Vladislav Tretiak: "It's time for the decisive moment of the season"

Dear friends!

The decisive moment of the 2020/2021 campaign has arrived, with our teams set to compete at their respective World Championships. On April 26, the World U18 Championship will begin, before the senior World Championship subsequently starts on May 21.

I know that fans across our country are looking forward to major international ice hockey, especially when we take into account that last year's competitions were cancelled as a consequence of the pandemic. 10 years ago, I remember that people spoke about only staging the World Championship every two years instead of in every season, but now we all realise that it wasn't a good idea at all. Hopefully, we won't have to wait so long for these tournaments again!

28 players will represent Russia at the senior World Championship in late May. I would like to wish all candidates success, the most important thing is that they avoid getting injured. I want all of our best players to compete at the tournament. The management group of the national team is continuing its large-scale preparations for the World Championships across all departments, we are all aiming for a successful result at the competition. The impressive results in the Euro Hockey Tour have been promising.

As for the under 18 national team, 32 players are currently in Novogorsk with the side. At the tournament, alongside displaying their talent and scoring fantastic goals, they have to prove that they are team players, blocking shots and showing their character on the ice. Our goal is to win gold at the tournament, which will take place in the USA this year.

Furthermore, we aren't forgetting about helping children train at the same time, with the Red Machine National Development Program continuing to be spread around the country. Agreements are being signed with KHL clubs who are interested in introducing innovative methods into their respective academies.

President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation,

Vladislav Tretiak