The new head coach of the Ukrainian national team – about the first matches of the national team under his leadership and preparation for future important competitions
Head coach Ukrainian national hockey team Dmitry Khristich commented on the performance of his players at the Tomasz Sarkozy memorial, talked about tactical nuances and shared plans for the future.
“The training camp went as planned, everything was up to standard. The performance was satisfactory, the opponents were serious, we felt good. They took second place among teams competing in Division 1A. Ukraine was able to play at the speeds offered by the opponent. In general, on a level with the teams in the division where we want to go.”
“It was important to me that the players could keep up with the pace of the teams in the division above them for three matches in three days. Mission accomplished. Defensive problems? Associated with speeds that are higher than in the Ukrainian Championship. And we have the majority of players from our championship, so this is a serious result for us. Of course, we are unhappy that we conceded 10 goals, but were able to score 9. And in the same match with Italy we kept a clean sheet in regular time.”
“It is important to improve the speed of transition from defense to attack. This will be necessary to fight for promotion in class.”
“Preparing for the selection for the Olympics? While there are no approved plans, I can’t say anything. Now I asked all members of the coaching staff to express their opinion about the team’s players.”
“Playing style? Defense comes first. And 9 goals scored in the first two matches is the result of an attack where the players showed that they are capable of demonstrating an individual level. But now defense will come first. We didn’t have a full three pairing in defense, plus we needed one more additional player. Not staffed yet.”
The November matches of the Ukrainian national team at the Tomasz Charkozy tournament were the first under the leadership of national hockey legend Dmitry Khristich. Let us remind you that the Ukrainian team beat the Hungarian team with a score of 5:4, lost to Slovenia with a similar score (4:5), and finally lost to Italy in overtime (0:1). At the end of the tournament, Ukraine took second place.
The Ukrainian national team continues preparations for the 2024 World Cup in Division 1B, where the goal is promotion. Next year, the blue-yellows will play against Estonia, China, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Spain at the world championship.
In addition, Khristich’s team will start qualifying for the 2026 Olympic Games in February 2024. Two of our team’s three opponents in Group J of the third round are already known – the national teams of South Korea and Poland.
Source: Sportarena
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.
