The Russian national hockey team next season will be headed by Valery Bragin, who has worked with the youth team for the past six years. He replaced Alexei Kudashov, who held this position for less than one year. New media appointments were reported the day before, but the Russian Hockey Federation confirmed this information on Friday, June 5.

The place of Bragin in the youth team will be taken by two-time Olympic champion Igor Larionov. He already managed to work with the team at the last World Cup in the Czech Republic, where the Russians became silver medalists. Then the three-time Stanley Cup holder was an assistant to the head coach and was responsible for the game in attack and in the majority.

After the appointment, Bragin said that the team will have a lot of work. According to him, in the upcoming World Cup, NHL players may not be able to take part, and therefore it is necessary to prepare the team taking into account this factor.

“The system of work in the country's main team for the search and selection of candidates, the conditions for the development and training of players has long been debugged. Between national teams of all ages there is a constant connection, continuity, everything has long been a single whole and is subordinate to the achievement of a common result. Our work system is bearing fruit, in particular, the results of the performance of junior teams have become much better than they were five to seven years ago. At the same time, we have a lot of work. It is possible that the next world championship will be held without NHL players, so we should do our best to prepare players playing in Russia, ”said Bragin.

The specialist also headed the SKA hockey club, as the last three of his predecessors in the national team did. Recently, a team from St. Petersburg has embarked on a substantial rejuvenation of the squad, having signed several promising players, which Bragin should be well aware of in youth work. The coach promised that the club will continue to adhere to this development model.

“SKA, as always, has high sporting goals. Unfortunately, the previous season remained unfinished, although the team was in good shape and claimed to win. Next year, I hope we will be able to continue and successfully complete what we have begun. In the offseason, we seriously rejuvenated the composition, we will continue to pursue a policy of development of young hockey players. Now the correct vertical line is built up in SKA, which allows young people to be brought to the KHL without losing any result, ”Bragin commented on the appointment.

The FHR has not yet announced how long an agreement is expected with a new national team coach. However, previously a contract with Bragin as a coach of the FHR system was signed until February 2022, that is, until the next Olympic Games in Beijing.

Bragin can be called the main expert on youth hockey in Russia. He led a team of players under 20 at eight world championships and only returned once without medals. In January, the specialist entered the coaching staff of Kudashov in the national team and SKA, which could be regarded as the first step to ensure that in the next season he was the head of the country's main team. Now Bragin's rise is formalized.

Kudashov’s short-term work in the national team can hardly be called successful. He managed to take part only in the three stages of the Eurotour. During this time, the national team won only three victories in nine matches, and in regular time only one at all. Kudashov did not manage to rectify the situation because of the coronavirus pandemic - because of it, the final stage of the Eurotour in the Czech Republic and the World Cup in Switzerland were canceled.

The new coach of the youth team, Igor Larionov, admitted that it will be difficult for him to replace Bragin, who in recent years has become a real symbol of the team and has achieved success with it both in the world championships and in the youth super series. At the same time, he noted that he was already familiar with the specifics of his new work.

“For me, this appointment is a great honor. The task of replacing such a coach as Valery Bragin, who for many years led the youth team, is very difficult. I wish Valery Nikolaevich good luck as head coach of the national team. A difficult task gives me extra energy. We have many good players who are on the radar of the youth team. I see our team has a lot of potential. I have gained tremendous experience at the last youth world championship, I am optimistic about entering a new position and want to help our hockey become a leader on the world stage, ”said Larionov.

The next youth world championship will be held in Canada. It is traditionally believed that tournaments in North America are stronger in terms of composition of participants, and at the same time, young Russian hockey players from Canadian junior leagues are more willing to let them go. Larionov should have a good idea of ​​the potential players of the national team, since he spent many years working as an agent in the North American market. His former team-mate Pavel Bure is sure of this.

“Larionov not just bears the title of professor. He is very well versed in hockey, his whole life in this area. I know that he understands hockey thoroughly, knows him from the inside. He has a lot of player and specialist experience, so he should do well. I think you can demand results from him from the first year, ”the renowned Sport24 hockey player said.