Coaching staffs of Russian national teams

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation can reveal the coaching staffs of the national teams for the 2020/2021 season:

Senior national team

Head coach - Valeri Bragin
Coaches - Alexei Zhamnov, Andrei Kozyrev, Alexander Boykov
Goalkeeping coach - Rashit Davydov
Physical training coaches - Alexander Troshin, Yuri Zhdanov
Methodist coach - Jars Johansson

Valeri Bragin:

- It's a huge honour to become the head coach of the senior Russian national team, I extend my gratitude to the management of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. We've had a system which focuses on player development for a long time now. There is constant contact between national teams of all ages, we're all working towards the same goal and our work is already yielding positive results. Concerning the next World Championship, it's possible that NHL players won't participate, so we must focus on the players competing in Russia.



Olympic national team

Head coach - Oleg Bratash
Coaches - Konstantin Gorovikov, Yegor Bashkatov
Goalkeeping coaches - Nikolai Khabibulin, Alexander Kolobkov
Physical training coach - Filipp Arzamazov

Oleg Bratash:

- During the five years of the Olympic team existing, a lot of players have successfully moved through the team, subsequently competing at the World Championship and the Olympic Games. 19 Olympic champions in South Korea had previously represented our team. Of course, taking into account that less than two years remain before the next Olympics, it's clear how important this team is. We will continue preparing players for the senior national team.



Junior national team

Head coach - Igor Larionov
Coaches - Sergei Golubovich, Vladimir Filatov
Goalkeeping coach - Nikolai Khabibulin
Physical training coach - Filipp Arzamazov
Methodist coach - Vladimir Popov

Igor Larionov: 

- This is a big honour for me. It is very difficult to replace Valeri Bragin in this role, who was the head coach of the under 20 national team for a number of years. I wish Valeri success in his new job. However, the difficulties give me more energy to work hard, and we have a lot of great players. This team has big potential. I received a crucial experience at the 2020 World Junior Championship, I feel optimistic about the future and I want to help our ice hockey be the world leader.



Under 18 national team

Head coach - Albert Leshchev
Coaches: Denis Gusmanov, Vadim Khomitsky
Goalkeeping coach - Vladimir Chumichev
Methodist coach - Vladimir Popov
Physical training coach - Alexander Kofanov

Albert Leshchev:

- It's an honour for me to continue working with the best junior Russian players of their respective age group. We have excellent facilities here, as we work in accordance with the Red Machine Development Program. Looking forward, we are planning to closely look at candidates for the national team, our doors are open to any athlete who is displaying a great desire to learn and improve. The main competition for us in the 2020/2021 campaign will, of course, be the World U18 Championship.



Under 17 national team

Head coach - Vladimir Potapov
Coaches - Andrei Mironov, Dmitry Kokorev
Goalkeeping coach - Andrei Komissarov
Physical training coach - Alexander Kofanov

Vladimir Potapov:

- First of all, I would like to thank previous coach Vladimir Filatov, who undertook a large amount of work after becoming the manager of the team in its first year of existence. We will continue moving in the right direction. For our players born in 2004, this promises to be a vital season, as they make the progression from children's ice hockey to junior level. We are counting on them performing well in the MHL (Youth Hockey League) for their respective clubs. Together with the Scouting Department of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, we will analyse our candidates and pick the best.



Under 16 national team

Head coach - Alexander Titov
Coach - Alexei Babintsev
Coach - Maxim Velikov
Goalkeeping coach - Dmitry Mezentsev
Physical training coach - Alexander Khofanov

Alexander Titov:

- I extend my gratitude to the Russian Ice Hockey Federation for showing trust in me. The Russian national team system is working smoothly. The organisation created the excellent Red Machine National Development Program, which we will use in our training sessions. The first year for the guys in our team will be about getting used to playing at this level with each other. There are a lot of players to choose from, and the main thing is that they will make subsequent progression.



Senior women's national team

Head coach - Evgeny Bobariko
Coach - Denis Afinogenov
Coach - Sergei Mylnikov
Physical training coach - Alexander Yanushevich

Evgeny Bobariko:

- Our coaching staff will continue working with the senior Russian women's national team. At this moment in time, our goal is to prepare successfully for the upcoming campaign, which as usual promises to be packed. We will have some training camps and competitions before the World Championship begins in March, and we'll make sure that we're in optimal condition for the main tournament of the season. A lot of work is ahead of us. This will be the third of a four-year cycle, with the Olympic Games in China in mind.



Women's Olympic national team

Head coach - Denis Afinogenov
Goalkeeping coach - Sergei Mylnikov
Physical training coach - Alexander Yanushevich

Denis Afinogenov:

- The Olympic national team continues a lot of players who will later represent the senior side. Mainly, this team is for the younger players, as they will be given a chance with us before they take the step up to elite level. We want the players to progress and display their abilities on the ice. 



Under 18 women's national team

Head coach - Alexander Syrtsov
Coach - Evgeny Shcherbakov
Goalkeeping coach - Oleg Lavretsky
Physical training coach - Alexander Yanushevich

Under 16 women's national team

Head coach - Alexander Syrtsov
Coach - Evgeny Shcherbakov
Goalkeeping coach - Oleg Lavretsky
Physical training coach - Alexander Yanushevich

Alexander Syrtsov:

- We already have our pre-season plan ready. As the campaign progresses, we will gradually prepare for the World W18 Championship, which is our biggest goal of the season. It will take place in late December/early January. Last season, the players did well by claiming a bronze medal, but we want to go a step further. Next April we will also participate in the European Cup, a tournament which was sadly cancelled this season. The best under 16 players will compete at that particular competition.



General manager - Roman Rotenberg

Consultants - Vladimir Yurzinov, Alexei Kudashov

Vladislav Tretiak, president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation:

- We don't need to present our new head coach of the senior national team, Valeri Bragin. Over the years, he has worked with clubs and junior national teams, earning seven World Junior Championship medals (gold, four silvers and two bronzes) with the under 20 national team. All players of this current generation have worked with him in the past, he has the respect of everyone. At the same time, we don't need to explain who Igor Larionov is, his experience in the sport will certainly help him. Igor received a great experience at the 2020 World Junior Championship, with our team displaying an attacking brand of ice hockey, dominating the competition and coming within a whisker of a gold medal. Furthermore, Vladimir Potapov and Alexander Titov are new coaches in our system, they will be working with youth national teams. Sergei Golubovich and Vladimir Filatov will be members of the junior national team's coaching staff.



Roman Rotenberg, general manager and first vice-president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation:

- There has been a single training program for Russian national teams for quite some time now, based on a professional, individual approach to each player. All national teams have similar facilities for the training process and the same style of play which is only adapted to each separate age group. Each team has specialists who analyses video footage, there is an individual approach to every single player, we have special physical training programs, recovery and nutrition information and much more. Coaches of all national teams are working in accordance with the united system which we have in place, they understand the demands of achieving victories at international level. I want to say a big thank you to Alexei Kudashov for his efforts and contributions to the development of our ice hockey. At the moment, he can't fully concentrate on coaching, but he will be our consultant. His advice and opinions are very important for us.