Reaction after beating Switzerland at the 2019 World Junior Championship

Following the 7:4 win against Switzerland at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, head coach Valery Bragin, defenseman Dmitry Samorukov and forwards Vitaly Kravtsov and Klim Kostin shared their views.

Russia U20 head coach Valery Bragin:

- I'm happy that we recovered from a disappointing start. Our penalty killers did well and we scored our goals. At this tournament, there are no weak opponents. I think that the fact we beat the Swiss in a friendly match had a role in our mentality for this game. Why did I put Vasily Podkolzin on the powerplay? He's done well on special teams for his club and the under 18 national team. He made a simple mistake today, but afterwards, he made up for that with excellent play. Vitaly Kravstov is improving with every game. Canada are the competition favourites.

Russia U20 forward Vitaly Kravtsov:

- We started poorly today, but thankfully, we managed to make a comeback and tally a win. Maybe there was a problem with our mindset today. Nevertheless, I'd like to thank our penalty killers and the goalkeeper, they put in a huge effort. Can I remember seeing two penalty shots given for one incident? No, but I was confident that Daniil Tarasov would make the saves. We will be pumped up to play Canada, they also play a two game and it's the most interesting rivalry in the sport.

Russia U20 forward Klim Kostin:

- Switzerland aren't a weak side and you saw what happened on the ice. After the second period, our head coach told us to rescue the situation and play a lot better, and we managed to do just that. To be honest, it was strange seeing two penalty shots given for one play, but there's no point in arguing with the referee's decision. We will now go and rest and watch videos of how Canada play.

Russia U20 defenseman Dmitry Samorukov:

- My foul? I needed to give the goalkeeper more time to prepare for the Swiss shot. Valery Bragin told me to watch the incident back on video tape. Initially, we made a few mistakes in this match, and we fell into penalty trouble. We spoke together in the break and we managed to improve. Against Canada, we have to be ready immediately from the first shift.