Mogilny strives to regain old magic

Originally published on EuroReport in 1999

By Lucas Aykroyd

Alexander the Great is back—to conquer the Chicago Blackhawks, anyway. A two-goal performance by Alexander Mogilny of the Vancouver Canucks sparked his team to a wild 5-4 win over the Blackhawks at GM Place on 6 October. Throughout the game, the gifted 195-pound right winger displayed speed, agility, and hand-eye coordination reminiscent of his 76-goal explosion with the Buffalo Sabres in 1992-93. His first goal was spoonfed to him by Chicago netminder Jocelyn Thibault, who gave up a bad rebound. But Mogilny’s second tally was based on pure breakaway speed, as he took a pass at center ice from Murray Baron and knifed a backhand through Thibault’s pads to give the Canucks the lead. What does it all mean? Well, according to Mogilny, not too much. He was happy, though, and it’s a major step toward erasing memories of the paltry 45 points he notched in 1998-99. On a night when all three post-game stars were Russian—Canuck Artem Chubarov third with his first NHL goal, Chicago’s Alexei Zhamnov second with two points, and Mogilny first—Mogilny’s star shone brightest. As EuroReport’s Lucas Aykroyd witnessed during the post-game scrum, the mercurial 30-year-old from Khabarovsk, Russia can muster a puckish sense of humor to go with his usual blunt candor when he’s in the mood. A big topic of conversation was the illegal stick for which Mogilny was penalized at 13:25 of the third period after scoring his two goals.

EuroReport: Was that the same stick you used to score the goals?

Alexander Mogilny: [deadpan] Oh, no, no, no…are you kidding? I always change my stick.

EuroReport: Have you ever been caught with an illegal stick before?

Alexander Mogilny: Never. I thought that rule was dead, in the ’60s or something. I guess they reinvented it again.

EuroReport: I understand you apologized to your teammates when you took the penalty.

Alexander Mogilny: Yes.

EuroReport: What’s it like sitting in the box after taking that kind of penalty?

Alexander Mogilny: Well, it’s like when you’re six years old and they put you in the corner in school and you feel very BAD. That’s how I felt. The guys did a great job killing off the two minutes.

EuroReport: How is the team feeling after two wins over the Rangers and the Blackhawks to open the season?

Alexander Mogilny: It feels very good. It’s not like we played Detroit and Colorado, but it’s nice to start against a couple of .500 teams and get some wins under our belt.

EuroReport: Did you know this is the first time Vancouver has gone 2-0 to start the season since 1992?

Alexander Mogilny: I’m glad to be part of it.

EuroReport: How did you feel when you saw Artem Chubarov score what turned out to be the game-winning goal?

Alexander Mogilny: It was huge. I’m happy for him. A few guys said to him before the game, “You’re going to get one tonight,” and that’s what happened.

EuroReport: How high is your personal level of confidence after proving your critics wrong tonight?

Alexander Mogilny: It’s early. It’s only two games. I might not score for the next seventy-five. Who knows? I don’t think too far ahead. Right now, I’m happy with our two wins.

EuroReport: You haven’t had a breakaway goal like your second one in a long time. Is Marc Crawford giving you more freedom to dangle up high near the center line?

Alexander Mogilny: No, we all try to play the system. I just kind of slipped back in my mind, and I thought, “Well, I remember I used to do that before, and I remember I used to score that way.” I just jumped on the opportunity.

EuroReport: After reducing your playing weight this year, are you feeling quicker out there?

Alexander Mogilny: It’s not the weight. [sighs and pauses] Everything’s different. It’s a new season. Fresh season. Start from scratch. Forget the last couple of years. It’s a different team as well.

EuroReport: Especially your new linemates, Andrew Cassels and Steve Kariya. How do you feel you’re meshing with those guys so far?

Alexander Mogilny: I felt we struggled against the Rangers, but tonight we played a little bit better. Still, we’re not as good as we should be, compared to training camp and pre-season. We’re going to be OK.

EuroReport: It seemed like for the first five minutes the puck lay flat, and then it started bouncing around a lot more for you guys. Did you notice that?

Alexander Mogilny: It’s fine, and then it’s just terrible. Absolutely terrible. But you know, we’ve got to play forty games here at home.

EuroReport: Any ideas on how to fix it?

Alexander Mogilny: Why don’t they send somebody up to Edmonton to find out how they do it there?

EuroReport: Looking back, Russian hockey has changed a lot over the last ten years. What do you see as the best and the worst of the changes since 1989?

Alexander Mogilny: Best and the worst? I don’t know. The money’s gotten better. It seems like the country’s coming back strong again now. The kids won the world junior championships in 1999. There’s a lot of talent there. The league’s getting a big boost from these young guys. It’s going to be exciting to watch those guys play.

EuroReport: You’ve been an American citizen for several years. Would you ever consider playing internationally for either the U.S. or Russia if the opportunity arose?

Alexander Mogilny: No. I’m past that stage. There are plenty of young talented players. I wouldn’t want to take their jobs.

EuroReport: Finally, what are your goals for this season with the Canucks?

Alexander Mogilny: Making the playoffs, and seeing what happens after that. You never know what can happen.