SERGEY ZINOVJEV

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Not so long ago A Russian hockey journalist uttered," There are players who are incomprehensible for NHL scouts. The more athletes of this kind who go on playing in the Russian Hockey Championships the better."

For the last decade of the twentieth century North American hockey experts and fans have already got accustomed to the mass exodus of former Soviet and Russian players to the world’s best hockey league. They know about such great hockey cities as Moscow, Voskresensk, Chelyabinsk and Yaroslavl. Siberian city named Novokuznetsk may become another bright spot on the hockey map where NHL prospects are produced. This year four players of Novokuznetsk hockey school have been noticed by NHL scouts. Not much if to compare with Yaroslavl or Moscow but one must pay attention that three of them are the members of Russian junior team. Vladimir Sapozhnikov, Florida’s 58 choice, Sergei Zinovjev, Boston’s 73 choice, Artem Chernov, Dallas’ 162 choice, and Kazakhstan-born Vadim Sozinov, Toronto’s 179 choice of the 2000 Entry Draft.

Zinovjev is an energetic hard-working player who has the versatility to play anywhere. Sergey excels in many aspects of the game... a strong skater with puck skills and a good release… has the hands and vision…  As a winger can carve up defenses with his mesmerizing moving abilities and deceptive quickness.

Vladimir Plyuschev, the current head coach of Russian Under-18 team, says about this player, “This guy is the sample of a real athlete. He is strong in character and has all the tools to grew up in the dominating force on the ice. Usually the players mature at the age of 21-22. This or the next year can become Zinovjev’s prime time. At 22 years old, the time for Zinovjev to shine. The only thing he must learn is how to use better his arsenal to overcome the lack of size as he simply loses many physical battles while playing a center forward.”

As far as Sergey’s human merits he comments, “For the short time I’ve been working with him he seems to be a good man with whom one can be on good friendly terms. He is not very talkative person who prefers better to demonstrate his skills on the ice. He is a typical workhorse.”

Sergey had been called up for the Russian Under-16 team in 1996. It was an international tournament organized by “Krylia Soviets” where the teams of former Soviet republics competed for the medals. Though it was only his first high-level tournament he looked solid on the ice and since that moment the coaches of Russian national teams have been keeping an eye on this skillful forward.

The year of 1999 became the highlight for Sergey Zinovjev. He was invited to participate in the 25th traditional Tournament of Five Nations organized be the newspaper “Leningradskays Pravda”. This time the national teams of Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and Slovakia were the honored guests in St. Petersburg. Sergey was going to make the 2000 WJC Team Russia and that was why he had been working hard to make his dream to come true. He enjoyed 2 goals in four games and Russia won the tournament. Then came the time of vacation May, June and July. No hockey, no worries about future. So to say, time to “enjoy the silence”.

In mid-August pre-season practice had started. Sergey was invited to join the training camp of his senior club team Metallurg Novokuznetsk. Only four months were left till the start of the 24th JWC in Sweden and he had to fight both for the spot on the roster of the Russian team and his club team as well. It had been really four month of hard work.

At the very beginning of September he was happy to join once again Junior Team Russia to compete for the medals of the prestigious Five Nations Tournament held in Moscow. Romanov-Zinovjev-Frolkin / Romanov-Zinovjev-Smirnov lines looked not bad and as a result team Russia became the winner. Zinovjev demonstrated that he can be a good playmaker but at that moment only among the juniors. Sergey was going to stand the test of senior level hockey life in the coming 1999/2000 season with his club team.

The things went not very successfully for Sergey. He had no goals scored and there was only 2 points of his in 28 games running till the moment he got an invitation to join junior national team.

Despite all his failures the coaches of the Junior Team Russia trusted in his great potential as a player. He was selected by them to make the 2000 WJC Team Russia. They placed him to play left wing with the other current NHL Draftees such as Dallas’ Tereschenko and Anaheim’s Smirnov. And imagine the guy Sergey Zinovjev by name had came up to their expectations. He emerged with a two-goal outburst and three assists in seven games! And what an important goal he scored!  As it turned out later it was a game winner 3:2 in the semi-final against team Canada! Moreover on the Russian team Sergey had the second best +/- rating with +9 just a point behind Alexander Ryazantsev with +10. Unfortunately he had to pay the price for his success at the JWC. He got a severe injury and couldn’t help his club team in the competition for the medals of the Russian Hockey Championships till the very end of the season.

This summer he has been compensated for all the failures in his senior level hockey try-out when he has become Boston’s 73 pick in the 3rd round of the 2000 Entry Draft.

Unfortunately soon great reshuffle has happened in his club team and lots of players with GM included have left the team in seek for the better conditions of working. Sergey has followed his teammates example and has gone for a try-out to Yaroslavl where Peter Vorobyov has been the head coach. Being also a head coach of Junior Team Russia Vorobyov has had the clear idea of this player’s potential he has decided that Zinovjev is not yet strong enough to make his club. Then, one more season in Metallurg Novokuznetsk, Sergey?

People say that #13 is considered to be an unlucky number but not for Sergey. It has been worn by him since the moment of joining junior team Russia and then it has appeared on his jersey of the club team he is playing for.  As it turns out this number can serve as an indicator of success in his career by periods. Junior one may be evidently considered a success. His debut at the senior Russian Hockey Championships may be considered a failure.  And who may tell what else will happen in his life in the nearest future? The periodicity of success and failures in his career proves that it’s high time for Zinovjev to shine at the senior level hockey or even in the NHL! By the way #13 is free on the Boston Bruins players’ list. Has it been left especially for Sergey Zinovjev or not?

By Denis Neznanov
Sources: HockeyZone and (Semi)-Official Ak-Bars website