head of the Chelyabinsk club, works. It is obvious that Mikulovich is precisely his creature. Being one of the youngest players in the Chinese team, the 21-year-old Russian is practically the only candidate for the role of "limiter".

Everyone around is sure that any promotion of Maxim on the career ladder is the merit of his grandfather, who is also the president of the FHR. Moving to Vladivostok is a great chance to get rid of this offensive cliché.

In pre-season matches, Vladimir Yurzinov Jr. gives him enough playing time, and in that very scandalous game with Barys, Mikulovich became one of the targets of Damir Ryspaev. We also note that in a very miniature defense of the Kunlun, the Chelyabinsk stands out in size.

Kunlun Red Star. New season: hidden dragon KHL

A new challenge for Yurzinov Jr., dreams of Olympic Games 2022 and Finns who will stand up for the honor of China. What will Kunlun be like in the 2016/2017 season?

17. Mikhail Sidorov, defender (Ak Bars)

It's no secret that young forwards in Zinetula Bilyaletdinov's system are critically lacking in oxygen. And quite another matter – defenders. The Bars mentor himself played in defense and knows how to work with players of this role like no one else. Especially actively, he began to connect young defenders to the basis of Ak Bars after returning from the Russian national team. In the first season, Musin and Paygin appeared at the suggestion of Bilyaletdinov, and in the second year, Abrosimov and Sidorov. But if the 22-year-old Abrosimov is no longer a "limiter", then Sidorov can fulfill this role not only in the starting season, but also in the next one. The younger of the Sidorov brothers, who moved a year ago from Yaroslavl to Kazan, has already played more than 20 matches for Ak Bars. So in the offseason, a well-knocked defender appears on a permanent basis in the Kazan team.

16. Mikhail Vorobyov, forward (Salavat Yulaev)

It is not known how the fate of the Ufa player drafted by Philadelphia would have developed if SKA did not lay eyes on Nikolai Prokhorkin. Having lost the leading center in the midst of the off-season, Salavat Yulaev ended up with nothing. It was not possible to find a worthy replacement for Prokhorkin on the market, and the only way out was to bet on internal reserves. It was Mikhail Vorobyov and Stepan Khripunov who were first in line for Prokhorkin's place.

Alexander Mikulovich joined the Kunlun team, where Vladimir Krechin, the former head of the Chelyabinsk club, works. It is obvious that Mikulovich is precisely his creature.

True, the option is being considered that they will play together and make up a youth trio with Kirill Kaprizov. If Leonid Weisfeld does not urgently find an experienced center forward, the 19-year-old pupil of Salavat Yulaev will have every chance to make himself known. This is a classic tall center forward who should not be lost in adult hockey.

The most high-profile transfers of the KHL off-season: from Prokhorkin to Talbot

SKA returned the Russians from the NHL, Lokomotiv was seriously strengthened by legionnaires, Avangard got Medvedev, and Ak Bars got Sekach.

15. Egor Rykov, defender (SKA)

In the stellar squad of SKA, which has become even more powerful with the arrival of Oleg Znarka, there is almost no place for young players. The development of youth is for other clubs, while Petersburgers pursue goals of a different order. However, even for the base club of the national team, the rule of two limits applies. And it is already clear that they will be Yegor Rykov and Alexander Dergachev. Other players born in 1996 and 1997 are not even attracted to the training camp by Znarkom. As for Rykov, at one time he was the captain of the Russian junior team, and on last championship world stood out even though he was younger than most teammates. Returning from Finland, where the young "soldier" won bronze, Rykov got a chance to try his hand at the core of SKA. And, I must say, he took advantage of it, at a certain stage, seating Dmitry Yudin on the bench. A fairly large defender, who was selected by New Jersey in the last NHL draft, is equally useful on both sides of the site. If he proves himself in front of Znark, then the road to the Russian team will be short.

14. Semyon Koshelev, forward (CSKA)

At a certain stage, it seemed that Semyon Koshelev's career, if not under threat, then seriously slowed down. The reason for this was his status: being a Kazakhstani, he took Russian citizenship, but for some time he was in “quarantine” and was considered a legionnaire. Because of this, the forward, who has outgrown the MHL, for a long time couldn't take a step up. But as soon as Koshelev was given the green light, he burst into the base of CSKA like a whirlwind. Despite the fact that he did not score a single point in 22 matches with the "army team", it is difficult to overestimate his usefulness for Dmitry Kvartalnov's team. The motor and impudent forward came in handy for the Muscovites even in the playoffs. The 20-year-old native of Ust-Kamenogorsk is approaching the upcoming season as a main player.

13. Daniil Vovchenko, forward (Severstal)

Last season, there were not many reasons to follow Severstal. Even their own fans turned away from the last team of the Western Conference, what can we say about neutral spectators? The only reason to include matches with the participation of Cherepovets was the trio Buchnevich - Trubachev - Vovchenko. An experienced center forward mentored two young graduates of a local school. And if Buchnevich went to the NHL in transit through St. Petersburg, then Daniil Vovchenko remained in his native club. Perhaps he does not have the same scale of talent as Buchnevich, and his size still prevents him from dominating the level. However, it is not easy to find equally skilled players in Severstal. It is also important that Vovchenko has already gained a lot of experience in playing in the majority and in key minutes of matches.

12. Anton Krasotkin, goalkeeper (Lokomotiv)

Like another person involved in our rating, by the beginning of the season, Anton Krasotkin is only suitable as the third goalkeeper. True, in order to be in this role, he did not have to leave his native Yaroslavl. The son of the legendary Lokomotiv defender presented his debut last season, but he failed to become Alexei Murygin's replacement on a permanent basis. And now, after the advent of Alexander Sudnitsin, the “railroad workers”, the question arises, will Krasotnik Jr. be trusted with at least five or six matches in the season? The 19-year-old goalkeeper, who became one of the heroes of the Kharlamov Cup, definitely deserved at least a few games for the basis of Lokomotiv in the season.

There is no doubt in Yaroslavl: if not the second Semyon Varlamov, then the new Yegor Podomatsky is growing before their eyes - for sure. Moreover, it was Podomatsky who worked with Krasotkin in the Yaroslavl youth team.

There is no doubt in Yaroslavl: if not the second Semyon Varlamov, then the new Yegor Podomatsky is growing before their eyes - for sure. Moreover, it was Podomatsky who worked with Krasotkin in the Yaroslavl youth team.

“I dissuaded my son from being a goalkeeper…”. Paradoxes of the Krasotkin dynasty

At the MHL Challenge Cup, the Western team was represented by Dmitry and Anton Krasotkin. How did it happen that the son did not follow in the footsteps of his father?

11. Andrey Kuzmenko, forward (CSKA)

Another representative of CSKA in our ranking of the best limiters. And, believe me, not the last. Perhaps all the coaches working in the league can envy the selection of talented youth Dmitry Kvartalnov has. And it is precisely the youth that is ideally tailored for his signature hockey. How Andrei Kuzmenko fit into the vertical and power hockey of CSKA was shown by the youth world championship. On the ice of the Hartwall Arena, the young “soldier” appeared as a typical “Kvartalnov soldier”, ready to plow the area up and down. And it does not matter that he finished the tournament without points. So, at the level, a native of Yakutsk is hardly destined to become a great sniper, but it is quite possible to win a place in the main team of the superclub. Last season, Kuzmenko managed to play in all three leagues.

Andrei Kuzmenko: On the last evening of the tournament, a sofa was thrown out of the window!

The CSKA striker scored 3 (2+1) points in the match with Salavat Yulaev and in an interview Soviet sport” talked about how the season is developing.

Last season, CSKA striker Andrei Kuzmenko won silver at the World Youth Championship, and then won the Kharlamov Cup with the Red Army, along with receiving the prize for the most valuable player in the playoffs. In the current championship, the striker already has 9 goals for CSKA and played for the Russian Olympic team at the German Cup. The business trip of Kuzmenko and his partners to the VHL made a lot of noise in the press. Andrei scored 6 (3+3) points in three matches in Zvezda and quickly returned. On Wednesday, he organized three goals against Salavat Yulaev and became the main author of the army team's victory. In an interview with Soviet Sport, Andrei spoke about how he began his hockey career.

- Andrei, you have been living in Moscow since childhood, but you were born and started playing hockey in Yakutsk. Remember this city?
-Sometimes I remember the harsh everyday life in Yakutsk. The temperature in winter is -50, the snowdrifts are huge. They pull on felt boots, wrap them in a fur coat, put a hat on my head - in all this it was hard for me to move, let alone move around. Dress up in all this and put it like a toy. And in the summer, such large mosquitoes and other insects that until you spread the spray all over your body, it’s better not to stick your head out on the street! In general, Yakutsk is not intended for hockey. But my father hockey coach, put me on skates for a year and a half. At first, for two months at home, I walked on the parquet and carpet, and then on the ice. Some people don't walk well at that age yet, but I already skated. We’ll come with dad for free skating, and two hours later he was already calling me home, and I begged me to stay on the ice more and more. Four hours a day rolled.

- Is your father also a professional hockey player?
- No. He played hockey in his student days. Then I decided to do coaching. got two higher education related to sports. Our mother is also an athlete. What I didn’t do was skiing and cycling. As they say, an athlete, a Komsomol member, a beauty! A few years later, my parents realized that for my future I had to get out of Yakutsk. Yes, and my father just received an invitation to work in the Moscow team "Polar Bears". And we moved.

- Now your father advises you something in the game?
- Yes. But I have become older, so rather, we have discussions about how to play correctly.

- Do not argue on this topic?
- We don't have conflicts. I am a smart person, and if he does not agree with me, then I start proving again and again, and he gives up, says that I know better. Dad spent a lot of time with me. When we first arrived in Moscow, they did not want to take me to kindergarten. They are overflowing here. But dad found a solution - he got a job there as a physical education coach, and they took me. The same thing happened with school.

"THROW THE SOFA OUT OF THE WINDOW!"

- How did you come to CSKA?
- Until the age of 12, I played in the Polar Bears. In CSKA, at that time, I had been called for two years already. But my father said that it was too early, that the moment would come and I would leave, but for now we had to play here. Well, the moment has come, and he let me go to coach Pavel Anatolyevich Baulin.

- Do you have many friends?
- All friends, mostly from hockey. Of course, there are acquaintances from school - guys with whom you can meet in the area, ask how you are doing, who is doing what. But it is friends - all from the ice. We spend a lot of time together - training, training, games. We get into interesting situations.

- For example?
- Often even in a children's school, when you go to tournaments, then on the last evening after all the games in the hotel, the so-called "royal night" comes. Many do not sleep, sometimes they can smear it with toothpaste, in the morning - a general washing off of this paste. At the age of 13, we generally decided to take a walk with the guys at night after the final. We lived on the second floor, it's cold outside, we're thinking how to get out. They threw a small sofa out of the room so that it was not so high to jump, but they just didn’t think about how we would return it back! When we returned, we realized that we couldn’t throw it back - heavy! We carry through the main entrance, and towards - Pavel Anatolyevich, Main coach! Went out for a walk too! We threw this sofa and scattered around the rooms!

- With which of the hockey players do you have friendly relations?
- A lot of people. We have known Alexander Samoilov since the age of five, we played a lot together.

- And what - are goalkeepers really strange people?
- I heard this and was even a little horrified when I realized that as many as four goalkeepers were flying with me to rest in Cyprus. But the fears were not confirmed - it was a lot of fun with them. I also communicate well with Sasha Sharov. In Novosibirsk, I went to visit him, we sat and talked. Andrey Svetlakov generally says that he sees his relatives less often than he plays with me on the same line! We've been playing with him for a long time. We fight sometimes! But this is all due to the fact that we are maximalists and want to show excellent results.

“DURING THE MATCH I WANTED A WHEELCHAIR”

- At what age did you get into the MHL?
- At the age of 16. The first season was a failure. Then a generation changed in CSKA, where there were Gusev, Ozhiganov, Kucherov, Prokhorkin. A lot of guys who went to the final for two years won. Then the club decided to change the strategy and give a chance to the young. When I came to the first meeting, I honestly did not believe that I would immediately get into the team. She was with quite mature players. And here is some news. By the first game, we had only three people in the visor, and the rest were “masks”. So they failed miserably! Place 24th seems to have taken.

- And what can you say about the famous "psychology of winners" among the players of the army club? Does she really exist?
- Personally, she came to me together with the coach Mikhail Alexandrovich Vasiliev. He himself played for CSKA and before each game he reminded us that we play for the great four letters, and that all the boys dream of getting here. That's when I realized that CSKA is, first of all, traditions that go from generation to generation. And Mikhail Alexandrovich said: “Guys, you play for CSKA, so don’t disgrace yourself and don’t disgrace those who wore this uniform before. Give all your best at 120%. I was generally lucky with the coaches. We got good seasons. Here with Boris Olegovich Mironov and Yegor Borisovich Mikhailov they took the Kharlamov Cup. They invested a lot in us for this victory.

- Do you remember this winning match?
- At the moment he is the most memorable in his career. And not because we won. This is definitely important. We played the entire playoffs in three fives, it's very hard. Coaches trusted older players more. Sometimes we even went out through the shift. And they were very tired. I remember how, after the first two shifts of the 4th game of the final, I arrived at the bench exhausted. I sit and understand that one of the guys sits down next to me and asks what happened to me. And I say that I just have no more strength. They left me very early. I gave an interview after the final, they asked me if I was satisfied with the game, and I answered that I was already ten minutes later wheelchair I had to give it to me to ride on the ice. It's good that the guys from the second link scored important goals. Won the final.

- And what about the matches of the 2016 World Youth Championship?
- An important tournament, but it turned out to be a failure for me, despite the silver medal. Team - well done. I did not succeed - not a single transfer, not a single goal. It was a shame that he didn’t even hit a “five” once. It is clear that he hit the boys from the bench, but from the ice - it's a completely different feeling. After the championship, I told one journalist that I had -1 for the tournament. And later, when Igor Valerievich Nikitin gave his first interview as the head coach of CSKA, he reminded me of this and asked how to put me in the squad with such numbers. But Igor Valeryevich supported me, said that I played well even there.

- How do you feel about the constant rotation in CSKA?
- Fine. We have a lot of competition and you need to prove and justify your place in the squad every day. You cannot play well today and badly tomorrow. As Dmitry Vyacheslavovich Kvartalnov says: “You can’t smoke”! One of his favorite expressions. You can't play bad. You can immediately be in the reserve and from there observe and wait for the mistakes of others in order to re-enter the ice. It's not bad for the future to go through such a CSKA school, where there are six excellent fives, and everyone wants to play. Here the character manifests itself - do you survive or not in such a situation?

"I'M CHEERING FOR MANCHESTER UNITED AND REAL"

- In the summer, you managed to see how the Chicago Blackhawks hockey system works ...
- I received an invitation from them to come and look at the club from the inside. There is such an infrastructure, from locker rooms to staff! It can be seen that people breathe hockey.

- Can I expect an offer from Chicago in the draft?
- Don't know. In any case, it's still too early for me to think about it. We need to get something here first.

- Soon Russia will host the World Cup. Are you interested in football?
- I support Manchester United. This, like CSKA, is a club with history. But, to be honest, I started rooting for the Red Devils when Cristiano Ronaldo played there. That's why I'm rooting for Real Madrid! I like Ronaldo. He is a unique person who constantly works on himself. I recently read an interesting article that he even has some kind of special sleep technique to recover faster.

- Sleeping in the fetal position?
Yes, but I haven't tried it myself yet.

Recently, Lionel Messi visited Moscow. Ak Bars goalkeeper Emil Garipov believes that if Ronaldo is a hard worker, then Messi is a talent from God ...
- Messi is a great football player, but I think that we all have 1% talent and 99% work. Everyone has a talent for something. But without work, he will not open.

- I saw a photo of your paragliding flight. How did you decide on this?
- I came across information about paragliding and caught fire. I read that Turkey has the highest point for such flights and decided to try it during my vacation. True, when we began to go to the mountains in the minibus and climb to the top, I somehow drooped, began to look into the distance, think about life and whether I need it at all! Then they came and changed into costumes. There is such a place that you have to accelerate down the descent, and then there is a cliff and rocks that you need to fly over. It's scary, but very cool. Like a child, I screamed with delight during the flight. Later, they decided to give a subscription for the same flight to their sister and her husband, but they decided that they didn’t need such adrenaline and went for a ride on jet skis. And in the future, maybe I'll jump with a parachute. I would like to do it somewhere in Dubai. They say that the views are incredible.

Zvezda forward Andrei Kuzmenko talks about his first coach, why he didn't become a goalkeeper, his hobbies and much more.

- Andrei, tell us how your hockey career began?
- My father played hockey. I was born in Yakutsk, at that time my father was a coach in the Yakut Mammoths team. At the age of one and a half, I already knew how to skate. And when I was four years old, my father decided to move to Moscow. From the age of five I have already played in the Polar Bears team. Somewhere until the age of twelve, my father and I walked hand in hand, you can say that he led me along this path.

- Is your father still connected with hockey?
- Yes, dad loves hockey very much. Now holds personal training, coaches amateurs.

- Did you immediately become interested in hockey? Or did dad insist?
- No, dad never insisted, he doesn't like to force. There were such cases, at the very beginning, that I woke up at six in the morning myself, ran up to my parents, woke them up and said: “Let's go to the training soon, otherwise we will be late.”

- After the "Polar Bears" you came to CSKA. Do you remember your first coach?
- Yes, sure. Baulin Pavel Anatolievich. Very good coach, taught me a lot. He has many good pupils, and I am sure that every player is very grateful to him.

Do you keep in touch with him now?
Yes, we are still in touch. If there are any questions, I can always call him for advice. He gives very right advice how to act in a given situation.

- And who comes to support in the stands?
- Girlfriend. Parents watch every match on the Internet. After the game, my dad and I call up, discuss the game, sort out all the mistakes. My father is my main cheerleader!

- How did you choose the position of the striker?
- My father immediately put me on the attack. But I remember this moment: at the age of six, after training, I went up to my father and said: “Can I become a goalkeeper?”

What did your dad say to you?
- He asked: “Who will score goals then?” (smiles)

- And why did you have a desire to become a goalkeeper at that time?
- Oh, I don't even know (laughs). The goalkeeper's uniform is beautiful, I liked it.

- Last year you performed at the World Youth Championship. Tell me about it. What did that mean to you?
- It is a great honor for me to defend my homeland at such a level. I can't say that I played very well. Somewhere something did not work out, somewhere the puck did not fly, but it all went by the wayside. The main thing is that the team played well, the only thing was that they were a bit unlucky in the final.

- And the main achievement in your career?
- So far, the most important event is youth championship peace. I hope that much more important events await me ahead.

- An ideal link in which you would like to play?
- Pavel Datsyuk in the center, Patrick Kane on the right, in defense - PK Subban and Erik Karlsson

- Which arena would you like to play?
- I would like to play in any NHL stadium. There are very beautiful sports arenas, where 20 thousand spectators come. The charge of energy from them is probably just amazing.

- Individual goals for the season?
- Honestly, I do not set individual goals. The main goal is for the team to win, if the team does not win, no one will look at your personal achievements. The results and interests of the team should always be put at the head.

Andrey, at the moment you are the first in terms of performance in the team and the leader in terms of "plus / minus" in the VHL. Is it good to know that you are a leader?
- Yes, of course, it's nice. But, I repeat, the most important thing for me is that the team wins. You just have to work every day, work on yourself, then the result will be.

This season, you played for all three teams of the CSKA system. Is it hard to constantly move from the first team to the farm and youth team?
- No, it's not hard. Everywhere almost the same hockey. In a couple of shifts, you have time to readjust.

- And yet, what are the differences between the leagues?
- In the MHL, hockey is more creative, there are a lot of passes, they can give instead of throwing to the far post, where the players improvise. In the VHL, hockey is more straightforward, tactical. And in the KHL, hockey is very fast, the players are tactically well prepared, and their speed qualities are at the highest level.

- Ahead of the match with "Crystal". How do you rate your opponent? What do you know about the opponent?
- The team is not bad, the truth is now at the bottom standings. It seems to me that they will come, angry, militant, after three defeats in a row. I think we are in for a very difficult match.

And the result of the match "Zvezda" - "Diesel" will not affect the mood of the team? You still beat a rather strong and experienced opponent, who is confidently on the top lines of the tournament table.
- No, the team goes to every game focused, with burning eyes. And we can beat any opponent in this league who is both in first place and twenty-second. The league is very good and we have to beat anyone.

- Let's talk about your life outside of hockey. Tell me about your hobbies. What is the ideal vacation for you?
- I am for leisure I don't like to sit still. I can play football and play tennis. Go snowboarding in winter. Go to the cinema, go for a walk.

- And in the summer at sea? Lying on the beach, of course, you do not like ...
Yes, I don't like it at all. For example, this year I was vacationing in Cyprus, and there I went scuba diving. Got an incredible feeling. I love discovering something new.

- Do you prefer books or films?
- I like watching films. "Any Sunday" is one of my favorite films, a very good movie about sports. Most importantly, I don't like horror, I don't like tension on vacation, I can even go to cartoons. The main thing for me is to get positive emotions, pleasure, recharge with positive and laugh like a child.

What is the most interesting place you have visited?
- There are many places I managed to visit, but I want to single out Toronto. The Russian team of my age had a tournament there. At that time we were all 15 years old. It was such a blessing because hockey was born in Toronto, it's the number one city in the history of hockey. And to visit this place, the stadium - then it was a great happiness for us.

- Where would you like to visit?
- I love to travel, to learn something new. I want to go to Australia, to visit Brazil. See how people live in these countries, communicate with them.

Press Service of PHC CSKA

The most little-known player of CSKA, having entered the army derby on the fourth line, destroyed SKA with three goals. Who is Andrey Kuzmenko and where did he come from?

SKA - CSKA is a unique confrontation. And not only because the strongest teams of the regular season meet in the semi-finals of the Gagarin Cup, whose lineups are a little more than completely composed of Olympic collections. Army clubs - absolute champions by the number of haters, and literally every news related to them, every puck becomes an occasion for flashes of anger and despair in the hearts of people who are not indifferent to hockey all over Russia. The more valuable surprise was the benefit performance of the 22-year-old Kuzmenko in the first leg of the semi-final derby. When one of the “basic clubs of the national team” wins over another, and it’s not the Kovalchuks and Telegins who win, but a young guy whom no one knows, this is a balm for souls and light at the end of the tunnel.

Teddy bear from Yakutsk

Andrei Kuzmenko was born in the harsh northern Yakutsk, where his father, also a sportsman, coached hockey team. It was immediately clear what kind of sports little Andrey would do - he started skating, barely learning to walk. And when he was four years old, it became clear to his parents that it would be difficult for a little hockey player to develop in Yakutsk, and the family moved to Moscow. The boy entered the metropolitan school "Polar Bears".

Kuzmenko recalls his hometown with a smile: “The temperature in winter is -50, the snowdrifts are huge. They put on felt boots, wrap them in a fur coat, a hat on my head - it was hard for me to move in all this, let alone move around. And in summer, such large mosquitoes and other insects that until you spread the spray all over your body, it’s better not to stick your head out on the street!”

He has always liked hockey. In his story, there was no pressure from his father-coach, on the contrary, Andrey himself hurried to training with great enthusiasm at a preschool age, when many others have to be forced to use a belt and chocolate. He was immediately assigned to the attack, although there was a moment when Andrei decided to become a goalkeeper. The shape is beautiful. He approached his father and said: "I want to be a goalkeeper." "Who will score goals then?" - Dad answered, and the boy was convinced.

For the "Polar Bears" Kuzmenko played until the age of 12, after which he moved to the CSKA system. There he lingered present moment for ten years already.

Great four letters

In CSKA, he went to success year after year, making his way behind the backs of older star hockey players. ABOUT Pavel Baulin- the coach, who then led the school team "army" born in 1996 - Kuzmenko speaks with great respect. "A very good coach, he taught me a lot. We still communicate. If there are any questions, I can always call him for advice. He gives very correct advice on how to act in a given situation." And the champion psychology inherent in the entire CSKA system was already instilled by Mikhail Vasilyev, the head coach of the Red Army.

Kuzmenko came to the MHL at the age of 16, and he considers that season a failure. Then in the “youth team” of CSKA, a generation had just changed. The Golden Army, which took the Kharlamov Cup in 2011, silver medals in 2012 - it included Prokhorkin, Gusev, Kucherov and other future stars - went on promotion, and young “masks” were recruited into the MHL team, including Kuzmenko. The renewed "Red Army" failed in battles with teams 2-3-5 years older than itself and, shamefully for such a name, flew past the playoffs, taking 14th place in the conference. Kuzmenko then played 49 games, scoring 12 (5 + 7) points - which is not so bad for a junior who still had a year and a half left before changing the "grid" to a visor.

On next year The “Red Army”, which managed to build up meat, looked incommensurably cooler and returned the status of one of the flagships of the country's youth hockey. Then at the helm was just Vasiliev. "Mikhail Alexandrovich himself played for CSKA and before each game he reminded us that we play for the great four letters, and that all the boys dream of getting here. That's when I realized that CSKA is, first of all, traditions that go from generation to generation, and Mikhail Aleksandrovich said: “Guys, you play for CSKA, so don’t disgrace and don’t disgrace those who wore this uniform before.”

Then the "Red Army" reached the final of the Kharlamov Cup, lost in seven matches to the MHC "Spartak" and was awarded silver medals. Kuzmenko scored 31 points in the regular season and 6 in the playoffs that season. Not superstar performance, but more than worthy. By that playoff, he had just taken off his mask - in February 2014 he turned 18 years old.

"First Gotta Prove Something Here"

The temptation to go overseas hangs over every promising Russian junior.

Kuzmenko was also going to - but he stayed, and now he does not regret it. “Of course, everyone has dreamed of the NHL since childhood. I am no exception, I constantly looked at Larionov, Datsyuk, 20,000-seat arenas ... Of course, I want this too, but it all depends on the result. First you need to prove something here. I think that Overseas you need to go with some kind of luggage, to achieve something in your homeland.

He achieved it. After the silver season, the youngsters of the grown-up "Red Army" began to attract CSKA to the base. Kuzmenko made his KHL debut at 18, playing one shift against Atlanta on September 16, 2014. And two months later, on November 14, he scored the first goal in the KHL. It was in a home match with Salavat, which CSKA won with a crushing score of 7:0.

That season, he shuttled between CSKA and the Red Army, mainly playing in the MHL, and attracted the attention of the coaches of the Russian youth team. A year later, he was already playing at the MFM, the silver one. By that time, he had already outgrown youth hockey and skated between Moscow and Chekhov, playing either for CSKA or for the Vekhael Star. The MFM itself, however, did not become successful for him. “An important tournament, but it turned out to be a failure for me, despite the silver medal,” Kuzmenko recalls. beat off..."

But he stayed in Russia and CSKA. The next season turned out to be the most productive in Andrey's career. In the KHL, he scored 15 points in 34 games, in the "tower" - 28 points in 23 games, and the main triumph was the performance in the MHL. Employed in CSKA and Zvezda, he almost did not appear in the Red Army, where he still went by age, but he came to the playoffs and there demonstrated his scoring instinct in all its glory. He scored 11 goals, made 13 assists and triumphantly crowned the season in the MHL playoff MVP status, having won the Kharlamov Cup with the Red Army.

Did he then remember his first Emkhael final in 2014? Certainly. "It motivated us. Before the first game on Youtube, I watched our first match of the series that we lost. I watched it and didn't see a single game again, because I was afraid to lose a second time. They only remember the team that wins. The second and third places are of no interest to anyone. To be honest, I was afraid to lose."

Didn't lose. And after this season, CSKA began to flirt with him on an ongoing basis. Kuzmenko has a bilateral KHL-VHL contract, but in the CSKA roster he has appeared steadily this season, receiving 10-15 minutes of playing time, and justified the coach's trust - 13 goals and 12 assists in 45 KHL games. But Kuzmenko really shot in the playoffs, and in the most royal match.

It was 1:1 when Kuzmenko's first goal put CSKA ahead. It was 3-3 when his puck again allowed the Moscow army team to lead. And, finally, overtime with a score of 4:4, when Andrey did something simply mocking - having accepted a pass outside the goal, he was still thinking whether to shoot from an uncomfortable hand or not, shifted the puck and sent it into the net - 5:4. Hat trick. It is a pity that it was in St. Petersburg, and there was no one to throw caps on the ice.

“Andrey Svetlakov arrived, thanks to him we got a good trio, we will continue to work,” after the hat-trick, Andrey is frankly modest. “There will be a new day, forces are not unlimited either. The first period was very scary for me, I was afraid to make a mistake. Then Grigorenko scored - it became a little easier, and we played calmly."