Vladislav Tretiak and Roman Rotenberg speak about Olympic preparations

Russian Ice Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretiak:

- Everything's going to plan, the players worked on special teams at the first training session.

- Russia will play against Belarus and HC Spartak Moscow, not the strongest opponents. Why did you choose them?

- I don't think that Belarus have a weak team. From my own experience, we played a match against CSKA Moscow in preparation for the 1972 Olympic Games. We need to test our lines and see how the special teams work. These matches will be difficult for us, allowing us to see how strong we are. It will be an interesting game tomorrow, because Belarus always play well against us. They know the Russian players.

- Five players weren't allowed to play at the Olympic Games, while the NHL aren't competing either. How would you rate our chances?

- The coaches choose the roster. We have the U20, B and senior teams, which have been preparing for the past two years. We have a lot of staff who look at match analysis, they study how every players competes. Information is gathered for every candidate. It's always hard to pick the roster, some will always be left unhappy, but the coaches chose the best because they want to win. 

- Can you say that the ice hockey team came off lightly in the sanctions?

- We were respected. I would like to point out that the IIHF supported both the Russian men's and women's national teams. All teams, including Canada, Sweden and the USA, gave us their support and stated that the Olympic tournament without Russia wouldn't be right.

First RIHF vice-president and team leader Roman Rotenberg:

- Will Russian players participate in the Olympic Games opening ceremony?

- The team will stay in Anyang until February 10, where an exhibition match will take place against South Korea. The male players aren't planned to take part in the opening ceremony, but the women's team will.

- Is there news surronding players who weren't invited to the Olympic Games?

- We sent a letter to the IOC about the five players in question. We haven't yet received a reply.

- Did the IOC explain why they didn't let Valery Nichushkin compete?

- They invited those who they fought needed to play. Nothing else was explained. The first part is the Oswald Commission, and then it's the invitations made by the IOC.

- What happened in the situation with Lyudmila Belyakova?

- The ROC stated that there was a technical error made. We don't know where it happened. For us, it was important to turn that decision around.

- Could there be a technical mistake with the male players?

- No.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation