The under 20 Russian national team have arrived in Edmonton

Ahead of the second CIBC CHL Canada Russia Series, the under 20 Russian national team have arrived in Edmonton, Canada.

Today's match will be held at Rogers Place, the new home of NHL club Edmonton Oilers. Our players will be coming into this fixture in a positive mindset too, having beaten Team WHL 3:2 on penalty shots in game one. Nikita Li, Danila Kvartalnov and Denis Alexeev scored the crucial goals, while goaltender Anton Krasotkin put in a huge performance between the pipes.

Just like yesterday, Russia's opponents will be Team WHL. Our team made an overnight trip to Edmonton, and as a result, no training session has been scheduled for today before the game.

Russia under 20 head coach Valery Bragin:

- This year, the World Championship will take place at big arenas in Montreal and Toronto. Today's game in Edmonton's large stadium should be a useful experience for our players, so that their mouths don't drop when playing in front of thousands of fans. Although, I doubt that eighteen thousand will watch our game today. 

- Is the tiredness factor a big issue?

- I have spoken about the Super Series' calendar on many occasions. It isn't becoming any easier. Nevertheless, it gives us an opportunity to see how our players perform in tough conditions.

- What can you pick out from the first match against the WHL?

- My players were really committed. Some tactical issues arose, but that was to be expected. A lot of players haven't played on the smaller Canadian ice before, you have to make decisions faster. We want the players to improve.

- In 10 out of the past 13 Super Series, the team that was won the first game has gone on to take the title.

- Psychologically, a victory in the opening match is really important. The players see that they can play on this level, especially given that the hosts have been taking this tournament a lot more seriously over the past few years. All of their best players compete, the quality of the player has risen. If we talk about the link between winning game one and the series, then I can't see that there is a true connection.

The second Russia - Team WHL match will take place at 06:00 Moscow time. Match TV will broadcast on television, and there will be live text on our official Twitter account.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation