Igor: so he still needs an interpreter after 3 years here?

[Cursed Lemon]

But imagine if that were the case for all or most international players. Not good for any sport trying to attract fans.

Gonna go out on a limb here and say he's not really focused on that bud

 

[Chimpradamus]

Hmm...on ESPN's game 7 NYR-Carolina game, I learned that Igor has been here about 3 years, yet still needs an interpreter. I don't closely follow the Rangers, so wasn't aware.

Is this disappointing, or only somewhat disappointing (if at all) to the Rangers, their fans and the NHL that any player, esp. a star, hasn't learned enough English after 3 years to engage in a quick intermission interview?

I realize some or many Russian NHL players (and maybe others?) have thick accents even after many years in North America, but after 3 years, don't most or all seem to be able to function in simple interviews without an interpreter?

Is this common in MLB or the NBA? I do recall interpreters, maybe even currently, in other sports, but isn't it usually for the player's first year or so, not three years later?

I am American, and sadly only know English despite foreign language courses in high school and even a few advanced French courses in college, decades ago. I do realize how hard it is as an adult to learn a new language if not immersed in it, which I never was. But hockey players are indeed immersed in English in the NHL, so isn't three years too long to still need an interpreter?

Any current pro stars in other North American sports require an interpreter?

...

Oh, and Canes fans never serenaded Igor tonight (or all series?) unlike Pens fans. They should have started at puck drop! No excuse.

He can speak Marsian for all I care. He knows alot more English than he says in public interviews. And I seriously couldn't care less how he wants to handle the media.

Of those of you complaining, how many of you speak a secondary language fluently? I can guarantee you not many bilingual people would ever give this judgement to someone speaking a secondary language. It's not easy. And it's not part of his job to please the shitty sports media.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Panarin still has an interpreter and he's been here a lot longer.

 

[JAK]

Maybe some players like their interpreters and since the team is paying, they keep using them to help their friend keep their job.

Who freaking knows man.

 

[Coffey]

Depends on who.

Malkin can't speak english after 16 years.
Datsyuk can't speak english after 40 years.

Someone like Yak went from sounding like Malkin in 2022



to this in 6 years



It's all about wanting to learn the language.
And some Russians just hate the west and think english is the language of the devil (No bias on my side because I'm Polish)

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

I'm not seeing any sort of big deal with it. Kucherov's been with Tampa for 9 years and I honest to God did not hear the man speak a word of English until like 4 years ago. I'm going to guess it was about being comfortable enough to do it. If anything I'm pretty sure Shesterkin understands English fluently but uses the interpreter to express his thoughts more clearly as opposed to a brief, fluent statement that doesn't loan itself in a conversational manner.

Or perhaps the dude can't speak a lick and that's not a big deal because it clearly doesn't affect his play or ability to be coached.

 

[ViD]

Kucherov is likely the best Russian when it comes to English if we don’t take guys like Namestnikov who grew up in NA.

 

[YippieKaey]

Have you ever played on a sports team?

Yes. And learned and pretty much forgotten a third language.

You don't feel like answering my question or are you just supercurious about my athletic history? It was going pretty great until i got into beer.

 

[ViD]

I'm not seeing any sort of big deal with it. Kucherov's been with Tampa for 9 years and I honest to God did not hear the man speak a word of English until like 4 years ago. I'm going to guess it was about being comfortable enough to do it. If anything I'm pretty sure Shesterkin understands English fluently but uses the interpreter to express his thoughts more clearly as opposed to a brief, fluent statement that doesn't loan itself in a conversational manner.

Or perhaps the dude can't speak a lick and that's not a big deal because it clearly doesn't affect his play or ability to be coached.

No, Kucherov has been fluent for a long time, I saw a short interview of him when he was in the AHL and his English was already good, it’s just for some reason he doesn’t speak to the media unless he’s drunk and a cup champ

 

[Stony Curtis]

Is it disappointing? His skin could be green, he could have 2 heads, 3 arms, and be completely mute and I wouldn’t give a flying f*** if he keeps putting up .930 seasons.

Plays like he's already got 3 arms lol.

 

[TD Charlie]

What should we care? I'll leave it up to his teammates to decide.

 

[Elvs]

This is the second time I see people mentioning alphabets in this thread. Please stop it. Every literate person in countries with Cyrillic alphabet knows the Latin alphabet too. It's not an impediment to learning foreign languages in the slightest. The shitty education systems in some of these countries, however...

Not that anyone should be giving a f*** in this particular case, mind you, clearly Shesterkin's teammates understand him just fine and all interviews of hockey players are a waste of time anyway, interpreter or no interpreter.

Like I said, it's not the biggest factor but it a factor nonetheless. Kids aren't born knowing an alphabet, so of course it adds an extra layer to the learning process. Furthermore, the latin alphabet isn't pronounced the same in all languages. As someone who speaks Swedish, English and a little bit of German, several letters are pronounced completely different between the respective languages.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

No, Kucherov has been fluent for a long time, I saw a short interview of him when he was in the AHL and his English was already good, it’s just for some reason he doesn’t speak to the media unless he’s drunk and a cup champ

Might as well take your word for it because that makes even more sense, although I wonder why he held out so long. Oh well. I do believe Shesterkin is fluent and interpreters are simply easier because (like every athlete) he's required to make shit up as he goes along to answer questions and it's that much easier in his native tongue.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Maybe some players like their interpreters and since the team is paying, they keep using them to help their friend keep their job.

Who freaking knows man.

I've heard that about Ohtani actually. His interpreter is like his closest friend within the organization and if he stopped using him in interviews, that guy wouldn't stay employed.

 

[Hisch13r]

Who gives a shit?

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

hell panarin goes back and forth between english and using the translator

I think Panarin knows more english than he lets on. I think he uses it as an excuse to not have to do interviews.

 

[Love]

Yes. And learned and pretty much forgotten a third language.

You don't feel like answering my question or are you just supercurious about my athletic history? It was going pretty great until i got into beer.

I don’t feel any obligation to answer irrelevant personal questions.

If you’ve played on sports teams, which you have, you’ll know that being able to talk to your teammates and hang out with them is kind of important.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I'm not seeing any sort of big deal with it. Kucherov's been with Tampa for 9 years and I honest to God did not hear the man speak a word of English until like 4 years ago. I'm going to guess it was about being comfortable enough to do it. If anything I'm pretty sure Shesterkin understands English fluently but uses the interpreter to express his thoughts more clearly as opposed to a brief, fluent statement that doesn't loan itself in a conversational manner.

Or perhaps the dude can't speak a lick and that's not a big deal because it clearly doesn't affect his play or ability to be coached.

I'd imagine the ones who played Junior Hockey in North America would speak it best, since Junior Hockey players are going to be a bit more social and 'fer da boyz' than professionals, so there's likely quite a bit more social immersion amongst teammates to become more comfortable using the language.

A guy like Shesterkin is in a city like New York with such a wide Russian speaking population that he would likely be able to seek out on off-days.

The New York Tri-State area has a population of 1.6 million Russian-Americans and 600,000 of them live in New York City.[5] There are over 220,000 Russian-speaking Jews living in New York City.[6] Approximately 100,000 Russian Americans in the New York metropolitan area were born in Russia.[7]

Players are treating hockey as a job, he can likely get by without a ton of English.

 

[super6646]

Podkolzin needed a translator in training camp after just arriving in North America. 8 months later he did his end of year press conference in his own and killed it. He also shared in that press conference that he and his wife were taking English lessons. It’s about priorities and effort.

It’s not a big deal, Igor doesn’t have to learn English if he doesn’t want to. But to say “English is hard!” I mean cmon. Lots of things in life are difficult. I would argue that there is perhaps no easier way to learn English than to be placed into an English speaking society and be on a team where you’re shooting the shit with your buddies all day.

Wait really? Guy is only 20.

Little surprised by that tbh

 

[Nihiliste]

Russian not being a Latin language doesn’t have all the cognates we see with French/Spanish/Italian speakers and also doesn’t have the German crossover that Germanic language speakers enjoy. Nichushkin is another Russian who has been around for a while and still doesn’t seem to speak much English.

I’m sure I would still need an interpreter after 3 years in Russia

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Hmm...on ESPN's game 7 NYR-Carolina game, I learned that Igor has been here about 3 years, yet still needs an interpreter. I don't closely follow the Rangers, so wasn't aware.

Is this disappointing, or only somewhat disappointing (if at all) to the Rangers, their fans and the NHL that any player, esp. a star, hasn't learned enough English after 3 years to engage in a quick intermission interview?

I realize some or many Russian NHL players (and maybe others?) have thick accents even after many years in North America, but after 3 years, don't most or all seem to be able to function in simple interviews without an interpreter?

Is this common in MLB or the NBA? I do recall interpreters, maybe even currently, in other sports, but isn't it usually for the player's first year or so, not three years later?

I am American, and sadly only know English despite foreign language courses in high school and even a few advanced French courses in college, decades ago. I do realize how hard it is as an adult to learn a new language if not immersed in it, which I never was. But hockey players are indeed immersed in English in the NHL, so isn't three years too long to still need an interpreter?

Any current pro stars in other North American sports require an interpreter?

...

Oh, and Canes fans never serenaded Igor tonight (or all series?) unlike Pens fans. They should have started at puck drop! No excuse.

To me it's not surprising to use an interpreter in interviews even after 3 years if you're completely new to the language.

It's one thing when you're chatting with your teammates but in this day and age I can understand wanting to make sure you completely understand the question and give the response you intend to.

 

[Siludin]

Trying their best even when they aren't very good at English turns players into treasures.

Their agents are doing them dirty if they aren't trying to push them to do interviews without an interpreter

I don't know why any player would shy away from those opportunities.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Not everybody is as linguistically gifted as Kravtsov, there are guys like Panarin who have been here for a long time and still use interpreters. Look at Kravtsov who's barely been in North America and barely even speaks with an accent.

 

[PromNite]

For a goalie, it's not as big of a deal. They are kinda in their own zone.

 

[LuckyDucky]

Hmm...on ESPN's game 7 NYR-Carolina game, I learned that Igor has been here about 3 years, yet still needs an interpreter. I don't closely follow the Rangers, so wasn't aware.

Is this disappointing, or only somewhat disappointing (if at all) to the Rangers, their fans and the NHL that any player, esp. a star, hasn't learned enough English after 3 years to engage in a quick intermission interview?

I realize some or many Russian NHL players (and maybe others?) have thick accents even after many years in North America, but after 3 years, don't most or all seem to be able to function in simple interviews without an interpreter?

Is this common in MLB or the NBA? I do recall interpreters, maybe even currently, in other sports, but isn't it usually for the player's first year or so, not three years later?

I am American, and sadly only know English despite foreign language courses in high school and even a few advanced French courses in college, decades ago. I do realize how hard it is as an adult to learn a new language if not immersed in it, which I never was. But hockey players are indeed immersed in English in the NHL, so isn't three years too long to still need an interpreter?

Any current pro stars in other North American sports require an interpreter?

...

Oh, and Canes fans never serenaded Igor tonight (or all series?) unlike Pens fans. They should have started at puck drop! No excuse.

The reigning AL MVP, Shohei Ohtani, requires one.