The Inferno Interview - Mark Richardson

We caught up with Mark Richardson hot on the heels of his return to the Devils from his short sojourn playing for Arlan Kokshetau in Kazakhstan.

We spoke to Mark about his time in Kazakhstan, his career to date and his decision to come back to Cardiff.

The Inferno. When did you first get involved with hockey? Growing up did you have a Hockey hero?

Mark Richardson. When I was younger, my friends took my older brother Lee to watch a game and then he started to play then obviously, we were all playing as kids so followed in his foot steps. I wouldn't say heroes but it was great to watch Steve Moria, Daryl Lipsey, Brad Rubachuk guys like that.

The Inferno. What’s your proudest achievement to date playing hockey? Favorite goal so far?

Mark Richardson. Tough one, obviously whenever you win something it’s a proud achievement. As seasons goes, I think when I was at Bracknell when we won the league and cup when I was playing alongside my brother that a proud achievement. Think also with the National team with us winning the silver medal being so close to the gold medal, that was a huge achievement for us considering where the programme is at in terms of preparation compared to other teams. Probably at home v Sheffield when we were short benched, this hasn't happened since. (That coast to coast goal everyone talks about)

The Inferno. When you first played in Cardiff it was as a Forward; you've very successfully made the switch from playing as a forward to playing as a d man, for those who don't know can you explain how that switch came about and how you've found change in play styles?

Mark Richardson. I played in Basingstoke, unfortunately sometimes it happens, we weren't paid for a few weeks meaning guys weren't practicing which don’t help the situation and was only 20/21 at the time so if I wanted to improve, I needed to be somewhere where things were being taken seriously. I got in touch with Nottingham where I played the season before, had a bad season with injury but got back in touch with them and Corey Neilson said he would like to have me back but at the moment, we only have space on D. The original plan was for me to play on D for a few weeks then back to forward I went in there and that’s it. Since then I've been a D man and that’s it really.

The Inferno. As a d man are you expected or do you look too bring in the points or are they secondary to your main purpose of stopping the opposition players putting points up?

Mark Richardson. Offensive side of my game, I’ve always wanted to improve, even as a forward I wasn’t really a big points guy, I was more a defensive forward. One aspect over the last few years becoming a D man so late I’ve always wanted to also concentrate on my defensive game but hopefully now I can also put up a few more points without compromising any of defensive game.

The Inferno. Devils fans certainly regard you as one of the best British D men around, if not the best. There were always rumors that Paul Thompson used to use his position in the Team GB setup to try and tap players up. Did that ever actually happen to you?

Mark Richardson. Never happened to me, I’ve never seen it happen but if Paul like any coach were away with GB and knew you were looking for a new job I’m sure he would be interested in talking to guys. I’ve not heard of any tapping up. He is in a situation where he get to players first maybe bit of an advantage I wouldn’t call it tapping up.

The Inferno. Have you considered your options for after Hockey? Where do you see yourself after you hang your skates up?

Mark Richardson. That’s something I've been thinking about late, I haven’t decided what I’m going to do but hopefully I can continue to play for a few more years but it is something I want to start looking at. Until I know I really want to do, I just hope I can continue to enjoy playing.

The Inferno. You've got a day off what are you up too?

Mark Richardson. A full day off would probably be relaxing, maybe in the gym, stuff at home including the chores.

The Inferno. In your playing career which coach has been the best to play for ? Also can you tell us who's been the hardest coach you've played for and which coach has had the most impact on your game.

Mark Richardson. I learnt something off every coach I played for. It’s best I give G a shout out. With G he lets me play my game and knows that’s the best for me. I had coaches growing up who are more geared towards different things- some didn’t know much about the game and coached by parents but wanted to us to work hard. Some coaches are more tactics based but you can learn from every coach. Hardest coach is probably out in Kazakhstan. He coached the Latvian team in the Olympics, he was very vocal and let you know if you made any mistakes but luckily I stayed out of his way for most part. Being a D for such a short time, I’ve only played under G. I started out in Nottingham but for most of my defensive time, I’ve played for G and like I say, he’s helped me a lot and let me play my game and let me figure out on my own and this has really helped me.

The Inferno. Regards your move to Kazakhstan, how did this move come about? How did you find the level compared to the EIHL ? Was your training different pre season to what the Devils now have with the Fitness Factory?

Mark Richardson. It was basically, I always wanted to try something different and try a different league. Personally, I was always looking to go up another level. I got in touch with some agents to see what was out there and with the way the Euro is at the moment, it seemed to be the best option. As I say, when I got there, the only league was different, an experience. Lots of time on the ice to help my game. Very hard to compare leagues. Some leagues are better than others in areas. On a skill level it was similar but in the Elite league you have a higher caliber player throughout. It was very different training, the guys at the Fitness Factory do some amazing training in the summer especially in a short space of time of one day of week and they run great work outs and help guys with programs to do throughout the week when we’re not doing team sessions. Over in Kazakhstan it was the amount of training. Three times a day no matter what, it was physically tough and a lot different.

The Inferno. How did you find Kazakhstan in terms of the surroundings and the life style? How did you cope with the language barrier?

Mark Richardson. Obviously it’s no secret it’s a very different country but like I say, the surroundings for most of the time was the rink. It was fine and a good experience to visit a lot of cities and at the end of the day, your going there to play hockey. With the language issues, it was made easier that we have a few English speaking guys and also employed an interpreter to help us out and picked up some of the language and the alphabet. Even with the Russian guys, you could communicate but when it comes to the hockey side, it’s hockey.

The Inferno. When you were playing for Arlan, were there any other Brits or English Speakers on your team? How was the locker room?

Mark Richardson. When I first got there, there were 4 or 5 guys who spoke English including Slovaks, Latvians and Canadians. Ben O’Connor signed just at the start of the regular season so that was nice to have them there. It was fine, the locker room had no issues.

The Inferno. How did the fans around the league compare to the UK and more importantly, the Devils fans?

Mark Richardson. This was a funny experience, in the Kazakh league, you have some farm teams for the KHL so some times you could play in a rink for a 1pm game and there’s 20 people there. When you come back home, where I was playing, we would get about 1600 very loud fans. Back on the road and still low numbers due to farm teams. It was very tough to get into the games but comparing it to the Devils fans, you can ask anyone, nothing really compares to them.

The Inferno. When the news of you signing in Kazakhstan came through, Devils fans thought the worse and expected to never see you in a Devils jersey ever again. How come the sudden change to come back? Was this your decision or were things not working out with the team? How do you feel about the 11 imports?

Mark Richardson. It was my decision, things were going very well there. People talk about it must be tough living there but it wasn't really the case. I wouldn't have had a problem staying there, I was fine with this and was happy but the toughest thing was family. Trying to get them over to visit and to get them here at the right time when I was able to spend time with them and especially flights/visa’s are hard to get and then transfers from the airport to my time without them speaking Russian that side was tough and having been there for 5 months without seeing them was really tough. After Japan with GB, I kind of evaluated things and always want to go away and play better league in Europe and better myself and found myself thinking am I playing in a better league? The answer was no, the hockey side of things I seen the Elite league had stepped up a few paces this year and the best decision hockey wise and family wise right now was to come back.

The team weren’t too keen on me leaving and had a few problems on my release but that’s all sorted now so looking forward to the rest of the year with Cardiff. Regards the increase in imports. People were saying 3 Brits abroad we have to up the import levels, I don’t really agree with that. It’s just 3 players leaving, there’s plenty of good Brit players in the league and the EPL who can step up if needed. I don’t know, at the same time if teams can afford to have 11 quality imports, I don’t see a huge problem, if you’re a Brit and good enough, you will play and this shows in Cardiff but I don’t think it’s a bad idea. 10 wasn’t so bad but I don’t think 11 is a huge difference.

The Inferno. You’re already signed up for 2013/14 season which is great news for us, what made you do this? What does the future hold in terms of your playing career?

Mark Richardson. Obviously like I said, I looked at the situation when I was in Kazakhstan, it’s a good place but coming back here for me is the best situation around. I’m here with my family, I’m close to my family in Swindon, I’m playing good hockey, playing in a place I love playing in front of the fans and even the building! To me, it just fits and myself and the team signing for next season also is really a no brainer. For the future, like I talked about before, if I still have that goal to push myself to the highest level possible if after playing in Cardiff again comes up in terms of a more renowned league I would love to take the chance and obviously it depends on taking my family or better access to them coming with me not like it was in Kazakhstan. As long as I’m enjoying hockey I think it’s key to still have that goal of moving up a level even if you never do, you always have that goal so will always push yourself.

The Inferno. Anything else you would like to add?

Mark Richardson. It’s great to be back and looking forward to the rest of the season. We have a really great team and think can push on and have a very good chance of winning the league and the playoffs this year.

Banner photo courtesy of Barrie Peers- http://www.flickr.com/photos/toy_car_uk/