In today’s edition of our continuing Not A Word About Hockey series we’re going to sit down with one of the top Taifun Primorie Region players last season 18-year-old forward Ilya Ovechkin. He opened up about a lot of exciting stuff, including what he likes to do in his spare time, favorite movies and TV shows.

Spare time

- My girlfriend Irina decides on my diet. I prefer Russian cuisine. My favorite dish is homemade pelmeni with sour cream.
- I have a few pets. I really love dogs – we have two spitzes at my place. Recently, we also got a Main Coon cat. Despite my allergies, I really enjoy playing with them.
- My favorite way to relax is sleeping. I enjoy playing videogames on Xbox and also visit my friends and family.
- I dream of visiting Norway, Sweden and USA. I want to go to Norway to enjoy its nature. I want to see the fjords with my own eyes. I’m fascinated with USA’s developed infrastructure and opportunities. I have been there several times and I want to come back again. As for Sweden, I’m interested in its medieval culture and a wide variety of active and family vacation options.
-My friends and I usually meet in downtown Moscow. We can stroll down the Gorky Park or Vorobyovy Hills.
- I like TV-Show Game Of Thrones. I was really impressed by it and amazed by its plot. One of my favorite movies is Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Keith Harrington is one of my favorite actors. He piques my interest with his art and skill to deliver the lines.
- My playlist is very versatile so I can honestly call myself a music fiend. The latest track I have added to my playlist was The Limba by Andro X.O.

Personality traits

- I’m a calm person but sometimes I lose my temper. I’m direct, have a great sense of humor and goal-driven. I don’t like losing.
- I’m always full of energy and ready to move towards new wins. I’m always motivated by team bond and support of my loved ones.
- A real man must above all have his own head on his shoulders, be able to stand up for himself and his loved ones.
- From my parents I inherited good judgment and delivering on my promises. I’m very grateful to them for signing me up for hockey and raising me a good person, for their support along that long road, in times of all ups and downs. My parents are the most important and cherished of everything that I have.
- When I make acquaintance with a new person, I pay attention to how they act in public, their manner of speech and the ability to present themselves.
- I’m not superstitious but I’m a bit of a gambler. It’s one of my traits and I believe that hockey is the most gambling sport out there.

Style

- My role model when it comes to men’s attire is David Beckham. I like how he chooses what to wear and how he looks. As for my Taifun teammates, Evgeny Drozdov is the best dresser.
- I pay attention to clothing brands because it’s important to me. I have a lot of dark-blue clothes in my wardrobe. In everyday life I prefer athletic wear.
- Hugo Boss is my favorite perfume.
- In my opinion, beard is not an important detail of men’s beauty, so I don’t grow it.

Relationship

- My girlfriend loves hockey and she comes to all away games. Ira is a very versatile person. She finds time to creativity, loves dancing and combines all of it with studying and my games. We met on social media. She’s subscribed to Junior Hockey League Instagram page. She saw my picture there and found me. We began texting each other and a month later I invited her to our away game in Yaroslavl. That’s where we met in person for the first time and after a while the whole thing took off.
- Personally, I don’t think a serious relationship can be an obstacle in my athletic career. It’s likely to be the exact opposite, because my girlfriend is my support and she’s always there for me no matter what I do.
- If I’m going to have a son, I’m definitely signing him up for hockey, but I would rather sign my daughter up for rhythmic gymnastics.

Career and education

- If it weren’t for hockey in my life, I would have opted for either soccer and cybersports. In any case, it would have been something to do with sports.
- I study at a college. I’m majoring in law. I do my best to study, I know all of my classmates and we’re always in touch.
- I believe, that it’s important for everyone to get a higher education as well as to be a qualified specialist.

A funny story happened to me this season. My teammate Danila Barabash and I played NHL on a console and we made a bet that the loser would have to run around our base just in his underwear. I ended up losing so I had to comply with the rules of the bet.