CALGARY — No regrets, no apologies, no backing down and no backlash, yet, for Nikita Zadorov.
It’s been two days since the Calgary Flames defenceman’s two-hour interview with Russian YouTuber Yuri Dud went live, in which Zadorov condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
And so far, the 28-year-old native of Moscow says the backlash he was bracing for hasn’t come.
“The past two days I’ve got a lot of DMs and a lot of messages from Russian people, Ukrainian people, a lot from Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, all over Europe people been showing great support,” said Zadorov after the Flames skated Friday morning.
“I would say in my Instagram 99.9 per cent of the messages are positive.
“I know Russia has a bot system so it takes two or three days to send some negative reviews, so I’m expecting them to come to my page, too.”
Zadorov, believed to be the first Russian NHL player to openly criticize Russia’s attack on Ukraine, wants people to know he gave the original interview in the summer, after doing extensive research on the war and discussing the ramifications with his wife and agent.
He knows he can’t go back to his homeland anytime soon, but believes that having a Russian with a platform providing a dissenting voice is important.
“I think it’s important for me to speak personally,” said Zadorov, who has a “NO WAR” message pinned on his Instagram account.
“I think I hopefully can change something in this world.
“It just sucks what’s going on over there right now and it’s important to be vocal.”
As he told Dud, “I’m sorry for all the young guys. I’m sorry. Instead of raising the new generation, we sent them to die.”
Zadorov said a group chat was started by Sergei Bobrovsky for all Russian NHLers with an eye on trying to provide a united front when the war started in February of 2022.
As he said in the YouTube interview, the debate over whether to post a ‘no politics in sports’ message or an anti-war message devolved into a “propaganda camp and sane camp.”
“It went two different directions — some guys are against (Vladimir Putin’s regime) and some guys are for,” said Zadorov.
Later, when asked by Dud specifically about Alex Ovechkin, Zadorov said he respects the Capitals captain as a Russian hockey player but disagrees with his politics.
“I’m not going to name names, but there’s a lot of young kids thinking the way I do but they don’t have the voice, so hopefully they feel support from me,” Zadorov told Dud.
“Every person has a different view. I feel like 99 per cent of players overall — Canadians, Americans, Swedes — they’re more focused on hockey, their life and family and don’t go into politics.
“This part is something interesting for me. I like it. I read about it and listen to a lot of experts and I was more educated to speak out.”
Zadorov said Friday he didn’t want to reiterate all his views on Russia, as they are all laid out in the interview, which was done in his native Russian.
It’s there he also addresses the fact he still has two parents living in Russia, who both disagree with their son’s politics.
“I only have parents there and they are on the other side of the view,” he said Friday.
“We’ll leave it at that.
“I probably can’t go back anytime soon until Putin (isn’t) president or the regime is still there.
“But Florida is my home now so I’m enjoying my time there.”
A flashy dresser who has never been shy about sharing his thoughts, the husband and father of two daughters said he understands why many Russians refuse to speak out, but he’s confident to this point that he’s doing the right thing.
Consequences be damned.
