In their meeting on the 22nd, Kirill Tulupov of the Oklahoma City Barons laid out an unsuspecting Mathieu Tousignant of the Texas Stars. Tulupov was forced to defend himself for a clean hit and did so like Big John Studd.
In December, Tulupov interviewed with Artful Puck and talked about his physical play and the type of player he wants to be:
PT: How do you describe yourself as a hockey player – you play defense, but tell me more.
Tulupov: It is the hardest thing to talk about yourself. It’s very hard. – I’m strong. I’m fast. I’m maneuverable. I like to be physical. I like to use my body. Just because I train and there is a reason why I do it, I want to have a reputation and I hope soon enough that it will pay off for me, so I don’t have to do much of a job out there just because forwards will decide to enter the zone from the opposite side of the ice. There are things I have to show because I cannot be saying right now that I have a great skill and stuff, I just cannot say it right now because I have not showed it. I have to prove it first and then I can speak about it.
What I learn and what I want to be is a very good, well-rounded player. I want to be a great player. It’s my thing. It’s my job, it’s my passion in life and I want to be just as good as possible.
Tulupov has endeared himself to Barons fans and has become known throughout the AHL for his thunderous hits.