University of Connecticut Athletics
Getting to Know the #IceBus Freshmen: Vladislav Firstov
3/4/2020 8:36:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
We have reached the final UConn hockey freshman, and he's the one who has made the biggest impact on the ice during this historic season: forward Vladislav Firstov. He is second on the team in goals with 11 and has added 12 assists to rank third on the team in points with 23. Firstov has been named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week multiple times during his successful freshman campaign. He is a native of Yaroslavl, Russia, and was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the second round of last year's NHL Draft. We got to know Vlad (who just recently learned English) in this week's interview.
Q: What made you want to come to UConn?
VF: Because at UConn, there's other Russian guys. We have like four Russian guys. I'm so happy because those guys can help me out with stuff, like school or on the ice because my English is not great.
Q: How much did someone like Ruslan [Iskhakov] help with that because he went through it last year?
VF: Yeah he told me that the first year is pretty tough, it's hard for you. He said just work on your English and next year is going to be better.
Q: What's your favorite part about being on this team?
VF: I like the coaching staff. It's great here and they work on the team a lot. And it's a pretty campus. I love the campus.
Q: You're one of the top scorers on the team this season as a freshman. What's that like being a young guy but being so involved on offense?
VF: Actually, I don't look a lot at my points right now. At the start of the season, I looked at my points a lot but right now I don't. I just play for my team. I want to make the playoffs. We want to play in the Frozen Four and win the NCAA.
Q: What have you been able to learn from the older guys on the team?
VF: The older guys teach me a lot especially Wyatt Newpower and Benjamin Freeman. And then Sasha [Payusov] sometimes too. Those guys say just do your job, work hard in school. You can't just play hockey. You need to be good in school and good on ice. It has to be both ways.
Q: How did the USHL prepare you for UConn?
VF: The USHL is pretty much the same game. I think here there's just older guys, and here, it's faster and more physical. But like if you play in the USHL before college, I think it's good for you.
Q: You were drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the NHL Draft. What was that like for you?
VF: Last year I played in the USHL, and I didn't think I would be drafted because I came from Russia and I didn't play internationally. When I came last year, and I just started playing just to work on my skill and my body and just play hard. And then I went in the Draft and I was so happy. It's a really good feeling.
Q: Has it been difficult adjusting to life in a new country?
VF: Yeah, it's like a different culture. Â Different food, different culture, different people. I love the U.S. though.
Q: What's something cool about Russia that people in the U.S. don't know about?
VF: Russians are crazy drivers, I think. And I think Americans sometimes don't like Russian guys. Â But overall it's pretty fun there.
Q: What's something different in America that you weren't expecting?
VF: I don't know, a lot of times, I think I just miss my food. I miss Russian food. The food here is sometimes bad. No good soups, and I like good soups.
Q: What do you want to accomplish over your time at UConn?
VF: I want to play better and make myself better every single day, and keep helping my team. And then I want to one day get to go pro.
