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| Gogolev in red at his first practice Monday morning. |
“Put the puck on his stick, and he’ll surprises a lot
of our guys with the passes that he’ll be able to make.” Said Royals Head Coach
Dave Lowry. “I expect him to come and compete everyday, and obviously he’s
fortunate that he has a very high skill set.”
Gogolev started playing at just of the age of two, and
his Dad is the Assistant Coach of KHL Spartak Moscow. He also plays soccer and tennis, but noted,
‘Hockey is number one.’ He models
himself after Evgeni Malkin, and his favourite Russian player is Alex Radulov.
“I watched him play and practice all year last year,
I’m very familiar with him.” said Lowry who’s no stranger to the type of player
the Royals get, “There’s no surprises with him, he’s a skilled player and he
usually has the puck on a string and that’s what we expect.”
The Royals kick off the season in Vancouver Friday,
with the home opener the following night.
Lowry commented on starting the season on the road. “Usually it’s a very hostile place to play,
Don (Hay) will have his team ready…it’s up to our guys to make sure that number
one, as coaches, we have our guys prepared for a real quick start and real
intense game.”
