League announces the teams’ captains for the 2022 Fonbet KHL All-Star Game
The Kontinental Hockey League announces the captains of the Divisional teams for the 2022 Fonbet KHL All-Star Game.
The Bobrov Division’s captain will be the second top-scorer among defensemen Alexander Nikishin (SKA), who this season will have his debut at the KHL All-Star Week.
Alexander Nikishin, SKA’s defenseman:
- First of all, I want to thank everyone who chose my candidacy – it’s very unexpected and pleasant. I’m sure that our fans will be able to see a bright event with their favorite players and get a chance to look at us from a different angle. In addition, it’s a great opportunity to talk to the guys from other teams, have fun and show some interesting tricks in their performance. What will Dmitrij Jaskin have to say? I don’t know, we’ll talk about it there. Of course, I expect some jokes from the team, as I’m not the captain of my club. All this adds only positive emotions before such a remarkable event.
The Tarasov Division’s captain will be Chelyabinsk-native Nikita Nesterov (CSKA), at his second All-Star game.
Nikita Nesterov, CSKA’s defenseman:
- First of all, thank you to our fans for voting for me for the All-Star rosters. The whole team of our Division will come together in a short time, I know everyone pretty well, we will try to show a beautiful game in the tournament. It was very pleasant to be elected as the team’s captain at such an event, it was unexpected. Chelyabinsk is my hometown, I took my first steps in life and hockey there. It will be a pleasure to gather there, to show our fans a real show. My family always follows CSKA and Russian national team’s games. My family will also support us in Chelyabinsk. I want to win and make them happy. If you are a professional athlete, you always want to win any tournament. The All-Star Game is a show, but you have to showcase your level there as well.
Another Chelyabinsk-native captain will be Anton Burdasov (Traktor), who will lead the home team – the Kharlamov Division.
- Getting to the All-Star Game itself is already an honor and recognition, especially considering that I was chosen by the fans, for which I thank them very much, and being named Captain is even more of a surprise.
You can say that captaincy is inherently a responsibility, but the All-Star Game, especially in such an interesting and fresh format, is more of an opportunity for the spectators and the players themselves to enjoy the fun and relaxed atmosphere of the event. So we will work specifically on the show and interact more with the stands. With less than three weeks to go before the weekend, we would like to invite everyone once again to Chelyabinsk, where the All-Star Game will return after nine years.
Sergei Tolchinsky (Avangard) became the last captain and will lead the Chernyshev Division.
“We have a great, balanced team, I’m sure we’ll take the All-Star Game by the storm,” Tolchinsky said of his team.
The 2022 Fonbet KHL All-Star Game will be held on Dec 10-11 in Chelyabinsk. Tickets are on sale at allstarweek.com.
