Almost every day, Zubov fumbles with mechanisms that excite the imagination, forcing teammates to shrug their shoulders bewildered. Why are there teammates - even the head coach of the “stars” Dave Tippett is impressed by the ward's hobby. “The guy is literally fixated on electronics. If something breaks in my computer, Sergey is the first one I want to see,” the coach admits.
Smart, patient, creative, productive ... weird. 36-year-old Zubov completes the fourteenth season in the NHL. His path in the strongest league on the planet began in 1992 with the New York Rangers. Since June 1996, when the defender changed “Pittsburgh” to “Dallas”, he is the main driving force of the “stars”, a key figure in the club. “I don’t want to offend anyone, but Sergey is like a quarterback for our team,” says Tippett. “He is quick, he has a fine sense of the situation. He plays with his head and soul. The lion's share of everything that we create in attack and defense begins with this player. His vision ice, endurance, dribbling are the basis of our creation. Sergey is a true leader. Every evening he goes to the court to win. He hates losing. "
Digital camera. Pocket PC Camcorder. A few more large computers. All this is his toys, things that kindle serious curiosity in him. And how far away is Zubov’s hobby from methodically picking in the insides of “cassettes” or tube televisions! "He is headlong in new technologies. And at the same time he doesn’t look at all like a classic computer technician. At least, such as I imagine him," says Dallas striker Mike Modano. “He is so smart that he instantly grasps the point. One click of a button and the sound messages from the mobile phone flow to the laptop. This guy even has an international cell phone that allows him to communicate with his family and Moscow friends around the clock. You can also send photos to Russia. I don’t know how he does it. Such a vpechat Lenie, if at Zubov every week a new electronic fun. "
The non-hockey side of Sergey’s life is closely connected with his family - his wife Irina, son Pavel and daughter Anastasia. And also with the way of life that he built for himself in Dallas, where this Muscovite received American citizenship. “I feel at home here,” assures the Stars defender. “The city and the team are perfect for me and my family. Now this is my city and my team.”
Texas also accepted Zubov as his own son. And is it necessary to be surprised at Sergei’s American citizenship if his children were born in Dallas? “I remember how I studied all US presidents from George Washington. I endlessly repeated the list in the direct and reverse order,” our hero says with a smile. “But the thorniest issue for me was the thirteen states, the original colonies. Actually, it’s not so difficult, if you really study. It's funny now to remember my first three months in this country. Then I did not know English, did not understand anything. "
Now he knows and understands almost everything. Getting ready for the twelfth playoff draw in fourteen seasons and the ninth in ten years with Dallas. A long way that seems even longer if one recalls the pessimistic mood of 1996 and the reluctance to defend the colors of the "stars". “I missed the training camp here the first year. I wasn’t sure at all that I wanted to settle in Dallas,” Zubov said. “Why? Yes, I just got used to living in big cities - Moscow, New York. When I was traded to Star "Dallas seemed to be just as far from New York as Moscow. I confess I really doubted whether it was worth moving."
Who knows where these doubts would lead, if not the then general manager of “Dallas” Bob Gainey. This person has always been able to find the right words. “I don’t know if it was magic. I told Sergey that I understand his feelings. That he will be happy if he gives a chance to this club. That is how it ended up,” recalls Gainey.
Indeed, Zubov recently held the 1000th match in the NHL championships. He is proud of these numbers, as well as the fact that in 1999 he helped “Dallas” to win the Stanley Cup. The new rules only overshadowed the host of defender talents. Due to excellent skating and a filigree pass, his star shone in the Enkhael sky much brighter than before.
In new realities, new talents have also opened up. Teeth is one of the few defenders who are regularly trusted by the shoot-out. 12 out of 23 is an implementation that even recognized forward strikers would envy.
Of course, Norris Trophy would have gotten his teeth, if not for natural modesty. Only those who are fortunate enough to fight shoulder to shoulder with Sergey know its true value. “He's like an elite point guard in basketball,” said Ken Hitchcock, head coach of “Columbus.” “He alone controls the flow of games, directs him into a channel that is beneficial for the stars.”
Zubov is a product of the Soviet hockey system, literally crazy about passes. “When I grew up and we trained at an adult ice rink, I often had to watch the dancing with the puck performed by Slava Fetisov and Igor Larionov,” recalls Sergey. “From the side it seemed that they didn’t part with the puck at all and always knew what was with her do".
In those distant Moscow years, Zubov did not even think about playing overseas. “All dreams came down to matches for the national team and victory at the Olympics. I seriously thought about the NHL only in 1990, when I was elected to draft (in the 5th round, under the general 85th number). After the Games-92 gold, I firmly told my parents : “If I have a chance, I need to try.” Soon, in a Moscow hotel, I met with the Rangers general manager Neil Smith (Sergey Nemchinov was a translator). And he decided to try. ”
NHL, playoffs, Stanley Cup - everything was a curiosity in 1992, when Zubov landed safely overseas. “I was lucky to win the Cup for the second year,” says the defender, who scored 12 goals in the 93/94 championship and gave 77 assists, and added 19 (5 + 14) points to them in the 22 matches in the playoffs. - After triumph sincerely thought that it was not difficult to win Lord Stanley’s chalice. However, it took five years to repeat the success. When you do not receive the coveted trophy, you understand that you need to work even harder to get back to the top. "
Another eight years passed unnoticed ...
Translation by Vladimir BYCHEK