Russia U20 interviews before facing the Czech Republic in Canada

Ahead of the second match of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship against the Czech Republic, junior Russian national team coach Vladimir Potapov, defenseman Artemiy Knyazev and forward Vasily Podkolzin all shared their expectations.

Russia U20 coach Vladimir Potapov:

- We analysed the match against the USA. When going over the game, we focused on how we position ourselves in the defensive, neutral and attacking zones, pointing out to the players where they can improve. Will we make changes to the line-up? We're always trying to improve our game and to become more solid in defence. The Czech Republic lost 1:7 to Sweden? We taking this match very seriously, all of us can remember how they pressed us during the opening five minutes of the game at the Karjala Cup in the Euro Hockey Tour in November. We will do everything to ensure that our players are fully prepared for the start of the match. Despite their defeat against the Swedes, the Czechs do have a very good team.

Russia U20 defenseman Artemiy Knyazev:

- We've analysed both the positive and negative aspects of our performance against the USA in our first match. Against the Czech Republic, we have to cut out our mistakes, because the opponents have a very strong team. They will be extra motivated after losing to Sweden. Nevertheless, if we stick to our game plan and play at our best, everything will be fine. Our physical condition? We're all in good shape. We're ready and pumped up!

Russia U20 forward Vasily Podkolzin:

- It was a tough game with the Americans, especially when you take into account that it was our first match at the competition this year. We had a rest yesterday, and today we have been analysing what happened in that match. We skated a bit and worked on our powerplay. Problems with our discipline in the third period of the game against the US? Yes, discipline is a hugely important component of ice hockey, we only have to look back at the final of the 2020 World Junior Championship. We've all agreed to improve our discipline so that we don't create problems with silly penalties. The Czechs lost 1:7 to Sweden? That result doesn't mean anything, there aren't any weak teams here. They will have a different mentality for this game. I can play the piano? Yes, that's true, I actually spent a full year studying in a musicial academy. I decided to play a few tunes for the other guys after our four-day quarantine period and I think it went down well!