For the CBJ Russians, support systems help the transition

Imagine growing up and being very good at your favorite pursuit. You have a passion for it, and you think you might be able to make a living in that field.

But here’s the catch. The best people in your chosen field live half a world away, in a place where you don’t speak the language or understand the culture. If you’re going to work among the best in the world, there’s no way around it – you have to move to this unfamiliar place.

That’s a decision Ivan Provorov made at 14 years old. One of the top young players growing up in Russia, often playing a year or two ahead in his age group, the Blue Jackets defenseman played a few tournaments in the United States at age 13. A year later, he and his father Vladimir made the discussion he’d move to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of eastern Pennsylvania to chase his hockey quest.

“It was always my dream to play in the NHL,” said Provorov, who would play in the USHL and WHL before becoming a first-round pick in the 2015 draft. “My dad and I both thought that coming over here earlier would be beneficial, to have that adjustment all at once, by the time I was 18, 19, to get it out of the way. ... I think overall, for a lot of different reasons, it was the right choice for me.”

It's the reality that confronts the top Russian players in the world on a regular basis. Most do make the decision to come to North America, but there’s an adjustment period, followed by a certain comfort that comes once you get used to your new surroundings. For some, it’s a more difficult transition than others.

Blue Jackets forward Dmitri Voronkov has been the latest to go through it, making his way to North America this summer for the first time just as he turned 23 years old. He arrived with little knowledge of English, and he acknowledged that even as he was quickly settling into being an impact player in the NHL, his first few months were not easy.

He seems to have settled in, though, and is now one of the top rookies in the NHL. Even more importantly, his relationships with such CBJ Russian players as Yegor Chinakhov, Kirill Marchenko and Daniil Tarasov – and even fellow youngsters Alexandre Texier and Kent Johnson – have helped him feel more at home in Columbus.

In the end, the support system might be as important as anything, as the relationships the CBJ players have built have made Columbus an attractive NHL location despite being thousands of miles from home.

“If I was not comfortable, I wouldn’t live here,” Marchenko said. “I think for everybody, my goal was the NHL and to play in the best league in the world. Columbus really helped me with this plan. I like it here, of course. We have a lot of Russians. It’s great help for Chinny and Vorny. It’s a good community here and a good place here, too. I like it.”

A Whole New World

First off, to paint all of Russia with one broad brush would be akin to saying the experience of growing up in California is the same as doing so in Alabama and also the same as Massachusetts. Per Google Maps, it would take one about 66 hours in a car to make the journey of almost 5,000 kilometers from Provorov’s home city of Yaroslavl, just outside of Moscow, to Voronkov’s home of Agnarsk in Siberia.

Chinakhov’s home of Omsk is the biggest city of the five, population wise, with more than 1.1 million residents. It’s location near the Kazakhstan border is about 900 kilometers from Marchenko’s hometown of Barnual (630,000 residents), which is about a five-hour drive from Tarasov’s home of Novokuznetsk (population of over 537,000 residents). The smallest and most remote location of Angarsk has about 222,000 residents near the shores of Lake Baikal, and is much closer to the Mongolian border than any other major Russian city.

Having said that, there are still some common differences the Russian players encounter when heading to North America to play

“Obviously, at the beginning, everything is different,” Provorov said. “The culture, the language, just everyday things like going to the grocery store, cars, highways, all that. When you get on the ice, the surface is smaller, the game is different. The game at home is a bit more east-west, possession. This game is definitely faster, more direct. I think it’s lot to adjust.”

One thing Marchenko repeatedly refers to is how different the cities are laid out. Many Russian cities, especially as you get away from the metropolis of Moscow, are clustered around city centers without much as far as outlying areas. Barnaul is centered around the Ob River, and if you get outside of the city itself, there’s not much there.

“It’s all different,” Marchenko said. “It’s way different. We don’t have the (suburban) areas, we just have one city and that’s it. We have a downtown. After downtown, we have roads (to go) something else. Where Elvis (Merzlikins) is living (in New Albany), you never see the same thing in Russia. In my city, it’s just hometown, nothing around. Small villages, but everybody lives in town.

“You just need to come over. Have you been to Russia? You won’t understand if I say, ‘Everything (is different).’ You just need to come over to Russia, visit, and after you’ll see the difference. Everything is different. Everything. It’s not (necessarily) better, it’s just different.”

Marchenko made the transition from playing in the five-million-resident city of St. Petersburg the previous four years to Columbus a season ago, and he admits he did need a little time to get used to it. You’d have never known because of the ebullient nature that made him a fan favorite immediately, but Marchenko said he feels much better and more comfortable this season.

“Of course,” he said. “Last year, I am OK because I have a wife here (Viktoria). She really helped me. But now, my English is better. I understand a lot of the English. I am not a really great speaker now, but I can be in communication with the other guys. Now it’s fine for me. Everything is fine for me and my wife, too.”

Chinakhov went through a similar transition when he first arrived in the fall of 2021. The Blue Jackets had just one consistent Russian player on the squad in Vladislav Gavrikov, who did his best to take Chinakhov under his wing, but the breakout forward for the Jackets admits now there were times he went through struggles and wasn’t sure how long he would make it in North America.

“I felt it too,” Chinakhov said of the homesickness. “But I just want to play here. I don’t care.”

Now, “Sometimes when I spend a lot of time in Russia in the summer, I just want to go back (to Columbus). That’s good for me. I like to play here. I like to be here. I like the city. It’s comfortable for me.”

Voronkov’s Transition

All of the Russians came over in different scenarios and with different command of the English language, which makes support systems tremendously important. Provorov said he still has a close bond with the billet family in Pennsylvania whom he moved in with upon arrival, while Marchenko spoke of how much Viktoria helped him make the transition. Chinkahov’s family is 12 hours away now living in Krasnodar, Russia, but he speaks to them after every practice, and they wake up to watch his games.

Arguably the toughest transition was made by Voronkov, who quickly proved he could make an impact at the NHL level but arrived in Columbus without family and with little command of the English language.

Marchenko became his translator for all things team-related, but there was a point earlier in the season where Voronkov contemplated heading home even as he was becoming one of the best rookies in the NHL this season.

“It’s a big difference between the two countries,” he said through Marchenko as a translator after a Nov. 27 win vs. Boston. “It’s a little surprise for me. Maybe when I first came here, I wasn’t ready for that. But now I'm up to date, and thanks to the Russian guys to help me here. I will work with myself and with the Russians, too, and try to enjoy this moment and this game and the Columbus lifestyle and everything. Just needed time.”

In recent weeks, smiles have come much more easy for Voronkov as he's settled in and build deeper relationships with his teammates. He can often be spotted off the ice hanging out with Marchenko and Chinakhov, but he’s started to build bonds with such players as Texier and Johnson as well.

In particular, he and Texier are starting to become close, as their on-ice post-practice wrestling matches and locker room tape ball battles can attest. Texier has gone through a similar transition to Voronkov, spending the past season and a half at home in France because of personal issues, and tries to go out of his way to help Voronkov feel comfortable.

“He came over from Russia, no family, no language, and I’ve been there,” Texier said. “I try to smile and joke around with him so it feels good, and I think he feels really good right now. It’s good. You need help from the others.

“That’s why we’re a team. The young guys can help. I’ve been through it, so I know the feeling. Sometimes you’re not going to see it, but inside, it’s there. I try to ask him every day if he’s good. He’s a big boy, so he’ll figure it out, but yeah, when you have no family (here), different lifestyle, different culture, no English, different hockey. It’s hard, but he’s doing a pretty good job. I think this is just the start.”

The Blue Jackets are happy to have all of the Russians here, as all five have become key contributors for the squad. There was the earlier success of the Russian line featuring all three forwards, and the trio has continued to play well even while split apart in recent games.

It takes a team effort for everyone in the room to get along, but the most veteran of the CBJ Russians sees how it’s happened this year.

“It’s definitely not easy, but I think everyone here has done a great job helping each other out,” he said. “Even the guys that are from the States and Canada try to make all the Europeans feel as welcome as possible.”