For Daniel Sprong, the Washington Capitals played a vital part — and continue to play a vital part — in his playing career.
Sprong signed with the KHL's CSKA Moscow for the upcoming season, marking a significant step after years of trying to break through in the NHL. His coach is former Capitals forward Sergei Federov, who he said is helping him improve his game significantly.
" It's a different game, 100%. There's a little less physical play here, more focus on puck control. When you use physical moves here, they're often unexpected, so I'm getting used to that difference," Sprong told Sport24, per a DeepL translation. "Sergei Fedorov is helping me a lot with my adaptation, and I'm very grateful to him. I hope we will continue to work together to improve my game in this league. He constantly tells me that it takes time to progress, that everything happens gradually."
When it comes to why he chose to sign with the Army team, he credited his former D.C. teammates for helping him make that choice.
"A big factor for me was the desire to live in Moscow, in a place where I would be most comfortable. I talked to the Russian guys we played with before, and they told me that Moscow would be the best place for me," Sprong said, adding, "(Alex) Ovechkin, (Evgeny) Kuznetsov and (Dmitry) Orlov... I did some research on my own, but I called those three guys and asked them questions."
Sprong then went on to discuss how Ovechkin helped him with his shot and continues to inspire him.
Alex Ovechkin Not Thinking About End Of Career Entering 21st Season
There's been a lot of talk about what the future holds for Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, but he's not dwelling too much over it as he enters his 21st NHL season.
"I had the opportunity to play with him and against him. He's an incredible guy. His goal right now is to win the Stanley Cup, and I think he's focused on that," Sprong said, "His shot is obviously better than mine. We'll see how it goes."