After three years in the QMJHL, Valentin Zykov’s junior career has likely come to an end. His team was recently eliminated from the playoffs, meaning he was free to be assigned to an LA Kings affiliate. Though he officially has not joined the Manchester Monarchs, the Russian forward is in Manchester and has been practicing with the team.
With the Kings eliminated, much of the team’s front office, scouting staff, and development staff have also made it out to the East Coast to work with some of their top prospects, Zykov included. Though he likely won’t draw into an AHL game this season, Zykov is expected to be in Ontario when the Reign take over as the Kings top affiliate. Following Saturday nights Monarchs game, we caught up with Zykov to talk to him about his junior career, turning pro, and more…
On the end of his season in the QMJHL:
“We finished 2nd round, [and] we lost against Rimouski 1-4. It was a good series. [It was] tough [that] we ended up losing.”
On if it was tough having his QMJHL career end the way it did:
“I’ll say it’s exciting to get [a] new experience, to get here for the Manchester Monarchs [and] to see how it goes, [and] to learn new stuff.”
On what his activities have been in Manchester:
“Pretty much I’ve just been spending time with the team, and practice with them.”
On if he’s excited to start his career as a pro:
“Yeah of course, it’s a great experience. It’s a pro league. [I’ll be] playing with big guys.”
On his decision to leave Russia to play in the CHL:
“Since I came to Canada, I have no regrets about it.”
On his biggest improvements of the last few years:
“There’s a lot of things, I’m not sure if I can count everything. Mostly I’d say it’s being better defensively.”
On what he feels he needs to improve on going forward:
“Everything.”
Thanks to Spike Coffman for helping transcribe the quotes used in this article.
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Big welcome to the Monarchs Valentin. I know the Kings organization is looking forward seeing a player with sill sets and style of play that he possesses thrive. Hopefully a full year in the AHL with accelerate his growth curve so that we may see him in a Kings uniform by 2016-2017.