Oleg Znarok

Caption This: Dynamo Advisor Oleg Znarok Whispers Sweet Nothings into Alex Ovechkin’s Ear (Photo)

Fifteen Caps players (and Jeff Halpern) skated at Kettler Capitals Iceplex Friday, but Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin remains in his homeland of Russia.

Earlier on Friday, photographer Elena Rusko captured the Russian machine at the Dynamo Moscow game while he was aggressively face-nuzzled by the team’s former head coach, Oleg Znarok.

Dynamo lost 4-1. They sit DFL in the KHL after being outscored 10-2 in the first two games.

While Ovechkin goes way back with Znarok (Ovechkin played under him during the lock-out and during this past year’s World Championships) and this isn’t a big deal, it’s probably not the best thing in the world to see the Capitals’ best player (sorry, Brouwer Rangers) exchange pleasantries with a KHL ~~head coach~~ team official just days after the KHL President hints that you might return home for the 2015-16 season. But what do I know?

With that in mind, let’s have a Caption Contest! What is Znarok actually saying to Ovi? Here’s a photo with a caption bubble.

Submit your ideas in the comments below. Have fun and I’ll see you at the party tomorrow.

By Ian Oland 5 years ago

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Let’s Get Dangerous: Alex Ovechkin, Team Russia Toss Oleg Znarok Into Air After Winning World Championship

Photo: championat.com

Minutes after Russia won the 2014 World Championship, suspended head coach Oleg Znarok made his way down to the ice to celebrate with his team. Znarok, who coached Alex Ovechkin in Dynamo Moscow, was immediately greeted by the Russian team captain. Ovechkin, grinning from ear to ~~eat~~ ear, waved over his teammates.

This is a nice moment.

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By Ian Oland 5 years ago

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Oleg Znarok Makes Throat Slash Gesture at Team Sweden, Makes Terrible Excuse For Why He Did It (GIF)

While Team Russia won 3-1 over Sweden on Saturday, they may be advancing to the gold medal game without their head coach.

The reason: Alex Ovechkin’s KHL coach at Dynamo Moscow, Oleg Znarok, made a throat-slash gesture to Swedish assistant coach Rikard Gronborg. Oooooo, Russian drama!

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By Ian Oland 5 years ago

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Oleg Znarok Named Coach of Team Russia

Znarok and Gagarin Cup (Photo: Championat.com)

According to SovSport, Dynamo Moscow head coach Oleg Znarok has been named the new head coach of Team Russia. The news comes as no surprise; Znarok was pretty much the only candidate discussed in recent months. Ex-coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov failed to medal in Sochi, losing to Finland in the quarterfinals. Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored just one goal in the tournament, examplifying an overall disappointing performance by Team Russia’s stars.

Znarok has been a household name in Russian hockey since 2010, when his HC MVD Balashikha went on a Cinderella run to win the Western Conference only to lose in the finals to Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s Ak Bars Kazan. After a successful season by the Moscow suburb team, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is related to both clubs, merged Dynamo Moscow and HC MVD into UHC Dynamo Moscow (where “U” stands for “United”). HC MVD’s coaching staff and top players moved to the storied Russian franchise. Success followed soon thereafter: Dynamo won the 2012 Gagarin Cup, and then another one, in 2013, holding off Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Traktor.

Despite being a native of Ust-Katav (Chelyabinsk Region, Russia) and an ethnic Russian, Znarok’s dual Latvian-German citizenship makes him the de jure first-ever foreign coach in Team Russia history. His assistant, Harijs Vitolins, who will also step in as head coach for Dynamo, is an ethnic Latvian.

I think the Znarok hire is a big mistake.

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By 5 years ago

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Alex Ovechkin Scores First Ever KHL Point in Dynamo’s 7-2 Win

“I deed it!! I finally score!!” (Photo credit: Dynamo Moscow)

Thursday night at Small Sports Arena in Luzhniki, Moscow, Alex Ovechkin returned to the Russian team that put him on the world’s stage as a teenager. And his performance did not disappoint.

In Moscow Dynamo’s 7-2 win over Dinamo Minsk, Ovechkin had seven shots, two big hits, and recorded his first ever KHL point, a powerplay assist, in 17:38 of ice time.

Highlights of the game are below the jump.

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By Ian Oland 7 years ago

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Chris Simon: Being a Tough Guy is Serious & Respectable Choice

A portrait of Chris Simon taken by the KHL’s official magazine, Hot Ice

After leaving the Washington Capitals in 2002, Chris Simon played for five different NHL clubs over the following seven seasons. He received four suspensions during that time, including a 25-game ban for slashing Ryan Hollweg in the face and a 30-game sit down for tripping Jarkko Ruutu and then stomping on his leg with his skate.

In 2008, Simon opted to have a clean slate and joined the KHL. He signed with the league’s toughest team, Vityaz Chekhov. Known as the “Indian” among Vityaz fans, Simon quickly became a fan favorite and was named captain of the team. With Vityaz, he participated in the mega-brawl against Avangard Omsk, which resulted in both teams accumulating 600 PIM and a cancellation of the match. However, Simon’s scoring totals steadily grew every year in the KHL (eight goals in 2008-09, 13 in 2009-10 and 16 in 2010-11) and he was recently named to the 2011 KHL All-Star Game. Rumors that he would be traded at the deadline were circulating and finally, five days before the All-Star Game, he was traded to UHC Dynamo Moscow, who were looking to add some grit to their line-up for the playoffs. The second seed in the East, Dynamo was upset by Dinamo Riga in the first-round in a heart-breaking six-game series. Shortly after, Sport-Express spoke with the former Cap.

Below the jump, RMNB’s Igor Kleyer has translated the rare Simon interview. The 39 year-old talks about what it was like to learn Russian, who helped him settle in with his new team and why he decided to become a “tough guy” in the first place.

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By Igor Kleyner 8 years ago

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