It isn't quite a swagger, but there is a tangible air of confidence as Rudi Molotnikov walks into the interview room at the Hibernian Training Centre, and why not? Still just 18, he has scored six goals in 13 appearances for club and country since the start of July and as things stand, is keeping established Hibs players out of the starting line-up.
During the summer he travelled with the senior squad for their pre-season training camp in the Netherlands, made his first starts in the Scottish Premiership and Premier Sports Cup, scored his first competitive goal for Hibs, picked up a man-of-the-match award, and earned glowing praise from head coach David Gray.
Scoring for Scotland
He built on all that by hitting four goals in three games for Scotland under-19s in their first camp with new manager Neil MacFarlane. Let's start there.
"Scotland was good; it was our first camp with the new gaffer and he was great with us. He had a set way to play which suited me; I got a lot of the ball and I was able to create a lot of chances - and I got four goals in three games," he says.
'I felt like a bit of a role model going away, with the younger boys looking up to me. I'm full of confidence anyway with the gaffer giving me all those games and going away with Scotland helped keep that going,"
"Yes, I suppose so. I mean, you're always wanting to go 21s and then first team but the under-19s is my age group so I couldn't really complain about it. But hopefully it'll be the 21s soon," he adds.
"We all watched the 21s game together so that was maybe the new gaffer trying to hint to us that we should watch the game, take notes, and see what we can do."
Becoming a first-team regular at Easter Road
If Molotnikov can build on his impressive start to the campaign then perhaps he might attract Scot Gemmill's attention, although making the squad for next month's Euro Under-21 qualifiers against Belgium and Kazakhstan might be a bit of a stretch. Yet for all his growing confidence and enjoyment of finding himself in the first-team dressing room, there's an underlying air of humility when he reflects on the first few games of the campaign, coming after his first - and so far only - loan spell, at Stirling Albion, who suffered relegation to League Two via the play-offs.
"I never imagined it going this well but I worked really hard over the summer; I knew it would be a big season because having worked with the gaffer before, I knew he liked me.
"It was a big chance for me to step up, I took my chance, and he's got full faith in me which has filled me with confidence. The other players have been brilliant as well so it's been really, really good - but I honestly didn't ever think it would go this well," he says, with a smile.
The influence of Craig and Campbell
Assistant head coach Liam Craig has also been an influential figure, having played a similar position during a career that of course included a spell at Easter Road.
"Liam's a really nice guy and he understands me a lot. He played here, he knows what it takes, he was a midfielder, he understands it all.
"He's helped me a lot but so have Eddie and Sammy [Craig Samson], they've all helped me, and helped me feel confident," Molotnikov explains.
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His younger colleague can certainly empathise.
"Oh yeah, definitely, especially in training - sometimes I feel like my voice doesn't matter," he says, laughing. "But I look up to Josh now; he's done what I dream of doing in breaking into the first team."
'I like being that role-model figure'
Molotnikov may even find himself being held up as a role model for those in the under-18s - even if some of them aren't that much younger than him - and a sign of what can happen with hard work.
Does he feel the pressure of being an example to follow?
"I suppose they're all my friends so I just speak to them on the daily... I don't know if they do look up to me but if they do, then that's good," he says thoughtfully.
"I like being that role-model figure, it shows that making it into the first team is possible and if you work hard enough, it will come," he says, once again displaying a humble maturity beyond his years.
Joining Hibs in the aftermath of cup glory
For Molotnikov, becoming a first-team regular - we can probably just about call him that - is the culmination of years of hard work, starting with his arrival as a ten-year-old into the Hibs youth system in the aftermath of the Scottish Cup win in 2016 following spells with Loanhead Miners and Lochend.
"I think just after I signed the manager was in and we were all getting photos, and then they had the Scottish Cup play here and my mum and dad came in and we all got photos of the cup so it was great to get that sort of experience so early on but unfortunately we've not won a major trophy since, so we've not had that experience again - but hopefully soon."
Molotnikov would later share a dressing room and training pitch with some of the same players who had helped Hibs end that hoodoo, living out the dreams of many Hibs fans.
"Yeah, that was a bit surreal. I feel like you don't really deep it in the moment, but if younger Rudi thought about that, he'd go off his nut," he confirms with a grin.
Cutting his teeth with the under-18s
Speaking of the younger Rudi, even at the tender age of 15 he was featuring regularly for the under-18s, either from the start or off the bench, as the wee Hibees romped to the CAS Elite Under-18 League crown in 2022. Despite his youth compared even to the others, he never showed any sign of being overawed by the occasion and dealt well with the pressure that naturally fell on the team as result after result put them in pole position for the title.
"There are always expectations and Gareth [Evans] gave me that when I was 15. It was actually quite daunting, especially with him on the sidelines - although I suppose it could have been Eddie May! - but you're always looking for that next step. So when I came off the bench it was, 'Right, now I want to start' and then it was about always being on the team sheet," he recalls.
"The Youth League was something in itself but at the age I was at, I was just happy to be there - although the goal against Nantes was a bit special," he adds, remembering his 48th-minute strike that secured a 2-1 win against the French on their own turf and teed up a play-off round encounter with Borussia Dortmund.
That first squad number
In between winning the under-18s league and participating against Europe's young elite, Molotnikov signed his first professional contract with Hibs, and was allocated a first-team squad number of 51.
Hang on a moment. A player called Rudi? At Hibs? Wearing... number 51?
"It was all over social media," lifelong Hibee Molotnikov sighs good-humouredly. "My dad could be far less of a Jambo; he's just a fan of me and that's all he'll ever be - whoever I'm playing for, he'll support. It was just unfortunate and a coincidence."
You would only need to look back at his celebration after scoring against Queen's Park in the Premier Sports Cup group stages to understand what Hibs means to him.
"I'm going to try my absolute hardest to make sure things keep going the way they're going. That's the only goal I really have. If anything else comes up in between, then I'll consider it a bonus. I just don't want this to stop," he smiles.
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