Category Archives: International Hockey
The Bragin Era Begins (Updated)
A move that had been rumoured for a month or so became official today, and for the second straight summer the Russian Hockey Federation has announced a new coach for the senior men’s national team. At about this time last year, it was Alexei Kudashov taking over for Ilya Vorobyov; now it is Kudashov’s turn to be replaced, and his replacement both with the national team and with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg club will the longtime coach of Russia’s national U20 men’s team (i.e. the World Juniors squad), Valery Bragin. Hall-of-Famer Igor Larionov will be the new head coach of the U20 team, a very interesting move in its own right. Read on, for more details, and some thoughts!
Read the rest of this entryHockey and the Coronavirus: Updates
Below the jump, an attempt to put together a running list of hockey competitions that have been cancelled, suspended, or otherwise disrupted by the outbreak of COVID-19. The list will be updated, and heads-up notes etc. will be much appreciated! Read on, and do check back for further updates…
LATEST UPDATE: March 26th (international hockey update)
Read the rest of this entrySad News
KRS Vanke Rays Shenzhen down Agidel Ufa 3-1 earlier today to take a 1-0 lead in the ZhHL Cup Final, but sadly that was not the biggest women’s hockey news of the day. The tweet above lays it out in start terms; the 2020 senior Women’s World Championship of the top division, scheduled for next month in Halifax and Truro, Canada, has been cancelled due to the situation with the COVID-19 outbreak.
That means, among other things, that the international women’s hockey calendar for the season is finished, at least in terms of World Championships (h/t to @nicktheiihffan). The senior Women’s Worlds for Divisions 1A, 1B, and 2A havey been cancelled for the same reason, while the Div. 2B and Div. 3 tournament have already taken place. The Men’s U18 Worlds in Divisions 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B have also been cancelled, as has the senior men’s Division 4 competition, and the entirety of the Asian Challenge Cup. There are likely more cancellations to come, too, and the IIHF will meet at a later date to decide what to do about the promotion and relegation between the different groups in the cases where that is an issue. A very sad state of affairs for international hockey fans, although under the circumstances it is difficult to be too critical of the IIHF’s decisions (especially because those decisions were made in consultation with public health officials and with the host cities).
It has been reported that the Halifax and Truro will now host the 2021 edition of the senior Women’s Worlds, and that will have a trickle-down effect as well. That tournament, in keeping with the IIHF’s tradition of alternating the tournament between Europe and North America, was expected to be awarded to Ufa, Russia. Now, however, it looks like Ufa’s opportunity to host will be pushed back to 2023 (the 2022 tournament will be superseded by the Olympic Games in China). Nothing 100% confirmed about that yet, and we wait for further developments.
Youth Must be Served, Part 2
A week or so ago we checked in with the Russian women’s team, and its roster for the six-nations tournament that began in Sweden today, and now’s it’s the turn of the men’s squad that all also be in action in Sweden starting tomorrow. The men’s tournament is the third leg of the four-team Euro Hockey Tour, and you can read on as we take a look at the roster that head coach Alexei Kudashov and his staff have selected for this one!
Read the rest of this entryYouth Must Be Served, Part 1
The Russian women’s senior national team is off to a six-nations tournament in Sweden next week — the full field will be: Czechia, Finland, Germany, Russia, Sweden, and Switerland). The tournament runs from next Wednesday to next Saturday, and he have the Russian roster for it! Read on…
Read the rest of this entryThe KHL & Other Leagues Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak (Updated)
Much news this week about the outbreak of a coronavirus in China, particularly in the central province of Hubei. It is unclear yet how serious the outbreak is, and how worried we should all be, but the Chinese government has restricted travel to, from, and within the worst-hit areas. And the four Russian-based hockey leagues that include at least one Chinese team have also taken note of the situation, with one eye on the possible necessity of relocating some games. Read on, for a quick run-down of what steps the various the KHL, ZhHL, VHL, and MHL have taken so far, and what they might do if the coronavirus situation does not improve.
Most recent updates on January 29th.
Read the rest of this entryCongratulations Are In Order…
I haven’t written anything about the Winter Youth Olympics taking place right now in Lausanne, Switzerland, but I do need to pause briefly here to tip the hat to the Russian U16 boys’ hockey team, which picked up the gold medal today! Team Russia defeated the U.S.A. 4-0 in the Final, on the strength of 15 saves from Metallurg Magnitogorsk prospect Sergei Ivanov and two goals plus an assist from Matvei Michkov of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl youth system. Michkov was also the top scorer in the boys’ tournament, scoring 14 points in four games, so we’ll definitely file his name away for future reference.
Sadly, there was no Russian girls’ team at this tournament — hopefully there will be at the next Winter Youth Olympics, in South Korea in 2024. The girls’ tournament in Lausanne was won, intriguingly, by the Japanese U16s, who defeated Sweden 4-1 in the Final.
Congratulations to the Team Russia boys and the Team Japan girls on their gold medals!
Encouraging Development
‘Tis the season for youth World Championships in hockey (one of the seasons for them, anyway — there will be more anon), and last week in Bratislava, Slovakia, the Russian Under-18 Women’s National Team wrapped up its 2019-20 Worlds. It was a successful outing, too, as the team collected Russia’s third bronze medal at the event — read on, for a little recap of the tournament!
Read the rest of this entryWell, That Was Exciting!
One of the more exciting World Juniors tournaments of recent years (seriously, a lot happened at this one) came to an end in suitably dramatic fashion today — congratulations to Team Canada, who picked up the gold medal via a 4-3 comeback win over Russia. In a couple of days, we’ll have a complete write-up of the tournament, as we get back to full-time blogging around these parts. Tomorrow, however, a look at the recently concluded U18 Women’s Worlds!
Team Russia at the 2019-20 U18 Women’s Worlds
This week is a busy one in the hockey world — the World Juniors starts on Boxing Day, as does the venerable Spengler Cup. And this year, there’s a third treat in store this week, as the 2019-20 Under-18 Women’s World Championship gets going, also on Thursday. This year’s edition is in Bratislava, Slovakia, and is taking place a bit earlier than normal (usually it is an early January tournament). Alexander Syrtsov will make his U18 Worlds head-coaching debut it in this one; read on, as we consider the roster he and his staff has selected for the trip to Slovakia!
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CONWAY'S RUSSIAN HOCKEY BLOG 