Sokhatsky Reflects on VHL After 500th Appearance

Vladimir Sokhatsky made his 500th appearance in the VHL with a clean sheet against Kaluga, taking his career figures to 302 wins, 74 shutouts, a save percentage of 93% and a goals-against average of 1.84.

The Yugra goalkeeper downplayed the stats. "These numbers are fine, but for me the most important thing right now is Yugra's successful start to the championship," he said. "Not everyone believed in the new team in the summer, we have a lot of debutants. But the games with Kaluga, Tula and Ryazan showed we are on the right path — six points from six. And against Novokuznetsk in the opening game of the season, despite the defeat, the team looked competitive, there was a clear pattern to the play. Such a start is very important for us. Firstly, every opponent's motivation against the champions is at its maximum, we don't even discuss that inside the team. And secondly, we have an interesting schedule ahead — two away trips of four and three matches. So before a run of seven away games we needed to build momentum."

Seven straight away fixtures now lie ahead before Yugra return to home ice.

As the league's longest-serving player, Sokhatsky was also asked how the VHL itself has changed. "Before, they could tear you apart in the VHL, there were a lot of combinations, shooters were frequently left one-on-one with the keeper. Now almost all of that is in the past. There's little open ice, the intensity of the game is very high, everyone is running. So the goals are different now too — from the crease, on rebounds and follow-ups. The league has grown more even. If before there were two or three favourites, now the group of title contenders is two or three times bigger."

Sokhatsky’s view of a flatter league lands at a tricky time: Yugra face seven straight road games against opponents who are no longer split into favourites and also-rans.