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Hockey needs Russia’s ties with the US to remain friendly! |
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29.03.2018 г. 12:36 |
Some Russian Ties are a
Good Thing for the US
Nikita Pavlychev and Denis Smirnov were still youngsters in Yaroslavl,
in Russia, playing hockey games with their friend Ivan Provorov, when
the famously funny Russian Spy advertisement by ESPN featuring Semyon
Varlamov and Alex Ovechkin was made, seven years ago.
But it didn’t take long after they arrived at the Penn State
campus before they were made aware of it! Smirnov, a 5”10
sophomore forward on the Nittany Lions hockey team, is hidden in the
roof, or so says the joke amongst his teammates. Pavlychev, the 6-7
forward who tagged along to Happy Valley after he arrived in the USA
with Provorov, the defenceman for the Flyers, a few years earlier, is
Ovechkin to his friends.
Light-Hearted Guys Who
Can Take a Joke
Kevin Kerr, a junior defenceman and Bensalem native, says that they
joke with the Russian hockey players about the investigation into the
election, too and other American things too. He
added that they are both pretty amusing, entertaining guys.
That, however, is the fun conversation. The other one, which takes
place in the occasionally heated environment of a big university campus
filled with opinions and students more than up for debating them, is
not.
When Things Stop Being
Amusing
Pavlychev says that he gets into the less enjoyable version of this
conversation more often than he would like.
He stated that he was not very political to start off with, and not
only didn’t really care about governmental doings, but
didn’t enjoy talking about them, either.
He said that he deals with it by either ignoring whoever is making the
comments or giving them a quick comeback and getting out of the
conversation as quickly as he could.
A Season of Peaks and
Valleys
Along with the team both they play for, the season has been one of ups
and downs for the Russian sophomores too.
After leading all National Collegiate Athletic Association,
NCAA, freshmen last season with 49 points, Smirnov got mononucleosis
and had to sit the month of November out.
As Smirnov was recovering, Pavlychev went on a binge in terms of
scoring. Then, as Smirnov was building his game back, Pavlychev went
stone-cold.
Denis Smirnov is the One
to Watch
A tip for punters who enjoy hockey thanks to the Australian
betting sites that make it available? Keep an eye on Denis
Smirnov.
Picked in the sixth-round by Colorado in the June draft last year,
Smirnov has 11 assists and 14 goals in 26 games to his name this
season. He’s very big, and very strong, and this translates
to the way he manages his puck and skates.
Kerr says that what stands out about Smirnov is not simply his skill
set and endurance.
Kerr explained that he has played with many marvellous hockey players,
mentioning playing with both Nick Schultz and Jack Eichel for Team USA
internationally at one point, and commending them.
But, he syas, as far as vision on the ice was concerned, along with a
straight skill set; Denis Smirnov is a force to be reckoned with.
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