Reaction after the Future Cup opener

Interviews were taken following the first match of the Future Cup between the U18 and U20 Russian national teams.

Russia U20 head coach Andrei Mironov:

"After two difficult periods, we spoke to the guys about the importance of competing with responsibility and seriousness. Nonetheless, despite the result, we have lots of things to improve. Such games are always challenging because the elder team thinks that it'll be easy, whereas the younger opponents are full of motivation to prove their worth. This is a good test for us ahead of the World Junior Championship. Even though we don't have any international tournaments, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation works hard to ensure that our players progress and develop. We noticed that everyone began to work even better after receiving the news about Russia being allowed to compete in the World Championship."

Russia U18 head coach Anton Korredor:

"The guys who had never previously played at this level struggled with the pace. I liked how we played for the maiden two frames today, but two poor mistakes in the penultimate minute of the second period proved decisive. The third period, of course, was a failure; it was clear that we were beginning to struggle physically."