Barys coach Kravets: Asetov won't play until he plays differently

Barys head coach Mikhail Kravets said forward Alikhan Asetov will not play until he plays differently. Asetov last took the ice on 18 September and has missed 4 games since, the latest a 5-3 home defeat by SKA on Sunday.

The subject came up after a question about lines. Omirbekov had appeared for one shift alongside Kayyrzhan and Shestakov, and Kravets said that was not planned. "I did not shuffle the lines. It happened by accident, most likely on a change," he said, adding that he had himself called out the wrong surname to Pilon on the bench. The reporter noted that Kravets had earlier said he was trying a different line-up, after which Asetov dropped out. "That was how it was at the time. Then there were training sessions and everything else," Kravets said.

"I want Asetov to play differently, too," Kravets said. "And until he plays that way, he will not play."

He was then asked whether he talks to the player. The reporter cited Igor Larionov, who had said he spent 40 minutes talking with Vasily Glotov the day before. Glotov scored twice on Sunday.

"I talk to everybody," Kravets said. "What do you want me to say? That I talk to nobody? I am talking to you. I asked the young man under number 96 to come to pre-season in shape. And I wanted to make him captain. And he, so to speak, like a pigeon, dropped something on my head."

If Kravets means what he said, Asetov's return depends on a change in his play rather than on the line combinations, and the gap since 18 September may run longer than 4 games.