Evgeny Kuznetsov didn’t want to let his fans in Chelyabinsk down.
On Wednesday, Kuznetsov spent his day with the Stanley Cup in his hometown. The Russian center participated in two public photoshoots with his supporters and the Stanley Cup, each of which lasted two hours. There was only one problem: so many fans showed up, thousands of people were unable to meet or get a picture with Kuzy.
Thursday, according to Igor Eronko, Kuznetsov decided to hold a third photo op on Friday to thank those disappointed fans and celebrate the overwhelming turnout.
Kuznetsov took 2 photo sessions with fans in Chelyabinsk 2 hours long each without any breaks. First one in Traktor school where grew up, 2nd one at Traktor Arena. And still many of the fans couldn’t take a picture with him. That’s why he decided to make one more tomorrow
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) August 15, 2018
Traktor Chelyabinsk, Kuznetsov’s former KHL team, announced that the photo op with Kuzy would only be permissible with a ticket to that night’s game on their website.
According to Kuznetsov’s former team, disorganization plagued the heavily-attended events. This is how they described the scene.
The people quickly filled the arena on Savin street. The guards obviously could not cope. Unfortunately, the format was not worked out either. Fans approached not only to be photographed, but also to shake hands. Someone did not have a camera, someone could not find the focus.
“I can not give autographs, they forbade it,” Kuznetsov implored fans.
Here’s a look at the crowd.
In an interview, Kuznetsov called his day with the Stanley Cup in his hometown “a dream.”
“The feelings after we won were strange. When he came to Chelyabinsk, everyone came and congratulated me,” Kuznetsov said. “It was a shame that today many people did not have time to get a picture with the Stanley Cup in the morning and at the charity game, so tomorrow there will be another photoshoot. I hope this will brighten the situation for them. For me personally, this is a very positive and exciting day.”
Kuznetsov added that Wednesday he saw many people who he had not seen for eight or ten years.
“It’s a pity,” he said.
Headline photo: Traktor Chelyabinsk
