LAS VEGAS (KTNV) \u2014 For Ivan Barbashev, a taste of home starts with something simple \u2014 a bowl of soup \u2014 even while building a life in Las Vegas with the Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n
WATCH | Taylor Rocha has more on how “Barbie” balances hockey and family:<\/p>\n
Knights in the Morning: Ivan Barbashev reflects on Russian roots, family traditions in Las Vegas<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dish is probably the soup. It\u2019s called borscht,\u201d Barbashev said. \u201cEspecially on New Year\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s a big thing in Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The traditional beet-based soup remains a staple of Russian culture, tied closely to family gatherings and holiday traditions. While Las Vegas offers a wide range of international cuisine, Barbashev still finds himself searching for that familiar taste of home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s actually a few Russian places around the city,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
But for a deeper connection, he often turns to another city with a strong Russian community. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the summers, I go to Miami \u2026 they\u2019ve got a lot of good restaurants down there,” he said. “For the most part, we\u2019ll probably go there, take our kids \u2026 just have that kind of growing-up taste and just feelings, kind of being home a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those offseason trips are about more than food; they\u2019re about family and time together away from the rink.<\/p>\n
\u201cI usually just train \u2026 spend some time on the beach with the kids and just make most of the memories,\u201d Barbashev said.<\/p>\n
Maintaining Russian culture while raising children in the United States is something Barbashev approaches intentionally.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard, but we speak Russian to them at home,\u201d he said. \u201cThey grow up talking \u2026 and they ask too many questions, especially now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Language has become a key part of preserving that identity, helping his children stay connected to their heritage despite growing up far from it.<\/p>\n
Visits from family also play an important role.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents usually come here once a year,\u201d Barbashev said. \u201cIt\u2019s just nice to have them here \u2026 they\u2019ll usually bring some toys for my kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through traditions, travel and everyday routines at home, Barbashev continues to pass down the culture that shaped him \u2014 ensuring his children grow up with a sense of where they come from, even in a city built on reinvention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS (KTNV) \u2014 For Ivan Barbashev, a taste of home starts with something simple \u2014 a bowl…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5129],"tags":[3504,3505,3506,149,5317,5,3507,3508,3509,3510,3511,285,4,3512,74,39,5316],"class_list":{"0":"post-547760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-vegas-golden-knights","8":"tag-13-action-news","9":"tag-channel-13","10":"tag-go-knights-go","11":"tag-golden-knights","12":"tag-goldenknights","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-hockey-in-las-vegas","15":"tag-hockey-in-vegas","16":"tag-ktnv-tv-channel-13","17":"tag-las-vegas-hockey","18":"tag-las-vegas-sports","19":"tag-national-hockey-league","20":"tag-nhl","21":"tag-nhl-in-las-vegas","22":"tag-vegas","23":"tag-vegas-golden-knights","24":"tag-vegasgoldenknights"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116370277972130861","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}