What is the difference between the hockey in Russia and North America?
S. Varlamov: In the NHL the game is much faster than in Russia. Everyone passes very well. The goalie must always leave the net and must stickhandle well, helping defensemen. For example, he needs to be able to stop the puck by the boards. My goal is to correctly re-direct the puck, so it would be easy for the defensemen to get it and to quickly give out an outlet pass. If a defenseman spends too much time trying to get control of it, then he might get plastered into the boards. Here they shoot from any and every position through a screen, from the blue line, without any angle. You must be ready for everything. There is an opinion that it is more difficult for a goalie to secure a spot than for a player in any other position… S. Varlamov: I agree, here the competition is very heated. There were five goalies just at the prospect camp in Washington. They are all about the same age and all look very impressive. I wouldnt say that I significantly stood out amongst them. Is it difficult t
