Russia U18 in Slovakia. Day three

The Russian under 18 national team are continuing to prepare for the 2017 World Championship in Slovakia. Today, the players trained in these following lines:

Ustimenko, Rayko, Zhukov;

Samorukov, Perelyaev - Chekhovich, Lipanov, Svechnikov;

Rubinchik, Galenyuk - Alexeev, Bitsadze, Shashkov; 

Baranov, Kalabushkin - Slepets, Koltygin, Maximov;

Dedov, Osin - Lobanov, Klisunov, Muranov;

Okhotyuk, Toropchenko - Nikolenko, Marushev.

Russia U18 goalkeeping coach Andrei Malkov:

- Maxim Zhukov arrived here during our game against Latvia, he has trained. We have taken the decision to let Arseniy Akhmetov go. Arseniy accepted the decision like a professional and was very mature. He has talent and I am sure that he won't disappear. Thanks to him for helping the national team. 

Goalkeeper Maxim Zhukov is still adapating to being in Europe again. We'll give him ice time against Canada tomorrow, but I can't say if he will play the whole match or just a part of it. We will see how the match works out. We have thoughts about who will be our number one goaltender at the World Championship, but it's too early to say anything. Tomorrow, it will be a tough game against Canada, especially given that we are getting used to playing on the smaller Canadian sized ice. 

Russia U18 goalkeeper Maxim Zhukov:

- I feel good, but training was a bit hard at the start. I think that I have already adapted to the time difference. The coaches have told me that I will play tomorrow, but they haven't said if it will be in the first or second half. If they say to play the entire game, I will be ready.

I like the North American style of ice hockey. The rink is smaller, there are more shots and the game is faster. I have good impressions from my season abroad, I played fine. I can't say that I have learnt anything new, I have simply been building on what I could already do. I live with a nice family, they cook delicious food. Our team is a friendly one, all of the guys are from different cities and we all spend time together. Having already studied English before I left for North America, I didn't have the language barrier to worry about. 

Russian Ice Hockey Federation