"You Can Even Argue With Him": Zamula Discusses Tortorella’s Honesty and Mentoring Michkov

Egor Zamula #5 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates the puck against Kyle Burroughs #7 of the Los Angeles Kings (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Egor Zamula is a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers in his second season. The 24-year-old has been working his way up to the NHL for several years and has finally achieved his goal.  

However, he admits that the second year in the league is proving more challenging.

"I knew back in the summer that the second season would feel much tougher," Zamula said in an exclusive interview with RG. "In your first year, you play on emotions and the euphoria of being in the NHL. When you’re trusted by the coach, you start playing against the top players of other teams. And sometimes, you might fall short, and they outplay you with their experience. Playing as a defenseman is the hardest position in the NHL. You’re constantly up against elite forwards. They might miss a shot, and it’s OK, no one would tell them anything, but a defenseman’s mistakes are immediately noticeable. You have to work hard and stay determined – eventually, everything will fall into place."

Being a Team Player

In November, Zamula’s agent, Shumi Babayev, stated that his client had a rocky start to the regular season due to additional responsibilities. For a while, Zamula acted as both a translator and a mentor for Matvei Michkov.

"You always have to focus on hockey," Zamula explained.

"Helping isn’t hard, but when you’re together 24/7, it can be exhausting. It’s easy to lose focus because you’re constantly thinking about how to translate something. Matvei figured things out on his own; I didn’t even have to say much. Helping isn’t difficult, but you also have to think about yourself and your game. Thankfully, we have a translator, Slava Kuznetsov, who helps Matvei. If he doesn’t understand something on the ice or in the locker room, I step in."

Zamula shared that he has a good relationship with Michkov, who is in his first year with the Flyers, and that they spend a lot of time together.

"We spend a lot of time together – going out for dinners, meeting other guys during road trips. Vasily Podkolzin welcomed us warmly in Edmonton,” said Zamula. “We’ve also had dinners with Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin. We all keep in touch. It’s nice to have a kind of Russian family here."

Relationship With Tortorella

The Flyers' head coach John Tortorella has publicly criticized Zamula on a few occasions. Zamula, who has scored 9 points (3 goals and 6 assists) in 30 games this season, described the coach as straightforward and honest.

"He’s good in that way. Everyone respects him in the locker room because he’ll come in and tell you everything straight to your face, in front of the whole team. You can even argue with him, but he’ll show you his point with video evidence proving he’s right. He’s always honest,” said Zamula of his head coach. “His motto is, ‘I’d rather be honest with you than having you hold grudges against me.’ Sometimes, he gets personal, but only if someone is playing poorly. Occasionally, he’ll put pressure on a player intentionally to push them to the next level and see how they react. That happened to me. Right after that, I scored in Pittsburgh.”

Despite the pressure and some tough love, Zamula believes that Tortorella is always fair with his players; pointing out the positive when good things happen on the ice.

A Grueling Season

The Flyers sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division, with 39 points in 40 games.

"I’m not sure what we’re missing to reach a good level of consistency. Sometimes we fail to block shots or score simple goals. We need to play less pass-heavy hockey and rely on our shots from good positions. I don’t even look at the standings. Every game feels like a new battle – we go out there and play. Closer to the end of the regular season, we’ll keep track. We know that winning and losing in streaks isn’t acceptable. In the NHL, losing three games in a row already makes it harder to secure a playoff spot."

It's no secret that the NHL schedule is one of the toughest in sport; especially when you combine the physical nature of the sport with 82 regular-season games. Zamula admitted that he didn’t celebrate Christmas, but instead wisely used the three-day break to rest.

"Michkov went to New York, but I’ve been there many times. With such a tough schedule, I needed to rest. I stayed home, went to a restaurant for a good meal, and that was it. My parents usually visit, but they’ll come later this time."

Before the season, renowned Russian coach Oleg Znarok, who led Team Russia to Olympic gold in 2018, joined the Flyers as the European Player Development & Scouting Consultant. He’s actively working with the Flyers’ Russian players.

"Znarok is always with us. Everything’s fine. He watches practices from above and gives advice and pointers. He’s not allowed on the ice – only the coaching staff can do that – but he helps afterward. He always checks in with us before and after games. It’s great to have someone like him in our organization."