- Eeli, it seemed that you can’t predict that first game in KHL would be like this? A hat trick, big win for Jokerit. - It was great. Good start of the season for me and our team. Hope that we could continue in this way. It was a great effort from everybody in our team, we showed that we have a good team. I couldn’t expect that I would score three goals, but it was a hard game, one of the hardest in my career. But partners helped me a lot.
Eeli Tolvanen
- To score three goals against Jhonas Enroth, who recently played in NHL. Does it mean something to you?
- Of course! After first goal I felt that I could play this league. There are no bad teams and bad goalies here in KHL.
- What you need to do to stay calm, because people could consider you as a superstar right now?
- I need to keep doing the same things, stay calm, think only about hockey. It’s basic. And not to read much media. I’m sure that my partners will help me even in this aspect.
- What Jokerit can achieve this year?
- It’s too early to say, but we have a good roster. Five good lines, that’s why I need to make it to the roster every night. We started with a big win, but we need keep going in the same way, stick to the game plan, not to lose our game.
- Could you believe that you could play in the second line this year?
- I won’t say that it was unexpected. It started with preseason when coaches put me in the line with Olli Palola and Brian O’Neill. We’re still finding our chemistry and understand each other better every day.
Eeli Tolvanen
- After seasons in USHL you planned to commit to university and play in NCAA. But what happened that you’re now in Jokerit in KHL?
- It was my plan… But last years I didn’t often visit the school and didn’t get enough points to go to university. They told me that you could come after Xmas. Now I’m not thinking this way, I’m in KHL and its best option in my career right now. Here I could grow as a player, not playing at junior level. I like everything around now.
- All your goals against Dinamo Minsk came after great snipes. How do you train your shot?
- It took a while; I’m still trying to make a progress. I’m shooting a lot after practices, even in the summer at my backyard. It’s a lot of work to do; I need to improve the strength of the shot.
- Could you compare yourself to Patrick Laine and Alexander Ovechkin who’re the best snipers in modern hockey?
- I’m too far away from them, they’re elite snipers. When I was young, I dreamt about shooting like Ovechkin. Hope that one day I could be at his level.
- You’re on the pace of becoming the best rookie of the year in KHL.
- I’m not thinking about it, but it would be a great honor to win this award. But it was just one game and nobody knows what happened. I need to live day by day.
- One more important thing for you would be World Juniors in Buffalo.
- It’s very important tournament. Last year we played relegation round. Now we want to return and show how Finnish hockey is good.
Tolvanen announces himself in style
Jokerit’s 18-year-old forward Eeli Tolvanen wasted no time in making his presence felt in the KHL. The teen star grabbed a hat-trick on his debut, helping his team to a 6-1 victory at Dinamo Minsk. He also chipped in with two assists in Sunday’s overtime win at Lokomotiv, taking his tally to 6 points (3+3) in three games.
“After that first goal, I felt I could play in this league,” Tolvanen told KHL.ru. “I’m in the KHL and that’s the best option for my career right now. This is where I can grow as a player, not at junior level. I like everything that going on around me at the moment.”
Eeli Tolvanen: "Only in KHL I can grow faster as a player"
Tolvanen is the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the KHL, but even before that he had a promising reputation in his homeland. Teemu Selanne tweeted: “Fantastic hat-trick for Tolvanen, although it’s not a surprise. I knew some time ago that I’d be hearing more about this guy.” Jokerit team-mate Antti Pihlstrom told R-Sport that Tolvanen reminded him of Sebastian Aho.
Eeli Tolvanen
Scary SKA intimidates the opposition
SKA’s Gagarin Cup-winning roster underwent some changes in the summer, most notably losing the scoring power of NHL-bound Vadim Shipachyov and Evgeny Dadonov. But that doesn’t seem to have hampered the team’s progress in season #10.
Oleg Znarok’s team began by claiming the Opening Cup with a confident 4-2 win over CSKA. Then came a 7-1 walloping of Slovan – no worries about scoring power here – before shutting out Jokerit to win 2-0. And these are no bullies with a soft underbelly: faced with a battle against Vityaz, SKA came from behind twice to tie 3-3 and win in a shoot-out. Maybe that’s why Znarok said his team looked ‘frightening’ in the build up to the season.
SKA - CSKA
Some things never change
Tolvanen’s six-point haul puts a new name near the top of the scoring charts, but there’s a familiar face out in front. Sergei Mozyakin has four goals and two assists from three games, confirming once again that he’s the go-to guy for production in this league. Mozyakin’s next major landmark is 500 career goals: his current tally is 483.
Other familiar names among the leading scorers include SKA’s duo of Pavel Datsyuk (1+5) and Ilya Kovalchuk (4+1). But there’s also been a promising start from Neftekhimik’s Dan Sexton. The American was the leading scorer in pre-season and he’s contributed 1+4 to help his team win all three of its games so far.
Markov settles in
Veteran defenseman Andrei Markov admitted that it might take a while to adjust to playing on the larger European ice again following 16 seasons in Montreal. So far, though, teething troubles have been few and far between. The 38-year-old finished week one on top of Ak Bars’ scoring charts, with four assists in two games. That puts the General ahead of Justin Azevedo (2+1) as Kazan enjoys a 100% start.
Andrei Markov
Tough times for Slovan
It’s not easy being a Slovan fan right now. Pre-season games mean little, so the lack of victories over the summer could be put down to trial and error. But the regular season also began badly: three games, three losses, four goals scored and a whopping 16 allowed.Milos Riha’s team does have the prospect of some relief, though. After three road games at SKA, Lokomotiv and Dynamo Moscow, the guys return to Slovakia for Wednesday’s home game against Dinamo Minsk. It’s not too late to kick-start the campaign in Bratislava.
Jakub Stepanek
Junior Club World Cup
Krasnaya Armiya became the first two time Junior Club World Cup champions as they beat swedish MODO in the final game, which was held at KRK Uralets in Yekaterinburg. Moscow team already played with MODO at group stage, this was the second meeting and Krasnaya Armiya won 4:3. Ocelari Trinec won the bronze medals beating Snezhnye Barsy and avenging Kazakhstan team victory at group stage. 2018 Junior Club World Cup will be held in the capital of XXII Winter Olympics Sochi in cooperation with Educational Center For Gifted Children Sirius. After the final game the flag of the 8th Junior Club World Cup was given to the host city. Junior Hockey League managing director Alexei Morozov handed the flag to Sochi Physical Culture and Sports department director Sergei Pilosyan.Junior Club World Cup Award Winners:
Best goaltender: Matej Loubal (Ocelari Trinec)
Best defenseman: Sebastian Walfridsson (MODO)
Best forward: Pavel Podluboshnov (Krasnaya Armiya)
Top-scorer: Mikhail Mescheryakov (Krasnaya Armiya)
Tournament MVP: Pavel Podluboshnov (Krasnaya Armiya)
Players of the Week
– Best goaltender was Dominik Furch (Avangard), The Czech netminder opened his campaign with three wins in three matches, including one shutout, and achieved the best save percentage (97.33) and goals against average (0.66) of any goalie in the League; – Best defenseman was Ivan Vereshchagin (Sibir). The 22-year-old helped his team to victory in all three appearances, recording 3 assists, 10 blocks (more than any other player), and no negative ratings, ending the week at +3;
– Best forward was Sergei Shirokov (SKA), whose team's account for the new season already shows 4 wins out of 4, thanks in no small part to a goal in each game from Shirokov. The experienced Russian attacker finished the week with 6 (4+2) points, no negative ratings, and a +4;
– Best rookie was 18-year-old Jokerit forward Eeli Tolvanen, who made KHL history by hitting a hat-trick in his debut against Dinamo Minsk. In all, the youngster's figures for the week read: 3 appearances, 2 victories, 14 shots at goal and 6 (3+3) points
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