Home » today » Sport » Who will be responsible for the failure of Russian hockey? In 7 years, the country has won nothing but Pyeongchang gold – World Championship and World Cup news – Ice Hockey
Who will be responsible for the failure of Russian hockey? In 7 years, the country has won nothing but Pyeongchang gold – World Championship and World Cup news – Ice Hockey
For 10 years, the Russian national team has not won the youth world championship, in May it will be 7 years since the Russian national team has not won the adult world championship. For a country that positions itself as a hockey power and invests huge amounts of money and effort in this sport, I consider this a huge failure. We have lost so many times over the years that the bitterness of defeat and longing has forever settled inside us, those who love hockey. Every year we ask ourselves the questions: who is to blame and what to do. Some steps are indeed being taken, only progress is not visible.
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5 myths about lotteries
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Where will our team be at the tournament with all the strongest if the NHL players do not come? It is significant that at the 2018 World Cup in Copenhagen, when many of our NHL players could not come, we were eliminated in the quarterfinals. It is significant that at the World Cup, where all the top hockey players of the world gathered, we flew into Canada in the semifinals. But if at the adult level it is objectively difficult for the Russians to compete with the Canadians, who can collect several teams, then at the youth level they often fought. Due to character, flexibility, intelligence, emotions. But even that didn’t happen this year. Against this background, there comes an awareness of the value of victories on the Eurotour, which some in our country extol to heaven. Is it easier now for our youth team without MFM medals, but with the Karjala Cup? Why do they keep telling us that there is a “real sports war” going on at the Channel One Cup, and “the heroic performance of the youth team in Helsinki laid the foundation for victory in Moscow”? And it becomes absolutely sad when they remember the victory at the Olympics in South Korea. An overtime victory over Germany did nothing for Russian hockey. Gavrikov, Zub, Shesterkin, Sorokin, Nesterov, Barabanov, Grigorenko, Gusev, Kaprizov would have left for the NHL sooner or later. Others would have continued to play in the KHL, someone more successful, someone – less. Not a single star was born in Pyeongchang. And nowhere, except for Russia, this Olympic tournament without the NHL is remembered.
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The Olympics rather played a cruel joke with Russian hockey. Made me believe that now we are omnipotent and can do everything. After that, a leapfrog with coaches began in the national team.
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Not a single specialist lasted more than a season in his post. The last dismissed was not even given a chance to “fail” at the World Cup. Alexei Kudashov just left SKA and the national team in the spring for family reasons, which he himself could not explain. After a couple of months, he was already looking for a job in another club. Interestingly, Ilya Vorobyov was fired for third place at the World Cup, where all the stars arrived. At the same time, we were told then that any medal is good. As a result, only the coach suffered, and the management did not even admit their mistakes.
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At the youth level, Valery Bragin was at the helm for a long time. He was scolded a lot for his playing style and lack of gold. Last year, Igor Larionov appeared, who succinctly fit into the coaching staff. And the team, from whose game everyone got a kick, got to silver. Then it seemed that we were on the right track. At the end of the season, adjustments occurred again in the national teams: Bragin was promoted to the mentor of the main team, forgetting about his unsuccessful experience of working with adults. Larionov with experience as a coach in one incomplete season was made the head coach of the youth team. “Larionov is a professional, knows hockey from“ A ”to“ Z ”, knows both the MHL and the NHL. Igor is aware of hockey affairs all over the world, ”Vladislav Tretyak said in the summer.
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The World Youth Championships in Edmonton showed that Larionov failed in his first big tournament as the main one. However, Igor Nikolaevich deserves a second chance. And this despite the fact that the MFM did not convince at all, and the final press conference even upset. Just not giving a second chance is to follow the path of the senior national team, where coaches are fired every year for some unknown reason. I also believe in Larionov’s assistants (talking about Filatov and Golubovich). But, of course, in order to work together, you need to resolve all conflicts. I have heard that not everything was going smoothly in the coaching staff of the national team. The coaches split into camps and could not agree. because of the fact that there was no direct access to the national team, it is difficult to understand what role Filatov and Golubovich played in the headquarters, who achieved victories with these guys at the junior level. Their teams, by the way, played different hockey. Potapov, it seems, was on the bench only to transmit data through the earpiece.
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It will be interesting to see what the adult world championship will show, if it takes place at all. After all, the candidacy of Valery Bragin is still in doubt. Another tournament without gold is a failure. But should only the recently appointed coach be held accountable? There is no certainty about this.
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The leadership of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation constantly says that “the Russian teams have long developed a unified training system, all the national teams have similar conditions for the training process – a common game model, adjusted only taking into account the age of the players”.
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But the styles of Larionov and Bragin are exactly opposite. And the game of the national team depends on whether Panarin, Ovechkin, Malkin will come to the World Cup or will have to rely on Shipachev and Co. And there is no system in this. After all, every tournament in May we are waiting for the released NHL players, until the last we keep a place in the application for a couple of people.
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And that’s not bad. In North America all the strongest are performing. You just need to admit it, and not talk about the system. In the end, this “consistency” and Larionov’s attacking style led the youth team to fourth place at the MFM with a quite good line-up. It seems to me that we, journalists and fans, are constantly being deceived. First, they say that the goal is only victory, and then they extol bronze and silver medals. At the same time, they can due to defeat in the semifinals (example of Vorobyov) dismiss the coach. Probably the time has come to ask not only the players and coaches, who are already regularly responsible for the result, but also the leadership of the federation. Five years without gold medals is a serious period. It seems like the time has come now something change. And I do not mean the dismissal of Valery Bragin or Igor Larionov. It is time to answer those who appointed them and made other fateful decisions for Russian hockey.
