Meeting the media at the NHL Scouting Combine: Andrei Svechnikov

BUFFALO - Here are excerpts of prospect Andrei Svechnikov's scrum with reporters on Friday afternoon at the 2018 NHL Scouting Combine at HarborCenter.

How has the language barrier affected you this week at all? Has that been a challenge, interviewing with so many teams?
Translator: He understands a lot, so it wasn't difficult.
Were you able to express clearly to teams what you wanted to say?
Translator: Some parts were super exciting. He thinks he answered all of them accurately, and he said the atmosphere was neat.
How ready do you feel to actually step into the NHL next season?
Translator:He's not going to guarantee 100 percent, but he hopes he's going to be playing in the NHL.

Do you put any importance on being the first forward drafted?
Translator: Of course, but there's no point in looking at it because it doesn't really matter. It doesn't really mean anything because he just has to keep improving and then he'll be ready for the NHL.
Who was your favorite player to watch growing up?
AS:Pavel Bure.
Any others?
AS: Right now, I think [Evgeny] Kuzetsov, maybe.
Do you follow guys like Nikita Scherbak and Alex Galchenyuk with Montreal?
Translator: Absolutely. He's watched them for many years. They're both very good players and it would be neat to play against them or with them.