"The goal is always the same — to win the Gagarin Cup"

Immediately after completing his hockey career, Sergey Brylin became a coach and worked his way up the "New Jersey" system step by step, from assistant at the farm club to assistant head coach of the first team. First, I watched the matches from the upper tier, then I went down to the bench. And now the three—time Stanley Cup winner has become a head coach for the first time, not in the NHL, but in the KHL. Brylin became the head of "Dinamo Minsk", one of the most, if not the most, enthusiastic club in the Continental League in terms of fan support. "" He spoke about the new stage of his career in an interview with "Izvestia" and "Sport-Express".

"I always want to work in a place where hockey is interesting to people"

— This is your first job as a head coach. You have been an assistant in the NHL since 2022. Did you expect to get a chance to be in charge there, in "New Jersey" or somewhere else? And did they go to the KHL because they realized that this chance was not expected in the near future?

— Of course, I understood that for me to become the head coach in the NHL, something extraordinary must happen. Without any experience in this position anywhere at all, it probably wasn't possible. At the same time, his next step was to work as a head coach, whether at an NHL farm club or in the KHL. Therefore, when the "Dynamo" offer appeared, I was immediately interested and after some time I agreed.

— Was there no option with the same position in the AHL?

— No more than some half-hints. "The situation at the Devils was good enough, but I didn't want to cross the path of the coaches who worked there." These are good guys I've worked with before, so I didn't do it. The current head coach of the "Devils" farm club, Ryan Peran, helped Kevin Dinin there with me a few years ago, and then led the team.

— Before Sheldon Keogh was appointed head of the "Devils", did you have any hope of being in this position?

- no.

— At the age of 52, you became a head coach for the first time. Has there ever been a feeling over the years that the wait has dragged on?

— There have always been thoughts about becoming a head coach. It's just that I didn't really feel confident in myself before, I doubted whether I could or not. And when I was invited to play as an assistant for the Devils" first team," I decided for myself: I have been striving to get back to the NHL for so long and have done everything for this, that I will hold on to this job as long as I have the opportunity.

​But this summer, changes began at the club, which affected me as well. "The Devils" decided to change all Keogh's assistants. The goalkeeping coach was fired altogether, and I was reassigned to another job, and they didn't specify which one. So there was another good reason to start moving in a different direction. ""After that, I accepted Dynamo's offer and didn't even have time to find out what they would offer me to do in New Jersey." "

​There are people who are very good as assistants and understand that this is their niche, they feel comfortable in it and do not strive to become the main ones. Because it's both a huge responsibility and a completely different amount of work. And it was interesting for me to try, because I already had some ideas about how I would like to see my team play. I kept telling myself: if I don't try, I'll never know if I can or not. That's how I came to this decision.

Volga to victory: "Torpedo" won the first KHL match in the new arena

The stadium in Nizhny Novgorod was built under the conditions of sanctions, and in the future it may host the games of the Russian national team.

— And now you are setting yourself the task of becoming the first head coach in the history of the NHL from Russia after some time? "It's clear that you're thinking about Dynamo now, but there are also long-term plans."

— It's hard to talk now. I'm just starting my career as a head coach. I'm wondering if it will work out, and then we'll see. If such an opportunity presents itself and someone is interested, then why not?

— This is my first time in Minsk and I am impressed by the abundance of greenery, a huge number of parks, cleanliness, tranquility, absence of traffic jams and crime. Did any of this influence your decision?

— Of course, it's a pleasure to work in such a magnificent city. I heard a lot of good things about Minsk from Egor Sharangovich, whom I talked to before coming, from other guys. The reviews have always been excellent. In the early years of the KHL, when I was finishing my career as a player, I remembered a large, beautiful palace that had just been built.

"Dynamo"'s offer worked due to a number of coincidental factors — the team is good, the city, and my situation in "New Jersey" has changed. I've also heard about how sick people are in Minsk, how many people come to every match, and how difficult it is to get tickets. This was also one of the reasons for the positive decision: I always want to work in a place where hockey is interesting to people.

— Did you come to see everything with your own eyes first, and then you signed the contract?

— No, there was no time for that. I specifically thought about this in early July, and the negotiations dragged on a bit because a number of details had to be sorted out. "The club was in a bit of a hurry because time was running out, and if the option with me had gone wrong, Dynamo would have had very little time to search." So the decision had to be made before arriving in Minsk.

"Everyone in Belarus loves hockey, starting with the president"

— It is important for any coach to have his own proven staff, when you clearly know from whom what can be expected. You came alone, and you have a staff made up of Belarusian specialists. Doesn't that bother you? And was there any desire to bring one or more assistants?

— It was, and the management gave me such an opportunity. But unfortunately, the people I wanted to see couldn't come — this applies to both North Americans and Russians. So far, I am very satisfied with the work of my staff and was pleasantly surprised by the class of specialists in the team. At all levels, there are very involved, hockey-loving and hockey-savvy people who strive to achieve the highest results.

— At the pre-season press conference, you voiced an interesting thought: "The most important function of an assistant coach is to constantly ask uncomfortable questions." You've already heard them from someone, and which ones? And did you often ask them yourself, as an assistant?

— Probably not as often as it should have been. It was worth it more often. Yes, we constantly have questions to discuss, this process goes on every day. They're assistants, people with a lot of life and hockey experience, and they mostly ask me questions. And I mark them at team meetings, in the videos they have prepared. I think the right thing to do is not to agree, but to try to make the team's game better. And disputes within the headquarters are absolutely necessary for this.

"Now we need to play easier in certain moments"

"Spartak" hockey player Alexander Belyaev — about the changes in the team's playing style, new assistant coaches and the first matches of the current KHL season

— Is there any clear goal from the management for the season after two consecutive exits to the second round of the playoffs, and last season - the second place in the conference? And how do you see this goal, taking into account the current squad?

— The goal is always the same — to win the Gagarin Cup, especially based on last year, when the team had a very good regular season and confidently passed the first round. And work is underway to strengthen the staff. Yes, we lost some of the leading young guys who went to the NHL (forwards Vitaly Pinchuk, Vadim Moroz and Egor Borikov. — "Izvestia"), several people are currently injured. But in hockey, no one is immune from this. We start the season with those who are there, and then we'll see.

— Still, let's be more specific about the goal. Winning the Cup is, of course, the ideal for everyone. But, in your opinion, what will "Dynamo" managers and supervisors be happy with at the end of the season?

— It's better to ask them, but I think they expect at least a repeat of last season's results. As well as progress in the game. My goal is to build the foundation of the team and lay the foundation for the game that will give us the opportunity to be competitive in any season and with any squad, with newcomers or young guys. "Dynamo" should have its own recognizable face so that people who see it can clearly describe in a few words what we are like.

— Are the players listening to you at the moment?

— I think so. The guys listen and do the things we ask. I hope it will continue like this. After the Moscow Mayor's Cup, especially after the game against CSKA, I was very pleasantly surprised by the performance of the young people who will be on the ice.

— It is known that President Alexander Lukashenko is immersed in hockey. Have you met with him during your month at "Dynamo"?

— Not yet.

— In recent years, Belarusian hockey has been on the rise: the KHL team is improving its results, the young are progressing, entering the NHL draft, and getting high peaks by the standards of the country. Looking at everything up close, can you tell that this is a trend, or is it still a combination of circumstances?

— Of course, this is a trend that is explained by the fact that hockey is loved here, starting with the president of the country and further up the ladder. There is a government program, large funds are being invested in the construction of ice rinks in all cities, children are playing hockey, it is growing and developing. A good KHL team helps this, of course. The guys have something to strive for, and there is nothing accidental in the fact that many Belarusian players are in demand in the NHL.