Zhamnov's Olympic choice: the expanded composition of the Russian national hockey team for the Games has been announced

“Now we are passing tests and tomorrow, God forbid, we are going to Novogorsk”

On Monday, January 17, the compositions for the Olympic Games were announced by the Russian national teams in a number of sports, including biathlon, speed skating and curling.

Hockey was no exception.

However, a list was published in the media over the weekend, which almost completely coincided with the official one.

The expanded roster of the national team included 37 people, five of which are goalkeepers.

The delegation did not immediately go to the base in Novogorsk, where a preparatory gathering will take place, but checked into a hotel in Moscow.

This is due to the desire to conduct testing and protect athletes from coronavirus infection as much as possible.

But the national team coach Alexei Zhamnov, according to journalist Alexei Shevchenko, will not join the wards in the near future, since he had just been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Thus, in the early days, the Red Machine headquarters will face a difficult task - to determine the state of the hockey players.

In mid-January, the KHL regular season was suspended due to massive cases of coronavirus.

Some teams were forced to quarantine even earlier.

In particular, this applies to CSKA, from which seven people were called.

Represents the army and head coach Sergei Fedorov, who holds the position of assistant to Zhamnov.

He expressed the hope that in a couple of days the team will begin full-fledged preparations for the Olympics.

“CSKA players who came to the national team did not train for almost two weeks.

We have an intense and turbulent process ahead of us ... We have guys to replace, but how it goes on, we will look at the situation.

As for Kostya Okulov, I can't say anything.

He was sick too.

On January 24, only CSKA will start working ... Now we are passing tests and tomorrow, God forbid, we are going to Novogorsk to take another one.

This is the reality of our day, ”quotes the R-Sport specialist.

According to Sergei Plotnikov, forward of the Moscow army, it will take hockey players some time to get in shape and psychologically get used to the need to live in a “bubble”.

“You need to mentally prepare for the fact that you won’t be able to be with your family for some time, go out into the city, visit restaurants.

Mentally, we need to prepare for this, and the physical form will come, because we will have many days to prepare.

The coaching staff knows what needs to be done, ”the official website of CSKA quotes the athlete.

The absence of Marchenko and the presence of Askarov and Samonov

As for the composition of the national team, it raised a number of questions.

You can challenge the choice of Zhamnov on all lines.

So, in the list of goalkeepers there was a place for Yaroslav Askarov and Alexander Samonov, who have practically no practice in the SKA.

The first in the current season of the KHL held only six meetings, and the second - nine.

But Dmitry Shugaev, the goalkeeper of Severstal, one of the main troublemakers in the West, got into the application.

In 27 games, he saved almost 92% of his shots.

The choice of defenders at first glance seems more logical.

Almost all the strongest destroyers of the KHL will be preparing for the Olympics.

Alexey Marchenko and Rushan Rafikov from Lokomotiv could well have made up a company for them.

This is especially true of the first, who has experience playing both in the NHL and in major international tournaments.

Together with the Russian national team, he became the bronze medalist of the 2016 World Championships, and two years later he won gold at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.

Oleg Znarok regularly invited the hockey player, but Zhamnov decided to refuse him.

Sergey Tolchinsky, who last year became the most valuable hockey player of the Gagarin Cup and took part in the world championship, also turned out to be unclaimed.

But the current headquarters is also not interested in it yet.

From the composition of CSKA called, it seemed, almost everyone who was possible.

Five attackers arrived: Sergey Andronov, Mikhail Grigorenko, Pavel Karnaukhov, Plotnikov and Anton Slepyshev.

But Konstantin Okulov, who scored 33 points in 43 KHL games, was not included in the squad.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that he did not fully recover from the transferred coronavirus.

Finally, he ignored the coaching staff of Damir Zhafyarov, who has been on the list of the most productive hockey players in the league for several years.

This season, he is fourth in the scoring race with 18 goals and 27 assists.

The forward almost single-handedly pulls the modest Torpedo behind him, but he has not yet earned a place in the national team even in the extended list.

“Zhamnov will have to answer for the result”

A lot of questions to Zhamnov remained with the experts.

For example, two-time Olympic champion Alexander Kozhevnikov was surprised by the absence of Tolchinsky, as well as the composition of the goalkeepers.

“Two goalkeepers from St. Petersburg, who practically didn’t play the season at all.

But coaches have their own vision.

Tolchinsky has proven himself well, he is a non-standard player.

Otherwise, everything is fine - the strongest have gathered, ”the Championship quotes Kozhevnikov as saying.

According to world champion Andrey Nikolishin, Zhafyarov, Yegor Korshkov from Lokomotiv and Denis Zernov from Metallurg Magnitogorsk deserved a chance to prove themselves, but the coaching staff of the Red Machine will ultimately be responsible.

“After all, Zhamnov will be responsible for the result, and not you and me ... I personally like Zhafyarov, he has many strong qualities.

A very fast forward - both in terms of decision-making, and in skating, and in possession of a stick.

Smart and cunning, he reads the game, so the puck finds him.

Again, versatile, can act competently both in attack and in defense.

It is not for nothing that Damir has been showing himself in Torpedo both as a leader and a scorer for more than a year, ”Match TV quotes a specialist.

And the Olympic champion Alexander Pashkov, like Kozhevnikov, was struck by the presence of Askarov, who was in the deep reserve of SKA.

“I don’t want to say things about Askarov that could affect his playing career, but in this situation, his candidacy is puzzling.

Yaroslav is still very young, he has everything ahead of him.

I can only wish him success, but his appearance in the Olympic team raises questions, ”complained Pashkov.

Finally, world champion Maxim Sushinsky stood up for Tolchinsky, who, according to him, could qualify for a place in the expanded national team.

"He's not having his best season.

He shone in the past, but this year he does not go.

It's probably all business.

It doesn't show a very good game, it falls short of last season.

On the other hand, who was taken then, if not him?

There are no Enkhaelians.

I didn’t know that we have so many players, ”added Sushinsky.