Put yourself in Maxim Tsyplakov's shoes for a moment.
This is a 26-year-old who flew 4,666 miles and seven time zones and didn't know anyone particularly well in his new home.
Does anyone really pay attention to foreign language lessons in school, other than what he learned in school? — and for some lessons this summer, he didn't know much English. By the way, English features a completely different alphabet than the language he grew up speaking.
And he is expected to perform at a high level in the best hockey league on the planet. immediately.
Tsyplakov is not the first person to make such a jump, and he will not be the last. However, it is easy to ignore the magnitude of such a leap because of the commonality with which it occurs.
Similarly, it is relatively easy for most Russian (or other European) players to learn English, including Tsyplakov.
“Everyone's talking, I understand,” Tsyplakov told the Post after Islanders practice Tuesday. “I can understand you in normal language. But in hockey terms, it doesn't matter. I speak, people understand me, and I understand everyone.”
As recently as early May, Tsyplakov, who skated for the first time on the second line Monday night with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, needed someone to translate during a phone interview with the Post.
Even after just a few weeks of training, his confidence in the language has clearly increased.
Although he is not yet fluent, he can carry on a conversation with minimal problems per se. Tsyplakov's linemates have no trouble communicating with him on the ice.
“I think it's funny because he's talking about theater and just trying to use simple terminology,” Nelson told the Post. “There were a couple of things last night that I just pointed out in the board meeting to make sure we were on the same page. I think he's well aware and he's a really smart player. , it's just a matter of talking about where you were on the ice, where he was, what you saw, what you thought.
“I think he has enough English to be able to communicate and talk about it. Obviously, you still have to work on it and really work on it to create a little bit more chemistry and understand each other more.” I am working on being.”
If Tsyplakov can get a chance to break into the top six, that would be very good for the Islanders. A season where they hope he can be a net-front presence scoring goals on a line that felt one man short for much of the second half.
The team brought Tsyplakov slowly and deliberately during camp, waiting until now to put him in this situation to minimize growing pains.
“First of all, I want him to focus on the puck, on the forecheck. And secondly, I want him to keep making plays,” coach Patrick Roy said. “I think we need guys in Brock and Kyle who can make plays and get the puck.”
Nelson said on the ice that he asked Tsyplakov some Russian words he could use, such as “hello” and “good morning.”
Matt Barzal did the same thing, and of course it doesn't hurt that the Islanders' locker room has three other Russians who went through the same transition.
But when Tsyplakov got serious about learning English after signing with the Islanders, he realized he needed to make hockey terminology a priority.
“Of course, Russia has international players,” Tsyplakov said. “And we need to make an effort to talk to them. I tried this [last] I think it's the season [the last] A little bit of hockey terminology for two years. ”
Former Islander Shane Prince, who played with Tsyplakov at Spartak Moscow, helped there, although Tsyplakov joked that Prince knew “10 words of Russian.”
There's something of an imbalance beyond hockey, and every American who travels abroad has a happy ending. People who speak English can go anywhere and survive without the local language. The same is rarely true when others come here.
“[Those] If you come to Russia, speak some Russian. Why not? “When told this, Tsyplakov joked. “…the whole world can speak English together.”
