Focus switches to junior tournaments in April!

Dear friends!

April is a time when ice hockey fans' attention is focused not only on the playoffs of professional leagues, but also on youth competitions. Many exciting tournaments will be contested during the second month of spring: the strongest club teams aged from 14 to 16 will compete for the Champions Cup, while the Tretiak Cup will be held across five cities in four age groups (10 to 13) and the final of the Youth Hockey League among 17-year-olds will take place.

Furthermore, just a few days remain until the Russian Cup begins. The Silver Final kicked off in Nizhny Novgorod Region on Sunday, and the Gold Final will take place at the Sirius Educational Centre on Tuesday.

The number and variety of tournaments organised by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) is constantly growing. We had 95 youth competitions in 2022, but now there are over 140. And the launch of the Russian Cup, which features 15-year-old juniors, has become one of the RIHF's major achievements in this area.

We developed this project in collaboration with clubs which are leaders in developing youth players. As a consequence, the strongest academies have received more opportunities to compete. The Russian Cup is not geographically segregated; teams are not confined to their federal districts. The best juniors from Siberia, the Volga region, the Far East, the capital regions and other parts of the country play against opponents of equal skill.

This is extremely beneficial for athlete development. High-quality competitive practice is one of the key factors in improving the skills of 15-year-olds. For them, the Russian Cup is an excellent opportunity to progress, move forward and prepare for the transition to professional level. The creation of this new tournament is a significant contribution to the qualitative strengthening of the Russian youth hockey system.

Three group stages of the Russian Cup were held in October, January and March. Academies from a wide range of regions participated, from Khabarovsk and Vladivostok to Cherepovets and Saint Petersburg. The tournament proved to be interesting and entertaining, with unexpected results and six to eight goals witnessed in every match. The best eight teams advanced to the Golden Final.

The competition not only allows for comparison of the level of training in Russia's leading ice hockey regions, but also serves as an excellent platform for evaluating candidates for junior Russian national teams. RIHF specialists closely monitor the performances of these talented juniors. The second round of the Russian Cup determined the squad for the team which competed at the international tournament in Astana, with our players finishing in second place of the standings.

We will soon find out who becomes the maiden champions of the Russian Cup! The Cup presentation is scheduled for April 25. Fans can follow the Golden Final on our website about youth ice hockey. Junior.fhr.ru offers many excellent broadcasts of both Russian Cup matches and other major competitions!

Vladislav Tretiak

President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation