"We are the main irritant for everyone": Tereshchenko on the prospects of the Russian national team at the World Ice Hockey Championship and the arrival of Bobrovsky

“I don't see any reason to worry.

Now it is important to just score points "

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 The Russian national team won a tough victory over a middle class rival in the second match in a row.

Is this a cause for alarm?

- I would not call Switzerland an average team.

On the contrary, it has long been approaching the leaders of world hockey.

I agree about Denmark.

This team is several goals lower than Russia.

The match with the Swiss turned out to be quite interesting.

It's good that the guys won, although they had a hard time.

But I see no reason to worry.

Now the important thing is to just score points.

After all, by and large, the pucks are thrown.

We conceded less - won.

That's all.

The most important thing is the result.

Further, the task of Valery Bragin is to practice actions in a particular zone.

- Did you get the feeling that before Anton Burdasov's goal, the Russians did little in the match with Switzerland?

- I agree.

A very nervous game was going on for one and a half periods.

But after Niko Khishir equalized the score, domestic hockey players, by and large, controlled the course of the match and then quickly scored two of their goals, although the Swiss also had chances.

In the episode with Pavel Karnaukhov's goal, the guys took the shell out of their zone.

This is hockey.

Lucky is the one who shows more desire and makes fewer mistakes.

- What was the reason for the missed puck?

In general, Bragin's wards acted reliably in defense, but in the final period they began to allow too much of the opponent in attack.

- Of course, Andres Ambül made a great pass, but it seems to me that he was just doing the cross, not looking at his partners.

Give him a hundred more tries, and Ambühl wouldn't give up a single one.

And so Khishir calmly closed the far post.

But the extreme striker of the Russians in this situation made a positional miscalculation, not having time to intercept the puck.

In general, I liked how our team acted on the defensive.

In addition to the goal, one can only recall the episode with hitting the crossbar.

The Swiss were more forced to play on the sides.

- Don't you think that the imminent arrival of the goalkeeper from the NHL to the national team somewhat cheered Alexander Samonov?

- I would not say that he played unsuccessfully with the Slovaks.

In my opinion, throughout the tournament, Samonov has been acting quite confidently and really helps the national team.

Yes, from Switzerland, he missed a rather curious puck, but he also repeatedly rescued the team.

"Everyone tunes in to Russia in a special way, because we are the strongest"

- Does the fact that Russia manages to score points even in unsuccessfully developing matches indicates that Bragin's charges have character?

- The team includes leaders in spirit, who were such in their teams.

We are talking about Sergei Tolchinsky, who, in a meeting with Switzerland, scored three points for performance;

performing a huge amount of rough work Karnaukhov;

Alexandre Barabanove, who has already scored three goals at the World Cup.

They play leading roles and deliver results.

- Is it possible to constantly improve in the endings due to good physical fitness?

- Rather, it suggests that we have character.

The guys know what they want and are acting correctly.

They take the puck into the wrong zone and attack.

Of course, mistakes do happen.

While the Russian national team is playing quite reliably and confidently, with the exception of the meeting with Slovakia.

But Bragin's wards drew the right conclusions from this failure: this is the world championship and in no case should one relax.

As the tournament in Latvia shows, here everyone is able to beat everyone.

Who would have thought that, for example, the Belarusians would yield to the British?

But it happened.

- It is not only the national team that has a hard time at this world championship.

The other top national teams have even more problems.

This speaks rather of their weakness at a particular tournament or leveling up in general?

- Of course, the strongest teams did not come to Latvia with the best rosters.

See who the Canadians brought to the championship of the planet.

With all due respect to Maple Leaves, their roster leaves much to be desired.

But then again, these are Canadians who will always fight from the first to the last second.

Therefore, in no case should you relax.

- After the victory over Switzerland, can we say that the Russians will not miss the first place in Group A?

- In order to guarantee your leadership, it is important to beat the Swedes in the next match.

First, this confrontation will serve as a rehearsal for the playoffs.

We must not forget that the Scandinavians were initially considered one of the main favorites of the tournament.

This is a very good team, even if it did not start very well.

Again, everyone wants to beat Russia.

I know very well from my own experience: everyone is tuned in to the national team in a special way, because we are the strongest.

And this applies not only to hockey.

Russia is the main irritant for everyone.

- What are your expectations from the game with Sweden?

On the one hand, this is a top contender.

On the other hand, the results at the Tre Krunur World Cup leave much to be desired.

- We see how in the course of the tournament they begin to slowly improve.

The Scandinavians only recently got together, and therefore it took them time to grind.

This is totally normal.

The Swedes have a very serious solid team that always moves and skates well.

In the match with them, the fans will be able to understand what Russia will be waiting for in the playoffs.

- Should you be afraid of a meeting with Canada already in the quarterfinals?

- Sure.

I repeat once again, these are Canadians who will fight from start to finish on the ice.

And Russia has been the maximum irritant for them since Soviet times.

Therefore, you need to prepare for your opponent as efficiently as possible.

Is it better not to meet them in the quarterfinals?

This is hockey.

Here you never know with whom it will be more convenient.

You just need to go out and win.

"The Russian national team has a great opportunity to take first place"

- Can the Russian national team at the planetary championship be called rather not a team of stars, but a team-star?

- It should be so.

In a good team, everyone knows their task, understands where to move and how to act in a given situation.

Trust me, if the team remains united throughout the entire championship, if hockey players, coaches and staff become one fist, it will become invincible.

We went through this on our own experience.

A lot depends on such unity.

If everyone tries to solve the problem one by one or breaks up into groups, don't expect the result.

- Now the Russian national team is a "single fist"?

- It is important that the stars from the NHL will arrive, the same Sergey Bobrovsky.

He knows very well what it means to win the world championships.

The team also lacks other experienced hockey players.

I think we are moving in the right direction.

Hopefully the result will be consistent.

- Is Bobrovsky so vitally necessary, given the presence of a played Samonov?

- Sergei is a super goalkeeper.

Yes, he did not succeed in everything this season, but Bobrovsky still changed the team.

Definitely, he will become the first number of the national team, otherwise why he was invited.

Although the coaches should look at his condition, Sergei has not been training for several days.

In principle, the strengthening of the goalkeeper line was predicted.

The defense is at a very decent level.

Vladimir Tarasenko will help in the attack.

He is an established goalscorer with an amazing shot who knows how and loves to score.

Moreover, he works out both in a foreign zone and in his own.

- But it is very difficult for hockey players to come to the World Cup from overseas, given the coronavirus restrictions.

- This is a really big problem.

After all, as it was before - we arrived in Quebec in advance and began to prepare for the tournament, and the guys from the NHL just came from other cities in North America.

And here the players need time.

As the current World Cup shows, adaptation is not easy for many.

I hope our guys will be fine, they are still young enough.

- To what extent do the Russians now need reinforcement from the NHL, and will the arrival of stars from overseas disrupt the chemistry?

- As I said, it's all about the team and the leaders of the national team, how they will build the team.

It doesn't matter where you play, in the KHL or the NHL.

Everyone should give a damn about personal ambitions and do what the coaching staff requires of him.

If a competitor is stronger than you, then he plays, and this is absolutely normal.

- Is it possible to call our team the strongest at the World Cup after Bobrovsky's challenge?

- In principle, she was considered one of the main contenders for victory from the very beginning.

There was no doubt about that in terms of skill level and selection of performers.

Will any result other than the championship be considered a failure?

Even a medal is a big deal.

Understand, not every hockey player is given to come to the World Cup and rise to the top three there.

Now the Russian national team has a great opportunity to take first place for the first time since 2014, but here you can remember the home championship, for which we gathered a dream team and had to settle for bronze.

Although, of course, you should always strive to become the best.