Arkady Rotenberg: "I like all of our players without exception"

The chairman of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation board Arkady Rotenberg commented on the team's preparation for the 2016 IIHF World Championship:

- Is the team organised and ready for the World Championship?

- Yes, our organisation is ready. Every ticket has been sold for our team's matches, and fans also want to go to other matches. I think that attendances will be higher than in 2007. Moscow and Saint Petersburg have been prepared well in terms of safety, 

Our team is completely ready for the start of the tournament. Yes, the coaches haven't registered everyone yet, but they are keeping places open for NHL players. We completely trust our coaches.

- What is Russia's goal? Only gold?

- Of course! We have stars like Sergei Mozyakin and Pavel Datsyuk in the team, and Vadim Shipachyov, Evgeny Dadonov and Artemiy Panarin have got their Gagarin Cup winning line together again. We have an excellent goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky, and Ilya Sorokin is a rising star. Players like Ivan Telegin and Roman Lyubimov will make their World Championship debuts, and this will help their development. Everyone is ready, and will fight with character.

- From a fan's point of view, which players are your favourites?

- I like all of Russia's players without exception. I'm not saying this as to not offend anyone, but because I really believe it. We can make conclusions at the end of the tournament, and so far I would like to advise our fans to enjoy this ice hockey celebration in our two biggest cities. Also, it's really nice to see that not only men are interested in the tournament, but children, young people and women too. This wasn't the case 20-30 years ago.

We have that we wil see the fruits of our labour at the end of May. However, this is only the start of our journey. We will be able to make true conclusions of our work at the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea. This is our main goal, and step by step, we are moving towards it. 

I have already spoken with the guys, and I would again like to wish them luck in every match. I also ask the fans to support the players in good and bad moments. Ice hockey is a team game, and we can win if we stick together!

Russian Ice Hockey Federation