Bogatyrev Speaks as Express Lose VHLE Finals

[Bojovnik 487]

COLOGNE, October 30, 2022 (Shaiba.ru) – It took us a long while to get ahold of Yaroslav Bogatyrev after Saturday’s Game 6 between the Cologne Express and the Oslo Storm, and it’s not hard to see why.

 

The Express dropped Game 6 of the VHLE Finals on home ice, and with that, disappeared all hopes of the German side claiming the VHLE title. The Storm, who were regular season winners, took the glory with a 4-2 series win.

 

The loss was extremely galling for Yaroslav Bogatyrev, the young Russian forward who, by surprise, was given the C this season. Despite the Express having a number of grizzled veteran players who have been around the block more than once in the VHLE, the Nizhnii Tagil native was voted as captain by his team and management; a sign of trust placed on the shoulders of Russia’s next great hope.

 

However, despite the best efforts of Bogatyrev and his team, the Express fell short. They battled through their Semi-Finals series with the Bratislava Watchmen, coming back from 3-2 down in the series to win Game 7, and optimism was high in the camp that the matter in which the victory was won could propel the team to even greater heights. But alas, it wasn’t to be.

 

Shaiba.ru eventually tracked down Bogatyrev at his Cologne residence, which he appears to be moving out of at the present time. Before we managed to put our questions to Bogatyrev, the Russian forward said that he would be heading back to Russia to spend two weeks with his family before preparing for the upcoming S86 VHL Draft. According to current scouting reports, the Russian forward is slated to be taken second overall, behind The Frenchman.

 

“It’s hard to find the words at the current moment,” Bogatyrev said.

 

The Express went through a rollercoaster of a season that will be a great building block for all the players going forward. Despite having what appeared to be a strong roster at the start of the season, the German side came out of the blocks incredibly slowly, and even spent some time at the bottom of the VHLE table.

 

However, the team managed to rally together, and many players showed a marked improvement as the season went on. This includes Bogatyrev, who finished with 59 regular season points before he added a further eight in the postseason, and goaltender Jesse Teno, who was the team’s star player in the playoffs – registering a 0.950 save percentage.

 

“The loss in the finals stings for sure. I still haven’t gotten over it yet. However, I think that with time, we can look back at this season with pride. We overcame a lot of adversity and difficulties throughout this season. I think going from the bad start, to having that strong run in the second half of the regular season, and then how we managed to overcome the super strong Bratislava team. I know that I learned a great deal from my time in Cologne,” Bogatyrev said.

 

The Russian forward also said that having the C on his chest was a huge honour, and one that forced him to take into account more than just his own performance.

 

“I was super proud to be awarded the captaincy in the first place, but if I’m honest, I didn’t understand what it would entail at the start of the season. When you’re young, you’re mostly focused on your own performance. You want to prove yourself so that you get more minutes, or in many cases, look to improve your draft position going forward. Having the opportunity to be a captain at this stage of my career was a great honour, and made me focus on team dynamics, and what I could do to help my team – not just by putting points on the board, but in a range of different ways,” the Nizhnii Tagil native said.  

 

The Oslo Storm were the heavy favourites going into the VHLE Finals, blessed with talent up and down the roster. Many predicted that the Norwegian side would have enough in their offense to take the game to the Express, but it turned out that the Storm could tighten it up on the backend when required, shutting out the Express in two of the opening three games.

 

Bogatyrev also struggled to put points on the board, registering just three points in the Finals series, and he said that he was disappointed with his own game throughout the Finals.

 

“I don’t know if the pressure of the occasion got to me, but it’s fair to say that playing in the VHLE Finals was an experience unlike any I’ve had before in my junior career. I’ve never played in such tough, closely fought games, and again, despite the loss. I’ll take it as something I can learn from going forward.

 

“The Storm played an incredible series. It was so tough to generate any real scoring opportunities or chances. They pressured puck carriers so well, and they were deserved winners in the end. Still, that changes nothing about how proud I am of our effort. We did all that we could. We got past Bratislava, and that was a huge achievement for us. I’ll remember that Game 7 win for a long time,” Bogatyrev said.

 

There are many things still on the horizon for the young Bogatyrev. He is set to play in the Pro-Am tournament ahead of the upcoming S86 VHL Entry Draft. Earlier this season, Bogatyrev said that he would make no comments on his draft stock or draft future while the season was ongoing, but with his VHLE campaign now over, would that change?

 

“I’ve had some preliminary contacts with one or two teams, but at the end of the day, a lot of what will happen is out of my hands. I think the thing that I want to say to teams who might have an interest in drafting me, is that I feel I’m ready to make the jump into the VHL already. I really enjoyed my time in the VHLE, but I think that the time is right for me to play at the top level of competition. I really feel that I can contribute at the next level, and I want the team that drafts me to understand that and give me the opportunity I need to thrive,” the Russian forward concluded.

 

 

1,070 words, two week claim for next week and following week

 

 

Edited October 30, 2022 by Bojovnik

[rory 1,943]

Damn that's okay you're in the big leagues now!

[Bojovnik 487]

2 minutes ago, rory said:

Damn that's okay you're in the big leagues now!

Logatyrev setting himself up for a MID career

[rory 1,943]

20 minutes ago, Bojovnik said:

Logatyrev setting himself up for a MID career

Perfect for Moscow!

[Bojovnik 487]

1 minute ago, rory said:

Perfect for Moscow!

@Spartan  in a series of abusive messages on Discord has said that he never wants another Bojo player.

[Bojovnik 487]

Week 2