Alexei Zhamnov: "We have analysed the Czech Republic"

Senior coach of the Russian national team Alexei Zhamnov spoke after the training session at the 2018 World Championship on May 9.

Senior coach of the Russian national team Alexei Zhamnov:

- Nikita Gusev feels fine, his condition is improving. Today, this was our first training session with all of the players participating. Before this, Nikita had been training with the others who aren't competing at the World Championship. Tomorrow, we will make a decision whether to include him in the roster. Why did we leave one place open in the squad? We want to see what happens. However, we're not looking at anyone from the NHL. The reason why we decide to register Nikita Soshnikov and not Alexei Byvaltsev? Nikita suits us more, he plays on the wing and we have players who can compete both on the flanks and in the middle. Nikita adds more energy. We have analysed how the Czech Republic play, it will be a difficult match tomorrow. No weak opponents are left, so we're preparing for a tough game.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation