VOORHEES, N.J. – It got to the point where Egor Zamula was so lonely he was talking to his living room furniture.
The Flyers defenseman, who hails from Russia, was pretty much on his own here the past couple years.
Although he spoke passable English, he really didn’t have someone he could communicate with in his native tongue.
That’s one reason why he’s so grateful to have not one, but two, countrymen on this year’s team.
One would be much-heralded rookie forward Matvei Michkov. And the other would be goaltender Ivan Fedotov.
While Zamula was able to strike up some friendships with Flyers players from the United States and Canada, there’s nothing like having a friend or two who hails from the old country and can appreciate a good bowl of borscht.
“Last year I was pretty much by myself here,” Zamula said at the Flyers Training Center where training camp is into its second week.
“It’s very hard when you go home after good games or bad games, you want to speak to somebody. You’re talking to your TV or your chair. It’s very tough.”
If the television or chair start talking back, that’s when it’s time to hope for some assistance.
“Now I have a couple more Russians, it’s fun,” said Zamula, who signed with the Flyers as an undrafted free agent way back in 2018. “. You have Russian dinners, you hang out together. So it’s always fun.”
Zamula has been serving as an unofficial translator for Michkov when the official guy isn’t around. That can be bumpy at times because Zamula is still perfecting English. But he’s doing the best he can.
Besides that, Zamula can help Michkov get acquainted to American culture. The two have done some traveling together and the itinerary has been impressive, to say the least.
Zamula doesn’t want Michkov going through what he had to.
“I know when I first came to Canada, my three months there I was almost crying because I didn’t have Russian guys around,” Zamula said.
There have been trips to New York City and the Jersey Shore.
“We had a good summer,” Zamula said. “We went to New York, spent time over there. We went to Atlantic City. Had fun over there. We saw his parents as well. I think he’s doing a great job so far.”
While in the Big Apple, the duo stopped off at the U.S. Open in Flushing to see matches of a couple of their friends.
“Yeah,” said Zamula. “We saw Aryna Sabalenka (who won the women’s title) and Daniil Medvedev.”
Zamula has walked in Michkov’s shoes so he knows what he’s going through. It’s not easy picking up everything when you’re still just a kid.
“I didn’t give up,” Zamula recalled of the those first couple years. “I tried to understand my teammates. I started growing. Now it’s my turn. I try to do my best to help him get comfortable here. It’s different for him for sure. He’ll be fine.”
Actually it’s a two-way thing. Having Michkov around helps Zamula feel more at ease, too.
“It’s not hard for me to help him but when you have a group of Russians or Swedish people around, it’s easier for you,” Zamula said. “You start feeling calm. We’re pretty much together 24 hours (per day). Sometimes it’s too much and we take a day off of each other. Because it’s very hard.”
Zamula revealed one humorous incident which took place.
“Today, when we showed up, someone put him (Michkov) with a translator (for a media interview),” Zamula said. “The (most memorable) question was: ‘Did you already find a U.S. woman?’ I laughed. I’m like, ‘it’s too soon guys, focus on hockey!’+”
