Karjala Tournament, which will be played in two weeks, will be a special tournament.
The players will not be allowed to leave the hotel other than for matches and training, and Tre Kronor looks to be forced to do without players from the KHL and Switzerland.
"A preparation"
Even Russia will play with a worse team is normal.
When the squad was presented today, it turned out to consist of juniors.
- The Russian Ice Hockey Federation took into account all the circumstances during this difficult ice hockey season and decided to take a young team to the Karjala Tournament.
This will be a preparation for the very important junior WC, says the association's chairman Vladislav Tretjak, on their website.
- Participation in the Karjala Tournament will give our team excellent training at a high international level.
The young players will feel an extra responsibility as it is an important tournament because they get to play for our national team, says Tretjak, and continues:
- In addition, the tournament will be played in a so-called "bubble", the players will not be able to leave the hotel and the arena.
These are exactly the same conditions that will prevail in Edmonton (where JVM is played), so the trip to Finland will be a great help not only in terms of the game, but also in terms of mental preparation.
The team will be led by the junior national team national team captain Igor Larionov.