Roman Rotenberg and Valeri Bragin speak after winning the Channel One Cup

The general manager and first vice-president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, Roman Rotenberg, and the head coach of the senior Russian national team, Valeri Bragin, shared their emotions after winning the 2020 Channel One Cup in Moscow with a 5:1 triumph over Finland.

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

- I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful support. I express my gratitude to the fans, sponsors, Channel One and the journalists. We played to win every match. We only use the one system all of the time, it takes into account both Soviet traditions and modern approaches. I congratulate everyone with the victory! The Channel One Cup was a true sporting war, all participating nations played to win. Nevertheless, we were stronger.

Players who aren't involved in the KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs will compete at the next Euro Hockey Tour stage. Taking into account the current situation in the world, we don't know if the planned Euro Hockey Tour tournament in the Czech Republic will actually take place. So far, we have won all of our six games in the competition, trying out a lot of different players in the process.

It's not easy to find goalkeepers who win matches. Alexander Samonov has won three games here, but competition within the team continues. We aren't going to change our system. We have a modern scouting system, our colleagues are constantly monitoring the progress of all players.

It is a difficult process to bring the players together as a team in such a short period of time. At the Olympics, for example, one match can decide the fate of the competition. All of the guys fought for each other. With regard to the World Junior Championship, everyone is fine and ready to play, I wish the players success at the tournament! We saw their potential at the Karjala Cup when they played against senior players.

Senior Russian national team head coach Valeri Bragin:

- This was our third match in four days. It was a good performance from our point of view, we competed with aggression and speed. We played for first place with full concentration. It's a good win for us.

- Why didn't Vladimir Tkachyov and Igor Ozhiganov play?

- We decided to look at all of our players. Vladimir is tired, and Igor plays nearly every game in the KHL.

- How serious is Anton Burdasov's injury?

- It seems to be a minor injury.

- You know Alexander Samonov from SKA, but why didn't you give fellow goalkeepers Ivan Fedotov and Daniil Tarasov time on the ice?

- There is a chance that this was the last preparation period before the World Championship. The other guys don't have experience. We're happy with how Alexander performed in these three games.

- What are you satisfied with at this competition?

- We felt the responsibility with this being a home tournament. I know practically all of the guys, we have a good, productive atmosphere within the group. Everyone is happy with the victory. Overall, we're satisfied with how the majority of the players competed, they trained well and they began to understand what we demand from them. They all have different tactics with their respective clubs, but here we only want to play an attacking brand of ice hockey. They understood our demands by the time this game against Finland took place.

- Were you nervous before the tournament began? You hadn't worked as the senior national team head coach in the past.

- I had a few nerves, but I have huge experience in my career. We all wanted to win and the adrenaline was there.

- The World Junior Championship will soon begin.

- I wish our junior national team luck in Canada, they have a great chance to win the competition this year. I am constantly in contact with Igor Larionov.