The head coach Russian youth team at hockey Nikolai Vojvodina said that the Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) met halfway with some KHL clubs, who asked not to call up a number of players.
The Russian national team will participate in the international tournament “Betting League Future Cup” in St. Petersburg from November 3 to 6. The rivals of Nikolai Voevodin’s team will be the national teams of Belarus, Kazakhstan as well as the Russian junior U-18 team.
— Russian youth football teams have been suspended from international competitions, what can you say about it?
“It’s a shame that politics interferes in sport and prevents children from developing.
— What alternatives to international matches?
— Since we are not allowed to participate in international matches, the Future Cup tournament will take place. The fact that the global community does not allow us to do this is a mistake: sport should be outside of politics.
How do the guys deal with this situation?
“We discuss it with the guys, but they have enough matches, there is nothing we can do, there is no need to cry and get discouraged. Guys grow and develop, improving their skills. Yes, there are not enough international matches, but match training exists.
— Why are there no representatives of Spartak and hockey players playing at the KHL level?
— The Federation accommodated certain clubs, they asked not to call up players currently in good form. Many were not part of the team. For example, But Simashev, Silaev and Artamonov were not called up, they have extensive playing experience in clubs.
— Your team organized a friendly match against the junior team, tell us about this match.
— We observed the guys during the match, understood their condition, we will make changes for the next match in order to be ready for the tournament. We asked the guys to take care of the young guys, not to play hard, but the opponent, on the contrary, played harder hockey. We had some good chances at the start of the match, but we didn’t take advantage of them. We had to activate our levers, move to three-line play and win the game. The result is important, but not in the first place. The main goal is to improve the game.
— How will this tournament be useful to players trying to break into the KHL?
“Tournaments of national teams are matches of the best players, they will receive special attention from club leaders and recruiters, this will give impetus to development,” reports correspondent, according to Voevodina’s words.
In the 2023 NHL Draft, Simashev, 18, was selected by the Arizona Coyotes with the sixth overall pick, and Booth, 18, was selected 12th overall. Both hockey players currently play for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
This season, 17-year-old Silaev played 22 matches with Torpedo in the Fonbet KHL championship and scored 8 (2+6) points, while 17-year-old Artamonov scored 9 (2+7) points in 21 matches .
Watch the live broadcast of the match of the Betting League Future Cup tournament Russia (U‑18) – Belarus (U‑20) on November 3 at 2:25 p.m. Moscow time on the “Match! One country”. Later today, at 6:25 p.m., the channel will broadcast live the match between Russia (U-20) and Kazakhstan (U-20).
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
