Climbing the Ladder: Washington Capitals Prospect Bogdan Trineyev Talks About His Road to the Kharlamov Trophy

Junior Hockey League

After his team, MHL Dynamo, won the Kharlamov Cup in the Russian Junior Hockey League championship last month, Washington Capitals forward prospect, Bogdan Trineyev met with the media and discussed several topics, including his background and the reactions after winning the championship.

MHL Dynamov’s win was the first time the club had won at the Junior Hockey Level. The highest level of the team, Moscow Dynamo, had won the Gagarin Cup in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2012 and 2013.

The 2021 Kharlamov Cup Finals ended with JHC Dynamo Moscow winning the Best of Seven series in five games, after sweeping the prior rounds. It was notable as the first cup in the history of the blue-and-white franchise. Junior Hockey League media relations department reached out to one of the top young Dynamo players Bogdan Trineyev, who shared stories about his hockey childhood, closest goals and emotions after beating Loko Yaroslavl in the finals.

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Trineyev was born in Voronezh, Russia, which is about a six and a half hour drive from Moscow. He first began playing hockey with the Buran Club located in Voronezh. He talked about how hockey came into his life.

“It was back when I was in kindergarten. I was told they were signing up players for junior hockey school. There were a few tests – bag-running, speed, jumps for length and height. I made the cut and I was asked if I wanted to try it. I got really pumped up by the idea and I told my parents about it at home. My parents thought about it for a long time. My dad wasn’t really keen on the idea but my mom sort of forced him to agree [smiles]. And that’s how I ended up in hockey.”

He went on to talk about how he knew he could make hockey a career and first said, jokingly, “Perhaps, when I received my first paycheck.” He continued with his actual reasons, “I just played for fun, skated around with the puck, enjoyed every second of it just as I do now. I have never thought about hockey as a job that should earn me money. I just played hockey and enjoyed it. Actually, as a kid I dreamt of becoming a goaltender, they’ve got great equipment. But my dad and coach told me to stay a skater because there’s a better chance to get noticed that way. I didn’t understand it at the time. I thought I missed out a lot.”

Another topic of conversation regarded the clubs he played for, starting with the Buran club in his hometown, then switching to a club in Dmitrov that is about a hour away from Moscow, and eventually joining the Dynamo system.

“When I was ten years old, a Voronezh coach moved to Dmitrov. Local team played in Moscow championship at the time. I thought, ‘Why not try my chances there?’. Buran had certain difficulties at the time and our junior hockey school didn’t compete in Moscow championship. As a result, I ended up playing in Dmitrov for three years. Incidentally, the coach moved back to Voronezh having spent just one year there. After Russian championship finals, I was offered to join Dynamo. I thought myself at the time that it was time to move forward and join a team with a better systematic approach. Dmitrov had a Junior Hockey League B team but Dynamo is Dynamo.”

Trineyev joined the Dynamo Moscow Select team for the WSI Under-15 tournament in 2016-17. After that, he remained in the Dynamo Moscow system, playing games at the Under-16 level, the Under-17 level, and the Under-18 level during the 2017-18 season, playing the postseason at the Under-17 level, and also playing with the Russia Under-16 team in international competition. He has continued to play at various levels of Dynamo since then, along with international competition.

He talked about one of his more vivid hockey memories, prior to when he was part of the this Dynamo championship team, “I think, that would be the Hlinka/Gretzky Memorial [Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2020]. It’s a serious international tournament with an awesome ambience. I also remembered for the fact that we won it. I played well and scored four points in four games. However, I didn’t play in the final game because of an injury. But our team won and that’s what matters the most.”

Another topic Trineyev broached were players who had influenced him as he grew up, “I wouldn’t say there was anybody who truly affected my brand of hockey. But I have always enjoyed watching Evgeni Malkin play. He’s really awesome on the ice. I also follow Alexander Ovechkin but I like Evgeny Kuznetsov better. He’s really got a style and class.”

He talked about the choice of his jersey number, “There isn’t any hidden meaning behind it. I had #11 back in Dynamo junior hockey school and later on I couldn’t use it because it’s retired. I decided to get whatever number I’m given. At first I had #17, then #41, and this year I got #88. I figured, it’s not bad so why not.”

In how to get in the mindset before games, he said, “I like playing DOTA [DOTA is a video game, Defense of the Ancients] on my phone. Other than that, there isn’t anything special that I do. I just prepare for the games and get ready just as anybody else. I don’t really get too over my head going into the games. I treat games as a celebration of a kind and as another chance to prove my worth.”

Playing video games, such as DOTA, is one of his hobbies. He describes himself as “A calm and fun guy. I [like] hanging out with a group of people and doing something together. In my spare time I just rest. I don’t get many days off. So I just get together with my boys and we play DOTA and Counter-Strike. So as far as hobbies go, it’s just video games.”

When the Capitals drafted him in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, captain Alex Ovechkin contacted him, which Trineyev recalled, “There wasn’t a call per se. He just texted me in a messenger. He wished me luck and it was great. I have nothing to be proud of yet. Everything goes well right now but it’s just half of the path. It changed my approach to hockey. I realized that I had to keep working and work harder.”

The 19-year old right-handed shooter discussed memories of being in the dressing-room after the medal ceremony, including his feelings:

“I’m not going to go into any specifics because the whole thing was just awesome. We all felt joy from the win and from the fact that we went down that road together. We all enjoyed the moment, took pictures and celebrated. Later on we spoke to our families and went out partying with the boys. To be honest with you, it’s a bit of a bitter-sweet moment because we won’t play on the same team with some of the boys because they have graduated Junior Hockey League. Dynamo is a family-like team. Thank God that we won the Kharlamov Cup and now everyone goes down the road he must.”

Trineyev recalled that he was congratulated by his father, who was watching in the stands, as well as his mother and brother, who texted him and then called him up. His coaches from the Dynamo junior hockey school also contacted him to give him congratulations. He thanked them for their support by saying, “I remember all of you, thank you!”

Trineyev expressed his feeling that playing in both the KHL and VHL leagues was helpful, “When you gain KHL and VHL experience, you get calmer playing for the junior team. I knew what I had to do. I didn’t feel lost. I felt more confident. And a year ago I was nervous facing Krasnaya Armiya. That was my first time. I had never been called up before anywhere. And now I have already battled against grown men and played with older teammates.”

With the Kharlamov Cup competition over, Trineyev reflected on its impact, “We have won and, as our coach has put it, it’s already history. We have to work hard and look towards the future. Right now we rest. I’m happy the season has ended and I have time to spend with my family. Of course, I’m glad we have won. We won the first title for the franchise and I have never felt these emotions before. It’s difficult to put my feelings into words. Perhaps, when I get new trophies, I’m going to be able to describe the feeling.”

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The entire interview, available on the MHL site can be found here.

By Diane Doyle

In other news on Trineyev, he and six of his teammates from MHK Dynamo will participate in the Black Sea Cup, the traditional summer tournament to be held in Sochi. They have been available to the Russian youth team in Novogorsk since May 11. The Black Sea Cup starts on May 22, where the participants will be three teams from Russia and a team from Latvia