Hockey agent Alexei Deniev said that the junior world championship becomes less interesting without the participation of the Russian national team, which can compete with other favorite teams.
The World Youth Championships will take place from December 26 to January 5 in Gothenburg, Sweden. By decision of the International Hockey Federation (IIHF), the Russian team skips this tournament.
— The Youth World Championship is taking place as usual, every year it is an interesting competition. Of course, our fans and specialists would like to see this tournament with the participation of the Russian national team. Additionally, we have a large selection of strong hockey players in this age group, which would allow us to compete for tournament medals. At the moment, the biggest surprise is the failures of the Finns – two defeats in the opening matches. Also the successful match of the Slovaks and the defeat of the Czechs, who have a sufficient number of skilled hockey players, but play passively in defense and provide ample opportunities for opposing attackers. The German national team is happy to see that the little unknown goalkeeper Philipp Dietl is playing in their goal. There is nothing to say about the Americans and Canadians: they are like a steamroller against their adversaries.
— Has junior hockey felt the absence of the Russian national team over the years?
— In the absence of confrontation between the Russian national team and the Americans, Swedes, Finns and even more so the Canadians, hockey becomes somewhat tasteless, although it remains quite interesting. The hockey confrontation, multiplied by the confrontation between systems, generated intrigue and interest fueled by television and journalists. In the KHL there is a fashion for young players – in Nizhny Novgorod and partly in other teams. The recruitment of Silaev, Artamonov, Svishchev and others to Torpedo demonstrates to other clubs the abilities and talents of young hockey players. We will have a huge layer of players who have experience competing at the adult level. And at the Youth World Championships, the approach will be different. Now, by giving experience to talented KHL hockey players, teams are preparing the next galaxy of competitive players at the youth level,” Dementyev said, as quoted by RB Sport.
RB Sport
Source : MatchTV
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