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Tarasenko's wife 'real MVP' after well-timed birth 8 июня 2019 года. ESPN. By Greg Wyshynski.
ST.
LOUIS -- As the St. Louis Blues are one win away from the first Stanley
Cup in franchise history, there's speculation about who will win the
Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP.
One of the names in consideration is winger Vladimir Tarasenko, who has
11 goals in 24 games. But defenseman Colton Parayko offered another
interesting candidate: Yana Tarasenko, who gave birth to their son on
Friday.
"She's the real MVP," he said, smiling. "We're on the road, and it
happens on the day we get back. I think we landed and [Tarasenko] went
straight to the [hospital]."
The Blues defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 5 on Thursday night and
flew back to St. Louis. On Friday, Yana Tarasenko posted a photo of her
husband holding their newborn with the caption "our little boy ...
welcome to the world."
Tarasenko didn't participate in practice on Saturday for what was called a "maintenance day."
In their locker room on Saturday, the Blues expressed their joy about
the new addition to the Tarasenko family -- they have two other boys,
Mark and Sasha -- while praising the clutch timing of the birth.
"Yana did a good job of holding on, making sure Vladimir was there.
We're so happy for him. Another boy for them. So happy for the
Tarasenkos and their family, and everyone's healthy. It's good to see
that," winger Pat Maroon said. "Yana's done a good job. Good
communication I guess. It's been good."
Many of the Blues players are fathers, and acknowledged the difficulty
in having the birth of a child looming while trying to focus on a
potential championship run.
"Yeah, he's gotta be exhausted. I can't imagine, for him, what it's
like," O'Reilly said. "But it's amazing. It's one of the greatest
things in the world, to be a parent, and especially at this time going
through all that, the emotions he must have are amazing. Everyone here
is so happy for him."
His coach, Craig Berube, was also impressed with his Russian star's focus.
"Yeah, he's done a great job of it. It's not easy, and he's not the
only player who's gone through it. It's hard. Obviously, family is
important and first, and you gotta make sure that's all in check. But
Vladi's been great. He's been doing a great job of [focusing], and when
the game time comes, he's played hard and played well," said Berube of
Tarasenko, who also has five assists to go with his 11 goals, including
two game-winning goals as well as a playoffs-high 85 shots.
Yana Tarasenko talked about the work/life balance with Vladimir in a piece with St. Louis Magazine last September.
"Vladi is very attentive while at home. During the travel season, we
stay in touch via FaceTime. Sasha knows that when Daddy wears a suit,
it means he might be absent for several days, and he's OK with that.
They both understand that we are a sports family. They're proud of it
and try to be just like Dad," she said.
In the next two games, "Dad" will find out if he's a Stanley Cup
champion. Then comes the real challenge: Raising three children.
"I had three at once," said Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo, who
welcomed triplets last summer. "So they'll be all right. They'll find a
way to balance it."
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Страничка Владимира Тарасенко на сайте "Звёзды с Востока"
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