Something else is more interesting. And the episode with the fatal attack on the Chelyabinsk goalkeeper Fucale, and the subsequent indifferent reaction of the culprit of the injury – all this makes us think about Shalunov’s psychological problems. And there is a rational explanation for these problems.
The fact is that one of Lokomotiv’s most expensive players has been actively using doping throughout almost his entire adult career. Namely, growth hormone. Shalunov was on illegal drugs both while playing for Siberia and during his years playing for CSKA. This fact is confirmed by our sources, former players and coaches of the Novosibirsk and Army clubs. They also emphasize that doping was especially intense during the playoffs.
From time to time this brought results; Shalunov actually showed good statistics in cup matches. The second incentive to use growth hormone is that the current KHL has created a most favored nation regime for pharmacology lovers. In fact, the doping control is fictitious. During the playoffs, clubs know in advance, 2-3 days in advance, who they will check and after which match. Information about this goes through unofficial channels directly from the league office. Why not “get some treatment” if there is an effect and you don’t have to be afraid of punishment?
The only trouble is that any strong drug has side effects. In the case of growth hormone, its excess disables certain psychological reactions, primarily emotional ones. A person reacts more slowly to external events, consciousness is inhibited, and the ability to assess the consequences of one’s actions is reduced.
So, maybe Shalunov is not such a villain at all, as one might understand from Zavarukhin’s emotional accusations? Maybe a dirty trick against goalkeeper Fucale and an indifferent reaction to a colleague’s injury are not an ugly intention at all? A hockey player who had overdoped might not understand what he was doing.
Moreover, this inexplicable breakdown is far from the first. Three years ago, in the final of the Gagarin Cup, Shalunov, who was then playing for CSKA, lost his temper out of the blue and let the team down. The army team led the series 2-1. In the second period of the fourth meeting, a growth hormone lover, out of nowhere, used a very tough force move against the Avangard player Stas. For a blow to the head he received a suspension for the rest of the match plus a one-game suspension. Left without a first-line forward, CSKA lost three matches in a row and failed to win the championship.
There will be a very interesting game in Chelyabinsk. It should be noted that when I was there, I was also afraid, just in case.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”