Not many people know Andrei Kuzmenko yet, but he has been ice skating for 20 years and is confidently moving towards his goal. Hockey is the main meaning of his life. He agrees to work hard to realize his dreams. Let him not yet be recognized on the street, but this CSKA player has a great future. “Yakut Bear” is able to perfectly cope with the ice field and go forward, despite the difficulties.
Homeland - Yakutsk
Kuzmenko Andrey was born on February 4, 1996 in Yakutsk in a family of athletes. This harsh northern region left its mark on his character. Very cold climate with a temperature in winter of -50 ° C and huge snowdrifts does not allow laziness. It needs constant movement. And this boy learned from childhood.
It was immediately clear that Andrew would become a hockey player. It could not be otherwise, because his father was the coach of the hockey team. For the first time they put the boy on skates at 1.5 years old. At first he just walked in them at home, and then his father led him out onto the ice. The child really liked it, and after some time he spent 4 hours a day at the rink. It seems unbelievable that a little child can have such persistence, but Andrei Kuzmenko is a hockey player from a very young age.
Of course, such perseverance could not be appreciated. Parents decided that you can’t stay in Yakutsk, and you need to quickly move to Moscow. Just their move coincided with an offer to Andrei’s father to work as a trainer for the Moscow Polar Bears. Perhaps this moment became decisive in the career of a hockey player. Now there was no doubt, it was just necessary to move forward tirelessly. And he moved.
A little bit about parents
In a sports family it rarely happens that a child does not follow in the footsteps of parents. So it happened with Andrei Aleskandrovich Kuzmenko. From his youth, his father was fond of hockey. During the years of his studenthood, he was a successful hockey player. However, over time, he chose coaching. To do this, he had to work hard and get more than one higher education, each of which is closely related to sports activities.
Andrei’s mom was also always fond of sports. Her passion was skiing and cycling. Everything else, she is also a beauty.
Kuzmenko received all the best from his parents. He is purposeful, hardworking and ready to work even more than 100%.
The beginning of a career in Moscow
From 5 to 12 years old Andrey Kuzmenko was a player of the Polar Bears. But a lot of famous hockey players came out of here, including Gusev, Kucherov, Ozhiganov. Of course, at first, Andrei's coach was his father. It should be noted that he always supported him very much and was always there. Moreover, over the years. Even at school with his son, he became a physical education teacher.
They began to call Andrey at CSKA at the age of 10, but his father did not let go, he said that it was too early. A little later, he lets him go training with Pavel Baulin. In the MHL, Kuzmenko was able to debut at age 16. It was during this period that a generational change took place in CSKA. That year was not very successful for the “Red Army” and the team, having taken 14th place, could not get into the playoffs.
Kharlamov Cup
The next season was more successful for the hockey player and his team. However, the treasured Kharlamov Cup was obtained only after 3 years. Then Andrey Kuzmenko became one of the valuable players in the playoffs.
CSKA
The so-called psychology of winners, inherent in CSKA hockey players, Andrei Alexandrovich Kuzmenko only found out when he began to work with coach M.A. Vasiliev. The coach constantly talked about the importance of these four letters and the fact that many dream of joining the squad. CSKA are traditions that are strictly passed on to new generations. You can not dishonor those who have already played for CSKA before, and yourself. Here Kuzmenko and other players had to give all the best for 120%.
According to Andrey, he was very lucky with the coaches. More often there were good seasons than unsuccessful ones. Of course, there were failures, for example, when Andrei Kuzmenko only made his debut in the KHL, then for four years he was not able to enter the main team. However, over time, everything worked out.
Hockey players have a hard day
Sometimes it seems that everything is simple and easy in hockey - you run on the ice, like doing your favorite thing. And what could be complicated here?
However, in fact, everything is very difficult. When Kuzmenko had to play the playoffs in three fives, he was very tired. Players already arrived at the bench completely exhausted. The pleasure of games was simply blocked by wild fatigue. Here such hockey players actually have work days. But despite the fatigue and heaviness, the final was won.
On a visit to "Chicago"
In 2017, the hockey player managed to visit Chicago. And he was delighted with how everything was arranged there. Andrey was very impressed with the club’s internal structure. According to Kuzmenko, everything is thought out here for hockey - infrastructure, locker rooms. Even the staff is perfectly matched. He noted that hockey was right in the air in this place.
Attitude to work in CSKA
So far, Andrei is not considering his future outside of CSKA. He likes that there is a lot of competition. There is a need to constantly prove something to someone and keep a place in the composition. You need to play well every day. Hockey players do not have time to respite, they have to play so as not to be in stock. You can’t make mistakes, otherwise you will not be able to go out on ice soon. Kuzmenko Andrey, CSKA hockey player, believes that it is important to attend this school if you want a great future in hockey. It is here that character is tempered and one can learn to survive.
Why striker
Andrei became an attacker as a child. That is how his father originally defined it. Although he himself admits that he wanted to be a goalkeeper. However, the father-coach decided in due time that then there would be no one to score goals. And Kuzmenko himself explained his craving for goalkeeping in a beautiful form. At the same time, he noted that stories about the oddities of goalkeepers are just an invention, among them there are a lot of funny and interesting guys.
Personal life
Kuzmenko Andrey does not like to show off, but at the same time does not try to hide everything too much from journalists. So far it is only known that he has a beloved girl and she very much supports him. Not a single match of a hockey player can do without her presence in the stands. Everything else remains behind closed doors, as it should be between loving people.
Cheerleader
Of course, the main fan of Kuzmenko is his father. He does not miss a single match of his son. And after each of them, they always call up and discuss mistakes and good times. According to the hockey player himself, it was his father who supported him throughout his career. Over the years, they only began to better understand each other and lead discussions about hockey.
Outside hockey
I can’t even believe that the biography of Andrei Kuzmenko is able to accommodate other hobbies besides hockey. But actually they are. It turns out that the athlete more than compensates for the congestion and loss of strength on ice with love for other sports - football, tennis, snowboarding. According to Andrei, even on vacation, he doesn’t just like to bask on the beach, here he chooses scuba diving or something else interesting.
Like a hockey player and adrenaline. For example, not so long ago he found out that in Turkey there is a great place for paragliding, and decided to give it a try. Of course, on the road in the mountains he thought several times to abandon the venture, but in the end he decided. He changed his clothes, dispersed on the descent, and collapsed into a cliff above the rocks. According to him, it was scary, but very cool. This experience aroused children's enthusiasm among the hockey player. Kuzmenko liked new emotions. And in his plans a parachute jump over Dubai.
Andrey Kuzmenko (HC SKA) also likes watching films in his spare time, especially about sports. But horror movies are not to his liking. He does not like, resting, to exert himself morally. He honestly admits that sometimes he goes to cartoons. It is very important for him to be charged with a positive, get a lot of pleasure, laugh. Obviously, Kuzmenko knows how to enjoy life, and not just from hockey.
Hockey Player Dreams
Hockey players are also people, and they also like to dream. Andrey is no exception. He loves to travel. After a trip to Toronto, which is the place where hockey originated, he developed a passion for visiting new cities.
Of course, he visited the Russian national team when the tournaments were held. At that time he was 15 years old. However, even many years later, he never ceases to dream about traveling. For example, he is eager to visit Australia and Brazil. And the hockey player is interested in everything: the life of people in these countries, communication.
Still have a dream to play at any NHL stadium. Kuzmenko really likes these sports arenas with a capacity of 20,000 fans. He anticipates that from so many people you can get a huge charge of energy.
But Andrey dreams of playing with Pavel Datsyuk, Patrick Kane, P-Kay Subban, Eric Karlsson.
The most failed match
Of the failures, Andrei Kuzmenko remembered the matches of the Youth World Cup 2016. He noted that in this tournament the team as a whole performed well. However, he himself never once beat off the ice. As a result, he set himself a unit with a bold minus for the tournament.
Despite these results, coach Nikitin not only did not scold Andrei, but even supported him. And this means only one thing, that the coaches see the great future of the hockey player and are ready to help him compete for him. All fans and spectators can only wish the hockey player the best and follow his new achievements.