Igor Volkov has an immense, irrational fear of his skates untying in a game. He always felt insecure about his own ability to tie his skates (it seems that he never fully learned as a child or even as a teenager), and when he did, he'd often have to interrupt the game to retie them, often unsuccessfully. He has been known in the league as "that guy who can't tie his own skates". It seems that this fear stems from a combination of prior unsuccessful attempts as well as him falling headfirst into poisonous ivy on his first hiking trip. In his first few games in the SMJHL, Igor was seen struggling with his laces by third period very often, which led to some strange commentary from the broadcasters. To avoid this from happening again, Igor usually asks his teammates to tie his skates before every game, and this has occurred in both the SMJHL and the SHL. Igor has been attempting to learn for a few months now, and although he admits that he thinks he has it and can tie his skates semi-reliably now, he still does not trust his own ability to tie his skates, as he still has that irrational fear of them untying. Igor doesn't think that he'll fully get over it, and he still relies on the help of his teammates to get him prepared for a game. This might last for his entire career, and he apologizes to his teammates for inconveniencing them.