The head coach “Admiral » Leonid Tambiev in an interview with , he said that returning the previous limit to foreign players could help the club find a quality foreign goalkeeper.
On Wednesday, the Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) announced that it would consider reducing the limit on the number of foreign players to five for the 2024/25 season. Starting from the 2023/24 season, Russian teams in the Fonbet KHL Championship cannot include more than three foreigners in their application for matches. The KHL has contacted the Russian Sports Ministry with a proposal to increase the limit on foreign athletes. The FHR coaches council unanimously opposed it.
— If the “Admiral” has not three, but five foreign players, how will the team change?
— The game will not weaken, that’s clear. And we will try to fill all vacancies competently. Let’s strengthen the positions we need. Our situation regarding foreigners – there is a Czech Libor Šulak under contract. We made a qualifying offer to Canadian Giovanni Fiore. And if there are five foreign players, then we have three or four vacancies, and there is freedom of maneuver. Maybe we will look for an imported goalkeeper in the market. The main thing is that it is officially accepted.
This is important to the admiral. It is difficult for us to fill quality vacancies with good Russian players. We will try to get new foreign players to definitely strengthen the team and become leaders. We have raised the level of the training process, which is important for our young people – let the guys follow them. The most important thing is that foreigners bring results to the team.
— So you’re going to look for a goalkeeper?
— We don’t have the first three yet. We need a frontline center forward. All the good Russian goalkeepers have already been taken. We want to find someone of Nikita Serebryakov’s level. Yes, it’s difficult, but maybe there will be such a goalkeeper in the market for foreign players?
A lot depends on this role. You see, Traktor with and without Zach Fucale are two different teams. And it doesn’t matter the level of the team. These playoffs once again proved for many teams: those who now play for the Gagarin Cup have very strong goalkeepers,” Tambiev told .
Admiral did not reach the Gagarin Cup playoffs this season, earning 54 points in 68 matches and finishing 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Watch live broadcasts of Fonbet KHL Championship matches on Match Group channels, matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.
Source : MatchTV
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