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Bryzgalov Comments Foolish, But Not Uncommon |
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Anaheim Ducks Ilya Bryzgalov committed a major faux pas the other day when he was a little TOO candid with a reporter from Soviet Sport about the goaltending situation with his club.
"I got a call from the club and they told me that they see me as their number one goaltender," said Bryzgalov. "They also want to trade [Jean-Sebastien] Giguere but no one wants him."
Later, Bryzgalov was asked about his relationship with Giguere, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003.
"I don't want to say anything about him because we play on the same team and so I can't say anything bad about him," said Bryzgalov.
Perhaps Bryzgalov deserves the benefit of the doubt on the second quote. After all, it's a translation from a Russian interview and the words are subject to interpretation -- much the same way as "you can never pour too much water on a nuclear reactor" can be interpreted two different ways.
But the first comments were misguided, no matter how you slice it. Assuming Anaheim management really did tell that to the Russian goalie, he should have kept it under his hat.
Until very recently, however, it was not at all uncommon for European players to say things to members of their home media they'd never say to the North American press. Nine times out of ten their more candid views never got back to the U.S. and Canadian media -- and more importantly, to their teammates and bosses.
When talking to North American reporters, most Europeans measure their words carefully, spouting the standard clichés that are expected from them. But read the press reports in their home country and it's often a different story.
The one incident that will forever stand out in my mind were the comments of another former Anaheim player -- Swedish right wing Jonas Rönnqvist-- after the team sent him down to the AHL.
To the North American reporters he said as he was packing his things, "I'm disappointed, but I just need to work harder. I don't think I showed them what I'm capable of." Pretty standard stuff.
But the same day, Rönnqvist gave an interview to one of his home newspapers (Aftonbladet) to whom he said, ”I was forced to play with a knee injury. It's sickening. I can't play up to my capacity but I was given no choice.”
In the same interview, Rönnqvist said the team should have brought up someone from the farm team to replace him while he nursed his injury, but that it was a question of Anaheim not wanting to spend the extra money.
Rönnqvist's claims to Aftonbladet made some waves at home but were hardly mentioned in the press here, in part because was a non-descript role player and in part because there were fewer Internet outlets for translations to be posted.
I don't know whether Anaheim management got wind of Rönnqvist's comments and had a talk with him about it. But I can say with virtual certainty that, six years later, you can be certain Anaheim management knows exactly what Bryzgalov said and he's going to hear about it.
In today's NHL, European players are no "safer" popping off in their native tongue. If they put their foots in their mouths, they're going to be held accountable. Ilya Bryzgalov is beginning to find that out.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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