In today’s edition of our ongoing Not A Word About Hockey series we’re going to talk to JHC Loko Yaroslavl (and HC Tambov) defenseman Mark Pavlikov about his spare time, character traits and his choice between hockey and soccer.

Spare time

- Back in Yaroslavl, when I lived at the baza, local cooks decided on what I eat. After I moved to Tambov, I learned to cook myself. I make plans on what I have for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- I currently rent an apartment and spend a lot of time on the road, so I can’t have a pet. But I do want to get a dog. Back home in Nizhny Tagil I have a Labrador by the name of Lloyd.
- Since I don’t get many days off, I prefer to get a good sleep when I do get one. I usually play videogames with my friends and eat out.
- I like ‘Mazhor’, ‘Pyos’ and ‘Policeman from Rublyovka’ TV series.
- I don’t really have any music preferences. I listen to whatever I feel like in the moment. The latest track I have added to my playlist was ‘5 minutes to your house’ by Vladimir Kuzmin.

Character traits

- My biggest assets are optimism and self-confidence. I often tell myself – I can do it! I’m also a free-spirit person.
- There’s never a time when I don’t feel like going to the game or practice. I like what I do for a living and I give hockey a 100%.
- From my mother I inherited being goal-driven, stubbornness and love for animals. As for my father, from him I got kindness, respect and passion for fishing. I really love to go fishing with my dad.
- When I meet a new person, first thing I look at is how interested they are in communicating with me. If it’s easy to talk to the person and we don’t have any trouble understanding each other, that means that it’s my kind of person.
- I have a few superstitions. For example, I always call my mom before the games, so that she would wish me good luck. You can say I’m a bit of a gambler and it shows in my play on the ice. 

Style

- I pay attention to clothing brands. It’s nice to wear good brands. Red and black are the dominant colors in my wardrobe. I prefer athletic wear because it’s comfortable.
- I don’t grow a beard. I don’t think it’s trending now.

Relationship

- I have a girlfriend and her name is Kristina. She has been in hockey since she was born so she loves the game and understands it well. Her father is a former hockey player. He currently works within Lokomotiv Yaroslavl organization. I really like that my girlfriend is so initiative and business-like.
- I can’t say that relationship is an obstacle in sports career. We have been together with Kristina for three years now and our relationship never distracted me from hockey. On the contrary, it motivated me to play better.
- I haven’t thought about having kids yet. But I would say that I would sign my son up for hockey. If I’m going to have a daughter, I would rather put her in dancing.

Career and studies

- If it weren’t for hockey, I would still have something do with sports. I played soccer as well when I was a kid.
- I study at State Olympic Reserve School in Yaroslavl. I take an online course so I don’t go to classes everyday. I only go there for tests and exams. I know all my classmates.
- It’s important to get a higher education these days. Hockey player’s career is unpredictable. You can be a successful player one day and the next it’s all different. This is why you have to think about the future already now. My mom works in HR and he tells me that without a higher education they won’t even hire you as a shop security guard these days.

Not a lot of people know that when I was seven years old, my father signed me up for soccer and hockey. I did both sports for a week and then he told me to make a choice. I remember I asked him where I would get better paid. He said in hockey, so that’s how I made my choice (laughs).