Russian national team players speak about the upcoming match against Sweden

Senior Russian national team defensemen Nikita Sedov and Shakir Mukhamadullin and forward Maxim Groshev spoke about their expectations for the second game of the 2020 Karjala Cup against Sweden.

Forward Maxim Groshev:

- We feel positive, but we need to leave what happened against Finland in the past and focus on Sweden. All of us are professionals, our task is to beat the Swedes and we will compete with full concentration and desire. Of course, given that Sweden lost to the Czech Republic on Thursday, we understand that they will be full of motivation tomorrow. We will do everything to forget the large score against the Finns and simply play our game.

Defenseman Nikita Sedov:

- We had a fast, intense and high-quality training session today, we're preparing for Sweden with a serious mindset. The Swedes will certainly be strong opponents. However, we need to focus on our own performance, playing our best ice hockey in an intelligent manner. Everyone in this team understands their respective roles. Chess? Yes, I'm a good player, and I've heard that Igor Larionov can play chess well too. We haven't played against each other yet!

Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin:

- We produced a great performance throughout the entire 60 minutes against Finland yesterday. Nevertheless, it was only the first game of the competition, we have to play with new emotions with Sweden. Our style of game? I think everyone knows that all Russian national teams always like to play on the front foot, competing with aggression and passion. I was really happy when the coaches called me up to the senior national team, I want to prove my worth on the ice and show why they believe in me! I lost my nerves after touching the puck for the first time.