Salei sorry to miss World Championships

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2001

By Lucas Aykroyd

Ruslan Salei gained some notoriety in 1999 when he cross-checked Dallas star Mike Modano from behind and earned a 10-game suspension. But now the Anaheim Mighty Ducks defenseman is making a better name for himself with tough but clean play. Team Belarus will miss him at the 2001 IIHF World Championships in Germany. The 26-year-old graduate of Tivali Minsk, who led the Ducks in hits in 1998-99 and 1999-00, was limited to 50 games due to post-concussion syndrome this year. Salei scored one goal and six assists to go with 70 PIM. As one of the few Belorussian NHLers, his experience would have been a plus in a very competitive Group A. Salei represented Belarus at the World Championships and Olympics in 1998, as well as in St. Petersburg last year. IHWC.NET recently spoke with the blueliner whose favorite movies include Braveheart and Gladiator.

IHWC.NET: Ruslan, why did you decide not to play in the World Championships this year?

Ruslan Salei: The reason is that they want to try out some young guys, and I had a lot of injuries this year. I’m really sorry about it. I was planning to go, but I talked to our federation people and they said it was probably better for me to rest up and get prepared for the Olympics.

IHWC.NET: Tell me about some guys who could emerge as key players for Belarus in Germany.

Salei: I’m pretty sure there’s going to be [Vladimir] Tsyplakov and [Andrei] Kovalev and [Aleksandr] Andrievsky, a lot of guys who play in Europe. [Andrei] Mezin is a good goalie, too. There are a lot of good defensemen too, some who play in Russia. Overall, we’ve got a pretty old team, with lots of guys over 30. They’re pretty skilled.

IHWC.NET: What’s the state of hockey in Belarus like right now?

Salei: It’s getting better. It’s been a little bit slow since we got separated from Russia. There was a period of several years where everything got mixed up. Now they’re building a lot of ice surfaces. We’ve got really big support from our country’s president [Alexander Lukashenko], so it’s going pretty well.

IHWC.NET: Since you idolized Slava Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov as a kid, it must have been a huge thrill for you to beat the Russians in St. Petersburg last year.

Salei: That was a really tight game. Of course, it was really nice and special that it was in St. Petersburg. A lot of our fans from Belarus were there. It’s almost the same as Russia. Sometimes it doesn’t even seem like the two countries got separated, you know? We are still kind of close. Anyway, that was a good battle, and we won 1-0. It’s a really good memory and part of history now, I guess.

IHWC.NET: How do you assess Belarus’s chances in a group that features the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Germany?

Salei: I think we should do pretty good. We’ve got a decent group of guys, and I hope they’re going to make the Final Round.