Hockey world championship youth. The Russian youth hockey team begins the World Championship. New Era Field
January 4, 2017.
Semi-final.RUSSIA - USA 3:4 B (1:1; 1:2; 1:0; 0:0; 0:1)
The Russians scored goals: Kaprizov (Vorobiev), Guryanov (Kudako, Karnaukhov), Guryanov.
The appearance of Ilya Samsonov in goal was not a surprise. Forward Danil Yurtaikin returned to the lineup, while defender Artem Volkov and forward German Rubtsov did not take part in the match.
At the beginning, the game went on almost non-stop, but it didn’t get to really dangerous moments. The calm and careful course of the match was disrupted by the first line of the Russians: Polunin forced a fight in the Americans' zone, Vorobyov left the puck to Kaprizov, who jumped out from behind the goal and shot through Parsons. It was heading towards the break when luck smiled on the Americans - Keller shot from the corner of the court, hitting his partner: a rebound and 1:1.
The second period began with attacks by the Russian team, one of which ended with a goal by Guryanov, who finished the puck into the goal after a long-range throw by Kudako. The Americans responded to the Russians' goal with two, first Kanin scored on the power play, and then White again, with the help of a rebound, brought the US team ahead - 3:2.
At the beginning of the third period, the Americans had the opportunity to increase their advantage thanks to a free throw, but Keller was unable to beat Samsonov, who tightly caught the puck. Not even a minute had passed - Denis Guryanov showed how to implement a one-on-one situation, scoring a double. The remaining time until the end of the period was spent in double-edged attacks, but at the time of the siren the scoreboard showed 3:3. The extra ten minutes were a continuation of the third period: dangerous attacks, but again without results.
In the shootout, luck smiled on the opponent - Troy Terry scored the winning shot.
Based on materials from the Russian Hockey Federation
The 42nd World Championship will be especially noteworthy for the Russian national team and its head coach Valery Bragin, whose youth career began with the “golden” tournament in 2011.
That championship was held in Buffalo, so Bragin was probably pleased that this city won the fiercest competition for the right to host the tournament from Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Chicago.
It was the 2011 MFM that changed the status of the tournament in the eyes of Russian fans. From a competition that is obscure and interesting to the mass audience, the youth world championships have become an invariable New Year's attribute for Russians who are at least somewhat interested in hockey.
In fact, one can even say exactly when and why this change in consciousness happened.
On January 5, 2011, Russia beat Canada in the final, avenging their defeat in the group.
If in the first match of the tournament (3:6) the Russians outright lost the third period to the “maple leaves”, which the teams approached with a score of 3:3, then in the final Bragin’s team lost before the final 20 minutes with a score of 0:3, but were able to hold an incredible five goals in a row and snatched gold.
That match was officially recognized by the International Hockey Federation (IIHF) as the best in the history of the world youth championships.
Miracles on schedule
But the main reason why youth hockey received the status it deserved in the eyes of fans was not even the 2011 Buffalo gold.
Hockey at the level of youth teams and Bragin's teams do not leave anyone indifferent. This is a celebration of play, sincerity, skill, emotion, character and patriotism in the best sense of the word.
In addition, the national team under the leadership of Bragin has one peculiarity: it always plays to the end, without giving up in any situation, thanks to which it fantastically often performs miracles.
Bragin himself, over the years of working with the Russian youth team, earned the honorary nickname Valery Kambekovich.
Bragin really knows how to work with young hockey players, understands their psychology and year after year finds the right path to their hearts.
Back in 2004, the specialist led the Russian team at the Junior World Championships and won gold there with the team where Alexander Radulov and.
Even then, in the final match against the USA, the Russians were able to win (3:2) after losing the first game segment with a minimal score.
But Bragin’s team began to stream comebacks at the youth level. In 2011, the final match with Canada was a crown of miracles for the Russian team, and before it there was a quarterfinal victory over Finland in overtime (4:3 OT), when at the beginning of the 56th minute Russia was losing with a score of 1:3, and a semifinal against Sweden , won in shootouts (4:3 B).
In that match, the Russian national team led by two goals, but allowed the opponent not only to win back, but also to take the lead, and in the 57th minute, and still saved themselves and reached that same final against Canada.
The following year, the Russians bounced back in the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic (2:1 OT), but in the final they held on against Sweden on the shoulders of a goalkeeper who stopped the first 57 shots on his own goal, but still missed the 58th in overtime from Mika Zibanejad. The Russians were able to scrape together only 17 shots at the Swedish goal.
After this, Bragin resigned and headed the country’s main youth team for two years.
Despite the fact that bronze medals were won twice under him, I don’t really want to remember this period: for some reason, the Russian team at both tournaments had a very strange selection of players, when one or two links were clearly weaker than others, and awards were actually won on the shoulders team leaders.
Although in both cases the Russian team lacked just a little in the semi-finals against Sweden, and in the “bronze” matches Canada was beaten twice, Bragin’s return to the youth team in 2015 was perceived as happiness.
Until the second coming of the specialist turns out golden. In 2015 and 2016, the team under his leadership took silver awards, but last year they were left with only bronze, but it was very, very disappointing.
But at these tournaments, Bragin confirmed his reputation. In the 2015 final with Canada, it was just a little bit short of a comeback - Russia was hopelessly losing with a score of 1:5 during the third period, but scored three goals in a row and almost saved the match.
Well, the 40th MFM was marked by the “comeback” of the Russian youth team. At the group stage, strong victories were won over the Czech Republic (2:1 B) and Finland (6:4), but those were just flowers.
In the playoffs, Russia saved itself three times, twice in the last minute, by changing the goalkeeper to a sixth field player. This happened in the quarterfinals against Denmark (4:3 OT), in the semifinals with the Americans (2:1) the Russians turned the game around in the second period, and in the final against Finland, Russia missed a second in the minority in the 58th minute and was able to turn the match into overtime with a goal six seconds before the siren, but missed in the extra period.
Anomaly-2017
The 2017 World Youth Championship was strange for many reasons. Firstly, for the first time in the history of this tournament, the current champion did not end up in the playoffs, but in the play-off round for survival in the elite.
The Finnish national team managed to lose its chances of leaving last place in the group with Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Switzerland even before the last round, and then, not without problems, won the survival series against Latvia (2:1, 4:1).
The innovation of the tournament played against Russia. At the MFMs in Montreal and Toronto, for the first time, a rule was in force under which in the playoffs the shootout series initially consists of not three, but five attempts.
For some reason, the Russian hockey players didn’t know this, and in the third period they saved - well, what about? - semi-final against the USA, after the third American shootout was saved, we went to rejoice.
It turned out that it was too early - the referees returned the teams to the ice, and the Americans scored the next two attempts, the Russians scored only one, and in the extra shootout, luck favored the Stars and Stripes.
Russia's super squad
Bragin’s team is heading to the current world forum with a very powerful and promising lineup. Forward Andrei Svechnikov is aiming to be selected first overall in the 2018 NHL draft.
Playing in Canada for Victoriaville, he became the second all-time leading scorer in the Quebec Junior League (QMJHL) last season.
Already playing in the AHL for the St. Louis farm club San Antonio, he is a very promising forward who is predicted to have an excellent future in the NHL.
Finally, Russia has a great trio from the SKA farm club “SKA-1946” Altybarmakyan - Polodyan - Maltsev. These guys should definitely make a statement in Buffalo. In the recent Super Series with Canadian junior league teams, they looked great.
And, of course, there are no hockey players in Bragin’s team whose call-up to the youth team would look strange, which the youth teams of 2013 and 2014 did not avoid...
The composition of the Russian national team at the 2017 World Cup:
goalkeepers:(“SKA-Neva”), (“Sioux Falls”, USHL), (“Chelmet”);
defenders:(CSKA), (Chelmet), (Swift Current, WHL), (Dynamo Moscow), (Tolpar), (SKA-Neva), (Gelph Storm, OHL), ( "SKA-Neva");
forwards:(“Sudbury”, OHL), (“Avangard”), Vitaly Abramov (“Victoriaville”, QMJHL), (“Lokomotiv”), (“SKA-Neva”), Andrey Svechnikov (“Barry Colts”, OHL), ( “SKA-Neva”), (“Acadie-Bathurst”, QMJHL), Marcel Sholokhov (“Chelmet”), Klim Kostin (“San Antonio”, AHL), (“SKA-Neva”), (“Lokomotiv”) .
Foreign constellations
Although this year the Russian national team will be one of the main favorites of the World Cup, there are plenty of brilliant young players on the rosters of other teams.
A traditionally powerful team was brought to America by Sweden, whose hockey system for training juniors works like a real conveyor belt.
It is perhaps worth highlighting two hockey players from Tre Kronur. The 18-year-old defender is already playing hard in the elite division of Sweden for Frölunda, scored 11 points (5+6) in this championship and is the main competitor for the first number of the 2018 draft.
But the main star of the Swedes is still 19-year-old forward Elias Petterson, who is simply blowing up the Swedish league as part of Växjö.
The striker went to the youth team as the league's top scorer! In his first season, he already scored a fantastic 35 (11+24) points in 26 matches!
No hockey player in the country's rich hockey history has ever scored 1.35 points per game in the Swedish league.
We can say that the Vancouver Canucks, who selected him fifth overall in last year's draft, hit a real jackpot. Petterson should become a worthy heir for the Orcas and the Sedin brothers, who in their first year in adult hockey scored about one point per game and were still the best in SHL history.
Among the Finns, we highlight center forward Rasmus Kupari, who at the age of 17 not only plays in the elite division of the national championship for Kärpät, but is also the youngest in Suomi, as well as Jokerit left winger Eli Tolvanen, who is making his debut match in the KHL scored a hat-three, and now has 32 (17+15) points in 39 regular season matches.
The Americans have a very experienced team this year, which is also traditionally played, since most of its players passed through the USNTDP team of the US junior training system.
At the same time, the leader of the Stars and Stripes, 19-year-old New York Islanders prospect Kiefer Bellows, after this “talent forge” managed to play last season for Boston College, and this year he is playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in Canada for Portland scored 40 (19+21) points in 31 matches.
Bellows' Canadian rival in the WHL, defenseman Kyle Clague, who is a Los Angeles Kings prospect, a fan of the game and, apparently, an heir, is the leader of the Maple Leafs team.
This season, 19-year-old Clague has scored an incredible 47 points (10+37) for a defenseman in 28 Western Hockey League games!
Also worth a look are team captain Dylan Dube, who was drafted by the Calgary Flames and has 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists) in 27 games for Kelowna in the WHL this season, as well as two other forwards.
Alex Formenton and Robert Thomas are the only 18-year-old players who managed to make it to the Canadian national team for this World Cup.
They are teammates with London in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), while Formenton made his NHL debut for the Ottawa Senators at the start of the season before returning to junior hockey. Thomas, a forward for the St. Louis Blues, has 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) in 27 OHL games this regular season.
Convenient schedule
Despite the fact that this year the tournament is taking place overseas, the match schedule is quite convenient for Russian fans.
This is due to the fact that our team ended up in Group B, where there is neither Canada nor the USA, which will get local prime time, which for residents of the central part of Russia means late at night.
Bragin's team will begin the tournament on December 26 with a match with the Czech Republic at 20.00 Moscow time, with Switzerland it will play on the 28th at 22.00 Moscow time, the game with Belarus will begin exactly one day later, and only the final match of the group stage against Sweden will take place on January 1 at 4.00 Moscow time because of his status.
However, for Russians who will be celebrating the New Year before then, this may be even better.
In Group A, which includes Canada, the USA, Finland, Denmark and Switzerland, the North American derby will be held for the first time in the history of the World Cup outdoors at the New Era Field stadium for American football, which seats almost 72 thousand spectators.
As for the playoffs, the knockout games will take place in 2018 and almost all of them will take place at the home stadium of the NHL club Buffalo Sabers, Kickbank Arena, which seats almost 20 thousand fans.
You can get acquainted with other news, materials and statistics on the Russian national hockey team, as well as in the groups of the sports department on social networks
2017 IIHF World Youth Championship, which will take place in the homeland of hockey, in the Canadian cities of Toronto and Montreal, starts on December 26, 2016. The final match of the 2017 World Youth Championship, where hockey players no older than 20 years old participate, will take place on the final day of the tournament - January 5, 2017. Let's hope that the Russian youth hockey team, coached by Valery Bragin, will be able to reach the finals.
World Youth Hockey Championship: schedule
We have already answered the questions about when the Youth Hockey World Championship will start and where it will take place. Now let's talk about the participants and structure of the tournament. The 2017 World Junior Hockey Championship will feature 10 teams divided into two subgroups. The Russian youth team will play in Group B, which, in addition to it, includes the teams of Canada, the USA, Slovakia and Latvia. In turn, the top five teams in Group A will be the teams of Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Switzerland. 4 teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, and then the fight will proceed according to the playoff system.
Now, more about the schedule of the 2017 World Youth Hockey Championship, compiled according to Moscow time. On the first day of the tournament, December 26, two matches will take place: Sweden and Denmark will play at 21:00 Moscow time, and the USA and Latvia will play at 23:30.
On December 27, at one o'clock in the morning, the Czechs and Finns will meet, and then, at four o'clock in the morning Moscow time, the Russian team will play with the hosts of the championship, the Canadians, in the opening match of the 2017 World Cup. During the same day, December 27, the Czechs will take to the ice again: their meeting with the Swiss is scheduled for 21:00.
On the night of December 27-28, exactly at midnight, the Russian team will begin its second match - against the Latvians. At 01:30 on December 28, the Finns will play with the Danes, and at 04:00 the Canadians will test the Slovaks.
Four fights are scheduled for Thursday, December 29. At 01:00 the match between the Swedes and the Swiss will begin, at 03:30 the Slovaks will play with the Americans, at 21:00 the Danes will cross clubs with the Czechs, and at 23:30 the Russian team will meet the US team. The Stars and Stripes, as you can easily see, will have to hold two meetings within 20 hours.
On Friday, December 30, two matches will be held: Finland - Sweden (01:30) and Latvia - Canada (04:00).
The last day of the outgoing year at the MFM will be eventful. On December 31, the following will take to the ice: Switzerland - Denmark (01:00), Slovakia - Latvia (03.30), Sweden - Czech Republic (21:00) and USA - Canada (23:30).
On New Year's Eve, January 1, the group stage will end with two games: Finland - Switzerland (01:30) and Russia - Slovakia (04:00). Let us note that the Russian national team will play all matches of the group stage in Toronto, at the Air Canada Center arena.
The quarterfinals will take place on January 2-3. On January 2, two matches will take place: at 21:00 the winner of group A will play against the team that took 4th place in group B, and at 23:30 the winner of group A will play against the fourth team of group A. Earlier, at 19:00, there will be a repechage match for 9th place between outsiders.
On Tuesday, January 3, two more quarter-final matches will take place. At 01:30 the second team of group A will play against the third team of group B, and at 04:00 the second team of group B will play with the third team of group A.
The semi-finals of the 2017 World Cup are scheduled for January 4-5. On January 4, at 23:00, the winner of the quarterfinals A1-B4 will play with the winner of the pair B2-A3, and on January 5, at 03:30, the teams from the quarterfinal pairs B1-A4 and A2-B3 will play.
On the evening of January 5, at 23:30, the match for 3rd place will take place, and on the night of January 5-6, at 04:00, the final match will begin in Montreal.
2017 IIHF World Youth Championship: where to watch
All matches of the Russian youth hockey team at the 2017 World Cup will be broadcast live on the Match TV channel. The start of live broadcasts coincides with the start of meetings indicated above. Taking into account the fact that the games are taking place at a time that is not the most convenient for viewing in Russia (at night), the next morning Match TV will re-show the matches of the Russian national team in recordings.
The composition of the Russian national team for the 2017 World Youth Championship
In conclusion - about composition of the Russian youth team for the 2017 World Youth Hockey Championship. The head coach of the Russian youth team, Valery Bragin, called 23 hockey players to the tournament in Canada.
Goalkeepers: Anton Krasotkin (Loko), Vladislav Sukhachev (Chelmet), Ilya Samsonov (Metallurg Mg).
Defenders: Vadim Kudako (Severstal), Mikhail Sidorov (Ak Bars), Sergei Zborovsky (Regina), Egor Voronkov (Vityaz), Grigory Dronov (Metallurg Mg), Mikhail Sergachev (Windsor) ), Egor Rykov (SKA), Artem Volkov (Dynamo Bshkh).
Forwards: Kirill Kaprizov (Salavat Yulaev), Kirill Urakov (Torpedo NN), Danila Kvartalnov (CSKA), Alexander Polunin (Lokomotiv), Kirill Belyaev (Ugra), German Rubtsov (Vityaz), Pavel Karnaukhov (CSKA), Denis Alekseev (Admiral), Danil Yurtaikin (Ryazan), Mikhail Vorobyov (Salavat Yulaev), Yakov Trenin (Gatineau), Denis Guryanov (Texas).
On December 26, 2017, the 2017-2018 World Youth Hockey Championship (IHF) started in Buffalo. The first matches have already been able to show whether the Russian youth team has a chance of achieving champion status. The results turned out to be quite contradictory: one loss and one victory.
At the group stage, all teams were divided into two groups A and B. Group A included the following countries: Canada (U – 20), USA (U – 20), Finland (U – 20), Slovakia (U – 20), Denmark (U–20). And group B included teams from the following countries: Sweden (U – 20), Russia (U – 20), Czech Republic (U – 20), Switzerland (U – 20), Belarus (U – 20). All matches will take place at New Era Field, KeyBank Center and HarborCenter.
Youth World Hockey Championship 2017 results: starting matches
The following matches took place on December 26 and 27: Belarus – Sweden – 1:6; Canada - Finland - 6:2, Switzerland - Belarus 3:2, and Czech Republic - Russia - 5:4. The first match of the Russian youth team went quite smoothly. At first the game was sluggish, but in the second period the score changed from 2:2 to 4:2, and then to 5:2. But then the Russians got their “second wind” and were able to change the score to 5:4. Although our youth team did not manage to win this game, the fans still think that this is a pretty good result for the Russian U-20 team, but they are worried about their next matches.
Youth World Hockey Championship 2017 results: latest matches
On December 28 there were the following matches: Slovakia - Canada - 0:6, Finland - Denmark - 4:1, Russia - Switzerland - 5:2 - the first victory of the Russian youth team in the MFM. A very difficult win, but extremely pleasant for all fans. In this match, Vladislav Semin opened the scoring in the 11th minute of the game. Also scoring for the Russian team were Klim Kostin (39), Artur Kayumov (52), Georgy Ivanov (59) and Vitaly Abramov (59). And Marco Miranda (21) and Ken Jaeger (43) scored goals for the Swiss youth team.
Today, December 29, Friday, two matches ended: Sweden - Czech Republic - 3:1 and USA - Slovakia - 2:3.
Youth World Hockey Championship 2017 results: schedule of upcoming matches
Today, December 29, at 20:00 the Belarus - Russia game will take place, and at 23:00 there will be a Canada - USA match. December 30: 20:00 Czech Republic - Belarus, 22:00 Sweden - Switzerland. And 2017 will end with the following matches: 00:00 Finland - Slovakia, 04:00 Denmark - Canada, 20:00 Switzerland - Czech Republic. Already on the first day of the coming year - January 1, that is, Monday: 00:00 USA - Finland, 02:00 Slovakia - Denmark, 04:00 Russia - Sweden.
