Forward Sergey Goncharuk spoke about working with three Torpedo coaches.

      29 December 2025 14:10 Sport NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" - Polina Zubova

      Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod forward Sergey Goncharuk is now in his seventh season with the club. Over these years he has worked under three head coaches: David Nemirovski, Igor Larionov and Alexey Isakov. In an interview with NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" the hockey player spoke about his experience working with each of them.

      It is worth noting that the forward made his KHL debut in the 2019/20 season. To date he has 357 games and 133 points (80+53).

      "Probably I took something from each of them, because under each coach I developed, I grew. Under David I was young and performed fairly well, but there was simply no place for me in the lineup because the team was very mature and the guys had different contracts. I think he wanted to give me more ice time, but there were older, more experienced players, so I spent little time on the ice or was the thirteenth forward," Goncharuk said.

      He noted that it was during that period that he managed to grow psychologically. In addition, Nemirovski's style of work, based on the North American approach, was a new experience for him: "Since childhood I've worked with Russian coaches, everyone uses the Soviet approach, and it was a bit new for me."

      From 2022 to 2025 Torpedo was headed by Igor Larionov. The club's most successful season was 2022/2023, when the coaching staff included the current Severstal coach Andrey Kozyrev.

      "Igor Nikolaevich instilled in us playing with the puck. He and Andrey Leonidovich Kozyrev showed a slightly different kind of hockey. Perhaps the hockey mentality changed a bit too; I got older, became somewhat calmer, and began to handle some setbacks differently," Sergey noted.

      With the arrival of Alexey Isakov, according to Goncharuk, the team began to act more composedly and thoughtfully: "Alexey Gennadyevich, at the moment, has improved discipline, structure, in-game flexibility, a system that allows the team to play well and achieve victories, as you need to do correctly in games, in the playoffs," the forward emphasized.

      Nevertheless, the team continues to work and plans to improve its scoring. Torpedo is currently in 5th place in the Western Conference with 50 points.

      "The coaching staff this season is, I would say, excellent. We hear them, we understand them, we have good working relationships. We don't take advantage of any kindness from them; we go out, try to fight for them, block shots and do everything so that the team wins," the forward summarized.

      In addition, Goncharuk commented on his future with Torpedo.

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