A role reserved for the Canadians has birthed a co-star in recent years on the World Junior stage as another team in red has given Russia fits. This team however, wears a different red jersey, one that features a cross instead of the fabled maple leaf. Earlier today, Switzerland nearly spoiled the party in Ufa by forcing Russia to play for 5th place for the second time in three years.
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(courtesy of Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images)
The big red machine is back. In what was a case of Déjà vu for many, yesterdays 6-2 thrashing by Team Russia against an inspired Slovakian team was an ode to the Soviet times. Back then Russia was not only the most feared country in the world but also instilled fear on their opponents on the ice. You won’t find the legendary names like Tretiak or Kharlamov on the backs of today’s squad but with their performance throughout this tournament these players have the ability to become something better.
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(courtesy of the Russian Hockey Federation)
It’s come to our attention that we somehow overlooked this years upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championships. With that, let’s take a quick look at the Russian roster and the tournament which officially starts on Friday. Russia arrives in Sweden hoping to capture any kind of silverware as last year they were bounced by eventual champions Finland before losing to the Czech’s in the bronze-medal game.
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(Courtesy of JC Pinheiro/HHOF-IIHF Images)
Last time Russia met Canada at the Junior World stage it took a five goal rally by the Russians to clinch their first gold medal since 2003. Last night, the Russians avoided a similar rally at the hands of the Canadians when their 5-1 lead entering the third period quickly vanished.
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(courtesy of AFP PHOTO / JOE KLAMAR)
Having played two periods of what looked like hopeless hockey, Team Russia overturned a 1-0 deficit against a favorite rival to secure a place in the semi-finals of the 2011 Men’s World Championships. Canada would grab the first goal of the game on a Jason Spezza breakaway in the second period and would hold on as Russia failed to convert on every powerplay they got through the interval. Russia was even gifted a 4-minute man advantage after Ilya Kovalchuk received a stick to the face by his own teammate only to have the ref pinch John Tavares, they would fail to bother goalie Jonathan Bernier with any real pressure.
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Earlier this morning, Team Russia head coach Vyacheslav Bykov named his team for the 2011 Men’s World Championships. The roster is slighlty different than the one Bykov took to the Euro Hockey Tour (which Russia won) with the addition of a few more NHL’ers and one key KHL’er. Ilya Kovalchuk returns to the team which he will most likely captain having done so last year, Dmitri Kulikov of the Panthers will be on the blue-line while his teammate Evgeni Dadonov wasn’t selected despite playing in the Euros. Also joining the team are Nikolai Kluemin of Toronto and Fedor Tyutin of Columbus while Alexander Radulov, who is one of the best players in Russia, will also suit up for Sbornya.
The team goes as follows:
Goaltenders:
Vasily Koshechkin (HC Severstal)
Konstantin Barulin (Atlant)
Evgeni Nabokov (New York Islanders)
Defensemen:
Vitaly Atyushov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Fedor Tyutin (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Dmitri Kalinin (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Konstantin Korneyev (AK Bars)
Alexei Yemelin (AK Bars)
Ilya Nikulin (AK Bars)
Dmitri Kulikov (Florida Panthers)
Denis Grebeshkov (SKA St.Petersburg)
Nikolai Belov (HC Neftekhimik)
Forwards:
Alexei Morozov (AK Bars)
Danis Zaripov (AK Bars)
Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey Devils)
Konstantin Gorovikov (UHC Dynamo)
Nikolai Kulemin (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Evgeny Artyukhin (SKA St.Petersburg)
Alexander Radulov (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Maxim Afinogenov (SKA St.Petersburg
Sergei Zinovjev (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Vladimir Tarasenko (HC Sibir)
Alexei Kaigorodov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Alexei Tereshchenko (Ak Bars)
Aleksandr Burmistrov (Atlanta Thrashers)
Russia has named their squad for their upcoming tour in Europe ahead of the 2011 World Championships. The games will be played in Sweden and the Czech Republic. Evgeni Nabokov returns to the team after missing most of the latter half of the NHL’s regular season with contract disputes while young guns Vladimir Tarasenko and Artemi Panarin, who helped the junior squad capture gold earlier this year, also get to vie for a spot for the Championships in Slovakia.
New Jersey’s Vladimir Zharkov is a surprise call-up having scored just 2 NHL goals while last playing for Russia in 2006.
The team goes as follows:
Goaltenders:
Vasily Koshechkin (HC Severstal)
Konstantin Barulin (Atlant)
Evgeni Nabokov (New York Islanders)
Defensemen:
Vitaly Atyushov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Yakov Rylov (CSKA Moscow)
Evgeny Biryukov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Konstantin Korneyev (AK Bars)
Alexei Yemelin (AK Bars)
Ilya Nikulin (AK Bars)
Denis Grebeshkov (SKA St.Petersburg)
Nikolai Belov (HC Neftekhimik)
Forwards:
Alexei Morozov (AK Bars)
Danis Zaripov (AK Bars)
Denis Parshin (CSKA Moscow)
Konstantin Gorovikov (UHC Dynamo)
Vadim Schipachev (HC Severstal)
Evgeny Artyukhin (SKA St.Petersburg)
Artemi Panarin (Vityaz Chekhov)
Maxim Afinogenov (SKA St.Petersburg
Evgeny Dadonov (Florida Panthers)
Vladimir Tarasenko (HC Sibir)
Alexei Kaigorodov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Alexei Tereshchenko (Ak Bars)
Aleksandr Burmistrov (Atlanta Thrashers)
Vladimir Zharkov (New Jersey Devils)
This year’s NHL draft brings about a lot of talent, as it does year after year.  However, the crop of Russian players is not as copious as years past (most noticeably the 2010 NHL Entry Draft).  You will not find the likes of a Burmistrov, Tarasenko, Kuznetsov, Kabanov, Galiev, or Kitsyn.  But a new breed of Russian hockey player is quickly coming into the fold.  The two notables in this year’s draft are, the OHL’s, Vladislav Namestnikov and Alexander Khokhlachev.  Most likely first or second round draft picks, these two Russians have taken the next step in achieving their dreams of playing in the NHL by coming across the ocean from Russia to play in the top junior league in the world.
Coming off a remarkable win against Team Canada in the gold medal game at the World Juniors, Team Russia stunned the hockey world after erasing a 3-0 deficit in the third period to win 5-3. While the team needed it’s offensive spark to complete the turnaround it was netminder Igor Bobkov who was called into action to backstop his team to eventual victory. I had a chance to talk with Bobkov since his return back to the OHL’s London Knights about the game, life after, and playing in Canada. Below is the interview, enjoy.
How did you feel when you found out you were yet again selected to represent Russia at the national level?
I was glad of course, it was important to me to be selected to the junior national team in my last year of eligibility. Since things weren’t going too well for me in London, I needed to prove to myself that my game was still strong.
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(courtesy of Matthew Manor/HHOF-IIHF Images)
They say good things come in threes and if you happened to play on this year’s Russian Junior National Team well tonight’s 5-3 win over Canada to win gold was the perfect end to what has been a monumental tournament. Coming back against Finland to reach the semi-finals, then coming back again to beat Sweden to reach the finals showed the character and spunk these new hero’s had.
Finding themselves down 3-0 entering the third period against the home crowd favorite Canada would leave little room for hope in many, this year’s group? Not even close. Led by Artemi Panarin, Russia scored five unanswered goals to not only complete a modern day “Miracle on Ice” but also retain gold for the junior squad for the first time since 2003.
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