Can Zakharchenko take Ukraine back to the top?

The peak of Ukrainian hockey came between 1999 to 2007. Between those years they played in the top division of the World Championships, finishing as high as 9th in 2002. That same year they finished 10th at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

The Ukrainian National Team used to always have solid goaltending every year with the tandem of Konstantin Simchuk and Igor Karpenko. They were workhorses that gave Ukraine a chance to win every time they went up against a top nation. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary to see these goalies post 40, even 50 save performances some games.

Right now, the top goalie prospect in Ukraine that hopes to one day help give his country some success on the world hockey stage once again is twenty year old 6'1 Eduard Zakharchenko. Born in Vladivostok, a decent sized city in Russia, Eduard moved to Kiev as a kid and excelled enough at hockey that he now represents Ukraine on the international stage.

Playing for the Generals Kiev in the Ukrainian League, Eduard got the call a couple times this past season to join the men's National Team. First he excelled at the Olympic Qualification Tournament that was held in Sapporo, Japan. He excelled with a 0.67 goals against average and a .976 save percentage during the course of the tournament that eventually saw the host Japanese squad advance to the final qualification tournament this fall.

Next up Eduard joined the Ukrainian National Team for the Division 1B Worlds in mid-April. Once again Zakharchenko was dynamite in goal, winning four out of five games and helped his country earn promotion to next year's Division 1A Worlds, as Ukraine won the gold medal at the tournament. Eduard earned the 'Best Goalkeeper' award for his fantastic performance during the tournament.

The future is bright for Zakharchenko. Next season he will continue his club hockey with Generals Kiev in Ukraine, and will suiting up for Ukraine next April at his first Division 1A Worlds.

EuroHockey.com asked Eduard Zakharchenko some questions.

How did you start playing hockey and at what age? I started playing hockey at age 8. For a long time I could not choose a sport to pursue full time, it always felt something was missing when I played football or boxing and so on. Then I found hockey, the sport where everything is possible for me.

Any current hockey idols? Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning. I know him personally and trained with him after he was picked at the NHL Entry Draft. I was actually with his dad watching the draft in Russian when Andrei got selected by the Lightning. Later on I was at the training camp for the MHL farm club with his KHL team Salavat Yulaev Ufa also training there. I watched Vasilevskiy a lot at the camp and he taught me a lot about goaltending. Growing up I liked Evgeni Nabokov. I liked the saves he made, and growing up in Russia, the only NHL players they spoke about a lot were Ovechkin and Nabokov, so it was hard not to be proud of him and like him as a goalie for all the good stuff he did in the NHL.

How did you become a goalie? I started playing hockey as a player, but one year my team needed a goaltender so our team checked how good all the players were at playing net, and I was the best I guess so they made me the goalie. I didn't mind that at all!

Describe your playing style? I like the style of goaltending that Ron Hextall had so I try to do the same. I love to play tough in the crease like he did, but the rules in today's game don't really allow what he used to do! I'm a butterfly goalie in general now.

What have been some of the best games in your career/Best moments? Two really good games come to mind. One was when I was playing in the MHL in the 2013-14 season and we played one of the top teams in our league. I made 46 saves in a 2-1 shootout loss. Despite losing I was still pretty pleased with myself and how I played. The other game was last year with the Generals and we were playing against HC Donbass. I made 44 saves and we won 2-0, even though I was playing with two broken bones in my hand. 

Did you know at a young age that you were talented at this sport? I didn't know I was talented, but maybe my coaches growing up noticed I was good. 

Have you ever considered coming to North America to play hockey? I've certainly thought about it and it would be a great honor to play there, but I am too old for juniors so I'd have to play in one of the top men's leagues like the AHL or ECHL.

Talk about this past World Championships and how you like playing for the National Team? I think that I didn't show all that I could do. I set a goal to have at least three shutouts in the tournament but I didn't achieve that goal. I am still very proud of us being promoted, and hold a huge honor to be able to represent my country in hockey.

FAVOURITES:
NHL Team: Tampa Bay Lightning
Childhood Idol: Evgeni Nabokov
Video Game: UFC
Movie: Never Back Down
TV Show: Comedy Club (Russia)
Pump-Up Song: Trap, Rap, Rock, Pop Songs

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