At the beginning of the Russian invasion, Ozolina’s first emotions were confusion, and he felt that a small conflict was expected, for which the great powers would soon find a solution with minimal consequences. But soon Ozoliņš realized that everything would be different, and a few days later told his wife that he was going home.
Ozoliņš has made his decision quickly and unambiguously, at the same time being aware that it may affect his future.
Ozolins was surprised by the decision of some foreigners to continue playing in Russia, but added that “no one will be dragged out of the blue”, because everyone will live with the consequences of their decisions.
“Everyone has made their decision, they are aware of the consequences of that decision. I don’t know what they will be like – I know about what the consequences would be for me. But everyone has made a decision and lives with it,” said Ozoliņš. “I made my decision quickly, concretely and unambiguously, so I lived with the consequences for me. And I was ready, I was more or less aware of what they would be like. They may not be what I would like, maybe they will be in the future. “We make choices, and I have no right to condemn anyone now. After that, something may change in my future attitude, but now everyone makes their own decision and is responsible for the consequences.”
In the few days that Ozoliņš spent in Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine, he did not observe any special changes in the public environment, but he had not watched the propaganda content on local television before, because he did not feel compelled to do so. Only
Ozoliņš refused to be present in the last test match of “Torpedo”, because in a similar previous match match of two teams, political slogans had already appeared behind the players.
“I thanked him – no, I cannot sign for this and agree with such a vision of the situation, so I said that in any case I will not participate in this game,” Ozoliņš explained.
He also witnessed the mass cancellation of flights and the departure of Western airlines from the Russian market. Therefore, the way home to Latvia turned out to be unusual, taking a taxi for five hours from St. Petersburg to the Estonian border, which Ozoliņš crossed on foot.
Ozoliņš refrains from evaluating the processes in Russian society, saying that he does not want to stereotype people, because there are definitely Russians in the world of sports with both extreme and democratic and liberal views.
Ozolins has no doubt that KHL will continue to exist, but it is not clear what the league will be like. In the context of the Latvian national team, Ozoliņš sees himself only in the role of a television viewer and fan, adding that perhaps there will be a little commentator, but without explaining it in more detail.
Ozoliņš does not see a place in the national hockey national team, while Viesturs Koziols will be involved in the management of Latvian hockey.
Ozoliņš refrained from further explanations, saying that it would not be fair to express the vision of only one involved party on television.
In the spring, Ozoliņš is preparing for the Riga Marathon, where he wants to run the classic distance, so it takes him a lot of time and energy. The 49-year-old Ozoliņš started running during the pandemic and continues to do so. Although Ozoliņš built the first 18-hole golf course in Latvia, he has not been playing golf since 2014, so as not to risk his health after back surgery.
Ozolins does not believe that he will definitely associate his future with hockey, but in Nizhny Novgorod he was convinced that he could perform different functions and gained very different emotions. Ozoliņš has not given up on the idea of his hockey school, but at the moment he does not really see that he could fill all the necessary stages.
CONTEXT:
Ozoliņš is the only Latvian hockey player to win the Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1996 as part of the Colorado Avalanche. He has played in the Star Game seven times in his NHL career. Ozoliņš ended his career as a hockey player in 2014 and a few years later began his coaching career, becoming the assistant head coach of Riga “Dinamo”.
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