National team press-conference ahead of the Karjala Cup

Ahead of the Karjala Cup in Finland, which is the first stage of the 2020/2021 Euro Hockey Tour, a press-conference of the senior Russian national team took place in Moscow on October 2.

The event, which was held in an online format and was shown on the media resources of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) witnessed the participation of the RIHF president Vladislav Tretiak, the first vice-president of the RIHF and the general manager of the national team Roman Rotenberg, interim head coach of the senior national team Igor Larionov and players of the national team.

President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretiak:

- We're living in the difficult times of the pandemic. At the same time, we are doing everything to ensure that our players can compete on the ice. I would like to thank the ice hockey associations of Finland, the Czech Republic and Sweden for participating at the Karjala Cup. We have a young team travelling to the competition, and we know that every player will fight for the honour of their country. Success comes as a result of discipline. I wish our guys luck in Finland!

First vice-president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, general manager of the Russian national team Roman Rotenberg:

- I would like to thank the Finnish Ice Hockey Association for organising this tournament. All participants have undertaken a lot of work to play at the competition. We are grateful to all of our partners, we're working in the same direction as one ice hockey family. The best players have been gathered for the Karjala Cup. It's a big honour for the guys to wear the Russian jersey, and our biggest goal is to win the Olympic Games in China. There are less than two years remaining until it takes place. Today's national team is made up of KHL leaders who are widely known in the USA and Canada, we're travelling to the Karjala Cup in order to beat all of our three opponents. We normally send a young team to Finland for this particular competition, however these are grown men who are playing successfully in the KHL. We believe that they can display their best qualities at senior international level. Who chooses the best players? The head coach, Igor Larionov, and the entire management group. KHL players who have already beaten the best teams in the league are going to the tournament.

Interim head coach of the senior Russian national team Igor Larionov:

- We have the opportunity to play ice hockey in these testing times. We have a young team here which is hungry to win. We're going to Finland in order to attack, not to defend. This is our goal. The guys are feeling great and want to show their best qualities, we have a couple of days to train before the tournament begins. The physical state of the players? There aren't any problems with this now, our main issue is the tough decision of selecting the line-up. The players are ready to display an attacking brand of ice hockey in Helsinki. Of course, the situation in the world right now is somewhat unpredictable, for all of the teams this will be a unique experience. We read about the social bubbles in the NHL, but this will be a test for our players. Nevertheless, I don't have any worries, because we had a similar training camp in Sochi during the summer which was organised by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. The players had a good relationship both on and off the ice. This is a good examination ahead of the World Junior Championship.

Russian national team forward Vasily Podkolzin:

- It's great to all get together as a team again, this is a chance to show our best qualities and display exciting, attack-minded ice hockey. We, as Russian players, always like to compete in an attacking manner. We have plenty of motivation to prove ourselves at this competition.