The Yunison Cup has started in Krasnogorsk

The Yunison Cup involving teams consisting of players born in 2014 has started at the Hockey City complex in Krasnogorsk.

Ak Bars Kazan, SKA Army, Dynamo Moscow, Lada Tolyatti, Red Machine Junior, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, SKA-Strelna and the Ruslan Saley School from Minsk in Belarus are all participating in the tournament.

The games will take place on the 18th and 19th of May. On Saturday, the Governor of Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov, the Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation Mikhail Degtyaryov, the First Vice President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and head coach of Russia 25 Roman Rotenberg, the President of HC Yunison Moscow Alexander Klimenko, the President of Liga Stavok Yury Krasovsky and
Russian national team defenseman Nikita Zaitsev all spoke at the opening ceremony.

Governor of Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov:

- I hope that the ice here will allow the players to display their best qualities which have been installed by their coaches and parents. I wish everyone luck! Thank you to Alexei Miller and Gazprom for constructing such a wonderful rink where children can train for free. Of course, I would also like to express my gratitude to Roman Rotenberg who provided the inspiration for this tournament.

Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation Mikhail Degtyaryov:

- On behalf of the Ministry of Sport and myself personally, I would like to congratulate everyone with the start of this competition and wish all participants success. Our ice hockey school has produced many legendary champions and coaches. As Vladimir Putin says, it all starts with youth sport. We need to develop youth sport together with all regions of our country, including Moscow Region.

First Vice President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation Roman Rotenberg:

- First of all, I would like to thank the Ministry of Sport and Mikhail Degtyaryov for their support of such projects. This wouldn't have been possible without the participation of the Moscow Region government and its governor Andrei Vorobyov, with whom we are always discussing how we can develop ice hockey. It starts with staging tournaments like this one, so that children can immediately understand that their dreams can come true here in Russia. They will show that they're capable of beating Canada, and any nation for that matter, at any level.

President of HC Yunison Moscow Alexander Klimenko:

- Our task was to create a world-class tournament with a great image and excellent organisation. Children should be presented with the opportunity to display their talents while competing against the best teams from around Russia and our brotherly nations. We want to improve the Yunison Cup and increase its level.

President of Liga Stavok Yury Krasovsky:

- In 10 to 12 years time, the core of the Russian national team will be made up of these players. Under the leadership of Roman Rotenberg and with their good partner of Liga Stavok, our players will defeat everybody!

Russian national team defenseman Nikita Zaitsev:

- We didn't have ice hockey celebrations like this when I was growing up! We could only dream of such wonderful rinks and infrastructure. I'm sure that the guys will receive a fantastic experience on the ice. The organisation is wonderful, even more grand than in North America. It's important that Russian ice hockey is developing, giving young players the chance to develop and play against one another. Moreover, I'm pleased to see that more attention is being paid to youth ice hockey. This is the right approach to take.