Team Russia at the 2019 U18 Men’s Worlds

Goalie Yaroslav Askarov, all intensity during a game for Russian Under-18 national team. (Image Source)

We do not get much of a break from World Championships at this time of year! With the Women’s Worlds barely in the rearview mirror, and the Men’s Worlds set to commence in early May, this week sees the opening of the 2019 Under-18 Men’s World Championship. The Swedish cities of Örnsköldsvik and Umeå are the venues for this year’s edition of the tournament; read on, for a look at a Russian team that will seek to overcome a very disappointing time in 2018!

Goalies:

• Yaroslav Askarov (SKA-Varyagi im. Morozova [MHL])
• Ilya Gorbunov (Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk [MHL])
• Vsevolod Skotnikov (Krasnaya Armiya Moscow [MHL])

All three of these goalies have their intriguing side. Skotnikov had the best season of the three in the MHL (93.5 sv% in 21 games), although that was only a hair better than Gorbunov (93.4 sv% sv% in 18 games) overall. As for Askarov, he’s one of two 16-year-olds on the team (forward Marat Khusnutdinov is the other), but stands 6’3″ tall already, and posted a decent 92.1 sv% in 31 games this season.

As for which of the three ‘tenders gets the big minutes in Sweden, that remains unclear (Russia used two goalies in both of their pre-tournament games — a 5-2 win over Belarus and a 5-4 loss to Canada. Askarov may have the edge, despite his age; he made the tournament all-star team at this past December’s World Junior A Challenge, where the Russian U18 team picked up a silver medal facing U20 competition.

Defencemen:

• Nikolai Burenov (Russkie Vityazi Chekhov [MHL])
• Semyon Chistyakov (Tolpar Ufa [MHL])
• Alexander Kirpichnikov (Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk [MHL])
• Ivan Rogov (Almaz Cherepovets [MHL])
• Nikita Sedov (Regina Pats [WHL])
• Nikita Vashchenko (SKA-Varyagi im. Morozova [MHL])

Nikita Sedov. (Image Source)

With all due respect to them, this a somewhat anonymous group of defencemen this year. Nobody returns from last year’s Worlds team, and there is nobody whose club numbers particularly cause the eyes to pop. Ivan Rogov is a good player, having scored 2-14-16 in 38 games for Almaz, and his earlier youth hockey numbers suggest a blueliner who can really contribute to the scoring. And Nikita Sedov one of only two North-American-based players on the team, had a very promising rookie season in the WHL. The Regina Pats were, frankly, bad in 2018-19 (they went 19-49), but Sedov managed 19 assists while playing all 68 games, which speaks of some playmaking ability (he was tied for third on the team in assists). Chistyakov, too, has shown that he can pass the puck, but overall this year’s blueline group looks a bit lacking in high-end talent. We will see.

Forwards:

• Rodion Amirov (Tolpar Ufa [MHL])
• Yegor Bryzgalov (MHK Dynamo Moscow [MHL])
• Yegor Chinakhov (Omskie Yastreby Omsk [MHL])
• Arseny Gritsyuk (Omskie Yastreby Omsk [MHL])
• Maxim Groshev (Reaktor Nizhnekamsk [MHL])
• Danil Gushchin (Muskegon Lumberjacks [USHL])
• Marat Khusnutdinov (Vityaz Moscow Oblast U18)
• Ilya Nikolayev (Loko Yaroslavl [MHL])
• Takhir Mingachyov (CSK VVS Samara [VHL])
• Vasily Podkolzin* (SKA-Neva St. Petersburg [VHL])
• Dmitry Sheshin (Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk [MHL])
• Yegor Spiridonov* (Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk [MHL])

Vasily Podkolzin. (Image Source)

All eyes will likely be on Podkolzin in this tournament; he’s expected to go very high in the upcoming NHL draft, and made his KHL debut with SKA St. Petersburg this season. He scored eight goals in 15 games for SKA’s MHL team (SKA-1946 St. Petersburg) in 2018-19, and though he had “only” eight points in 22 games for minor-pro SKA-Neva, that’s actually an impressive output; Podkolzin is still just 17, and those points came in a brief 10:40 of ice-time per game. Furthermore, Podkolzin will be making his second appearance at a U18 Worlds, having scored four points in four games at last season’s tournament when he was 16. He’s very good, and will be very important, in other words; there can be no doubt that he is this team’s marquee player.

As for other forwards to keep an eye on, the pair from Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk had fine seasons in 2019-19. U18 players often struggle to put up big numbers in major junior leagues such as the MHL (they are still a bit young even for those circuits), but both Sheshin (45 gp, 20-23-43) and Spiridonov (43 gp, 15-26-41) came very close to a point per game. They did have some help, as the “Steel Foxes” were an offensive juggernaut this season, but that is still impressive given their youth. Spiridonov has been to the U18 Worlds before, too, and may play alongside Podkolzin at the 2019 tournament, so do not be surprised if we see some big numbers from him.

Personally, I am also interested to see what Takhir Mingachyov can do; besides Podkolzin he was the only player on this team to see significant action at the professional level this season. Though his stat line of 30 gp, 1-2-3 in the VHL was modest, it was a good year for a 17-year-old VHL rookie playing 11 minutes per night, and he helped CSK VVS improve from 16 points in 52 games in 2017-18 to 57 in 56 this time around, although they did miss out on the playoffs in the end.

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Based on the roster at the IIHF’s website, from which the above lists of players are taken, Russia has two spots remaining “open” on the roster in case of injury. Possibly candidates to fill those include defenceman Roman Bychkov from Loko Yaroslavl in the MHL as well as forwards Yaroslav Likhachyov from the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques and Oleg Zaitsev from Dynamo Moscow’s junior team.

Vladimir Filatov. (Image Source)

As for the coach, Vladimir Filatov cuts a youthful figure behind the bench. Just 33 years old, he spent several seasons as an MHL assistant with SKA-1946 St. Petersburg before moving to the national youth team program in 2016. After brief stints in charge of the U16 and U17 Russian teams, he took over the U18 squad at the beginning of 2018-19. Filatov will seek to get the Russian team back on the podium at the U18 Worlds; after winning bronze in Slovakia in 2017, Russia finished a disappointing sixth in 2018 — a result all the more galling as the tournament was played in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk. Russia has not won gold at the U18 Worlds since 2007, so an end to that particular drought would be most welcome as well.

At the 2019 tournament, Russia is in Group B, and will play four round-robin games before the medal stage. Filatov’s crew open against Slovakia on Thursday, before facing Latvia on Saturday, the USA on Sunday, and hosts Sweden next Tuesday. Look for an update and recap here either after the group stage or when Russia’s tournament is over!

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Next up here at the blog is another preview, this one of the Women’s Hockey League Final that begins on Saturday. Also in the works: a look back at Team Russia’s showing at the Women’s Worlds (Friday, hopefully), and some words about major recent coaching developments in the KHL (probably Sunday). And, as we glance towards the KHL, we see CSKA Moscow up 3-0 on Avangard in the Gagarin Cup Final; that series could be done as soon as Friday, so expect something about that too! And thank you for reading!