December 15, 1999
The Koreshkov Brothers.
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."
Two of four brothers Koreshkov may be ascribed to this very category. They are
immensely popular among the fans of Metallurg Magnitogorsk, especially the youngest
brother, Yevgeny.
He grew up and made his first steps into hockey life in Kazakhstan, one of the
republics of the former USSR, where he played for the national teamalong with his
brothers.
It’s worth mentioning that he left his native Kazakh town of
Ust-Kamenogorsk because, at that time there was no room on the roster of the team,
"Torpedo". He changed clubs twice before joining the team of Lada Togliatti
headed by Genady Tsygurov (the father of former NHLer Denis Tsygurov) where it came to
light that Yevgeny is an expert in many aspects of hockey despite his youth. He was hardly
able to enjoy the love of Togliatti’s fans when it turned out that his first team was
in need of his service. He could hardly refuse the temptation to join Ust-Kamenogorsk,
where he started his career as a hockey player. Lately he realized that he made a mistake
of coming back to his native town. So after thinking a bit about the financial situation
of the club, he and his older brother Alexander made up their minds to leave Kazakhstan
for Russia. They joined Metallurg Magnitogorsk in 1994. Yevgeny was 24 years old and his
brother Alexander was 26. Two years later, their older brother Igor joined the same team.
He was 28 then.
During the 1994/1995 season in Magnitogorsk, Yevgeny and Alexander won the
bronze medal of the Commonwealth of Independent States championships which is now known as
the Russian Super League (also known as Russian Hockey Championships). The team lost to
the champion Lada Togliatti in the semi final. Yevgeny became the best sniper of the team
with 36 goals. The Shafranov- Yev.Koreshkov - Al.Koreshkov line was acknowledged as the
best. Yevgeny’s 3rd season with the team was a success for him as well. He
was acknowledged as the most valuable player of the 1996/97 season.
In 1997/1998, the Koreshkovs won the silver of Russian Hockey Championships.
They also played for the national team of Kazakhstan at the Olympic hockey tournament in
Nagano, Japan, and then took part in the World Hockey Championships. Alexander was fourth
in the list of scorers with three goals and six assists behind such stars of the world
hockey championship as Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu and Pavel Bure. He did not look bad next
to such NHL superstars as Gretzky, Lindros, Yzerman in the game against team Canada.
Alexander was one of six players to score against famous Dominik Hasek.
Answering on question why he accepted a proposal to play for Kazakhstan team he
said, "You know I have never been invited to join the Russian team. Even if I had
ever been called up for the Russian team, I see no reason to join it, but only tryout once
or twice. It’s better to be a member of the Kazakh team. We play at the Olympic
tournament and World Hockey Championships. As for the national team of Russia I could play
only at The Four Nations tournament in the best case."
The 1998/99 season became a triumphant one for Yevgeny and Alexander. They won
the gold at the most prestigious European club hockey tournament - named Euroleague - and
became the champions of Russia. The Gusmanov- Yev.Koreshkov - Al.Koreshkov line was
acknowledged as the best one in Russia.
Yevgeny received five individual prizes at once. Nobody had ever achieved such a
success in the history of Soviet and Russian hockey. He was twice acknowledged as the best
player and twice as a valuable member of the best attacking line of the league. He was
twice a member of the all-star team of Russian championships. Yevgeny became the best
scorer of the season with 29 goals and 25 assists, and as a result 54 points gained in 55
games (Alexander was 2 points behind him with 31 goals scored and 21 assists). He is the
holder of the title for the player who scored the most hattricks.
The 1999/00 season is the sixth in the career of the Koreshkovs playing for
Metallurg Magnitogorsk in Russia. Nowadays, they are the brightest hockey personalities in
Russia.
When asked if he considers himself a citizen of Kazakhstan, Alexander answers,
"Of course not. I don’t even know a single word of Kazakh. I’m a regular
Russian. When I lived in Ust-Kamenagorsk there were a majority of Russians. I don’t
have the slightest regret that I left Kazakhstan for Russia. Here I have everything: my
family and modern apartments to live in. The city is not large where everybody recognizes
you in the streets and shows respect for you. If I have any kind of problems my club helps
to solve them."
When he was asked if he was ever envious of the athletes who play for NHL teams
he said, "Not in the least. What was fated to achieve I had already have."
Denis Neznanov
HockeyZone's Russian Correspondent
