Reaction after playing Great Britain at the 2021 World Championship

Following the 7:1 victory against Great Britain at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, senior national team head coach Valeri Bragin and forwards Anton Slepyshev and Sergei Tolchinsky shared their emotions with the media:

Head coach Valeri Bragin:

- Of course, the opponents weren't of the highest level, but Andrei Kuzmenko, Sergei Tolchinsky and Ivan Bocharov performed well in their first match of the competition. We wanted make a positive start today, and we did that by scoring goals. The right way to compete is five players in defence and five in attack. This was a useful game for us, it will help us as we move forward in the tournament. Konstantin Okulov? He is staying here with us as he recovers, we are counting on him for future matches. I think that Evgeny Timkin will play on Monday, and Alexei Marchenko is training well. We will analyse the Slovaks before facing them in our next match.

Forward Anton Slepyshev:

- It was really important for us to compete with focus throughout the full 60 minutes against Great Britain, there have already been a couple of shock results at this competition. We started well, but the British tried to cause problems for us in the second stanza. Nevertheless, it was a good match for us overall, and we will now move on to the upcoming games.

Forward Sergei Tolchinsky:

- It's a good win for us, and it was great to score my first World Championship goal. I had been out for two weeks with illness, I only returned to the ice four days ago. The coaches gave me the opportunity to gain form. I feel ready now, and I will continue giving my all for Russia.