WJC: 2015 — Russia Roster Talk

[MOGiLNY]

Speaking of changing, the 2005 and 2006 teams were also dominant and swept through the tournament only to be crushed by Canada in the finals. We had great offensive talent with guys like Ovechkin and Malkin, but the goaltending was a major issue.

Now, the offensive talent is not nearly as star studded as it was, but we've had some great goaltenders come through.

 

[Peter25]

With regards, to birth rate, I don't think you can attribute birth rate to success (With regards to 1985) Russia's birth rate is now higher than the USA.

I'm in a hurry now so I will just post a quick reply to this.

The current birth rate is important only in the future and not now because babies born now will be playing in the WJC 16-19 years from now. The 1990's age groups that are very small are the ones that Russia currently has to produce players from. Birth rate started to grow in the early and mid 2000's so we have to wait about one decade until it has to start having an effect in WJC level.

 

[Dynamo81]

I'm in a hurry now so I will just post a quick reply to this.

The current birth rate is important only in the future and not now because babies born now will be playing in the WJC 16-19 years from now. The 1990's age groups that are very small are the ones that Russia currently has to produce players from. Birth rate started to grow in the early and mid 2000's so we have to wait about one decade until it has to start having an effect in WJC level.

Yes I know this, however I don't think you can attribute a much improved birth rate in Russia with success in future WJC. At the end of the day it is what the players achieve later on that plays a role. The WJC performances are almost meaningless, the 2012 WJC team that came second has already had 7 players play in the NHL this season. The "Strong" 2005 side had 8 players (3 Elite Level) play in the NHL in the past 9 years. You never know how careers pan out and as I have said a lot can change during the vital years (18-21).

I think you are a little nostalgic, I do want to watch Russia control play but for that I believe the defense needs to improve. It is the weak defense over the years that has caused Russia to play this style at Junior level (minimizing a major weakness). For larger periods of the Sweden game I felt Russia was controlling play, with crisp passing, for a moment I thought they turned a page but no

Anyway, I think this side has 2 problems that can stop them from going for Gold. 1) Taking stupid penalties, way too many in this tournament. 2) Penalty Kill, it has has been poor (Luckily the U.S has an atrocious PP) and against the Swedes and Canadians who are great on the Power Play, it is best to stay out the box.

 

[Yakushev72]

Yes I know this, however I don't think you can attribute a much improved birth rate in Russia with success in future WJC. At the end of the day it is what the players achieve later on that plays a role. The WJC performances are almost meaningless, the 2012 WJC team that came second has already had 7 players play in the NHL this season. The "Strong" 2005 side had 8 players (3 Elite Level) play in the NHL in the past 9 years. You never know how careers pan out and as I have said a lot can change during the vital years (18-21).

I think you are a little nostalgic, I do want to watch Russia control play but for that I believe the defense needs to improve. It is the weak defense over the years that has caused Russia to play this style at Junior level (minimizing a major weakness). For larger periods of the Sweden game I felt Russia was controlling play, with crisp passing, for a moment I thought they turned a page but no

Anyway, I think this side has 2 problems that can stop them from going for Gold. 1) Taking stupid penalties, way too many in this tournament. 2) Penalty Kill, it has has been poor (Luckily the U.S has an atrocious PP) and against the Swedes and Canadians who are great on the Power Play, it is best to stay out the box.

The "weak defense" that I think you describe is really the product of a deliberate defensive strategy, one that I hate, but which has had enough success (witness yesterday against the US) so that it has not been discarded. Instead of meeting the attack at the blue line, as the NA teams tend to do, the strategy allows the opposing team to come across the blue line uncontested, while the defense collapses around the high percentage scoring areas in front of the goal crease. The intent is to nullify the dump and chase forechecking strategies that NA teams have used with great success.

There are two major problems with this strategy that results in the opposing team generating a large number of shots on goal. One is the fact that, once inside the zone and cycling the puck, you've got both opposing forwards and defensemen cheating in down low because the defense is on its heels in front of the net. The other problem is tactical - the Russians slavish adherence to clearing the puck up the side boards. Technically, it makes better sense to clear the puck along the boards rather than up the middle, but in fact, opposing teams are so familiar with the invariability with the tactic that they can safely position players along the boards to collect the easy interception. If you watch film, you can see them just automatically going to the boards to accept the turnover. This has caused the Russians huge problems in clearing their zone, but it has also often had the desired result of limiting goals.

 

[Yakushev72]

Speaking of changing, the 2005 and 2006 teams were also dominant and swept through the tournament only to be crushed by Canada in the finals. We had great offensive talent with guys like Ovechkin and Malkin, but the goaltending was a major issue.

Now, the offensive talent is not nearly as star studded as it was, but we've had some great goaltenders come through.

The Canadian 2005 team was arguably their best WJC team ever, and formed the basis for their Olympic Gold medal teams of 2010 and 2014. The 2006 team should have gotten a better result. In both 2005-6, the Canadian strategy was to run at Ovechkin (2005) and Malkin a year later, to take them off of their game. I don't think the Russians are vulnerable to that anymore. They are as tough as anyone.

 

[Yakushev72]

The general standard game at the WJC against North American sides. I honestly don't believe Russia has the squad to control matches against the USA and Canada. They may have been able to 10+ years ago however playing an almost Finnish style of Hockey (But with better individual brilliance) appears to work on a regular basis against those sides.

I'm a real skeptic when it comes to USA hockey. As much as Russian hockey has declined in the last 20 years, there is no objective evidence in the results of competition that suggests that the USA has surpassed Russia. Yes, in the early teen years (U16-U18), the USA tends to dominate, because their kids have about 10-12 years of organized hockey experience at that age, while Russian kids have no organized experience to speak of.

But once you get past U18, there is really nothing special about USA hockey that I can see. Yes, in the WJC, once in a while they have a great team that wins Gold (2004, 2010, 2013), but they are as likely or more likely to finish off the medal podium. There is no standard of consistent excellence to point to. You keep hearing these suggestions that they will one day overtake Canada, but those suggestions continue to fade deeper away.

Their no-name 2010 Olympic team overachieved, but their 2014 team was mediocre at best. Yes, they beat Russia in the 13th round of a shoot-out, which was a one-man achievement by T.J. Oshie, but even the USA announcers, all former American NT players, acknowledged that the US was lucky to survive into OT. Then they get blown out by Finland. So I cannot conclude that the USA is setting a standard that is beyond Russia's reach. And because hockey is a secondary (maybe tertiary) sport in the US, the longer they go without a Gold Medal achievement to publicize, the less interested American kids will be in the sport.

 

[MOGiLNY]

The Canadian 2005 team was arguably their best WJC team ever, and formed the basis for their Olympic Gold medal teams of 2010 and 2014. The 2006 team should have gotten a better result. In both 2005-6, the Canadian strategy was to run at Ovechkin (2005) and Malkin a year later, to take them off of their game. I don't think the Russians are vulnerable to that anymore. They are as tough as anyone.

I believe Ovechkin played the game with a shoulder injury he received in the semis, so Phaneuf running him out of the rink is sort of a myth, but both saw us give up early goals that set the tempo for the rest of the game.

Our goaltending was porous throughout the tournaments and we won games despite it. Khudobin was not a reliable goalie for us. In the 2002 and 2003 years we had Medvedev who also did not help.

 

[BlitzSnipe]

The "weak defense" that I think you describe is really the product of a deliberate defensive strategy, one that I hate, but which has had enough success (witness yesterday against the US) so that it has not been discarded. Instead of meeting the attack at the blue line, as the NA teams tend to do, the strategy allows the opposing team to come across the blue line uncontested, while the defense collapses around the high percentage scoring areas in front of the goal crease. The intent is to nullify the dump and chase forechecking strategies that NA teams have used with great success.

There are two major problems with this strategy that results in the opposing team generating a large number of shots on goal. One is the fact that, once inside the zone and cycling the puck, you've got both opposing forwards and defensemen cheating in down low because the defense is on its heels in front of the net. The other problem is tactical - the Russians slavish adherence to clearing the puck up the side boards. Technically, it makes better sense to clear the puck along the boards rather than up the middle, but in fact, opposing teams are so familiar with the invariability with the tactic that they can safely position players along the boards to collect the easy interception. If you watch film, you can see them just automatically going to the boards to accept the turnover. This has caused the Russians huge problems in clearing their zone, but it has also often had the desired result of limiting goals.

That is an informative post, thanks. I do notice that the Russians often just simply 'let' the opposing team cross the line, and this leads to a lot of problems. They should change that system, imo, because the opposition gets in far too easily, they start circling the puck and setting up chances. The Czechs were defending very well in their match against the Russians, who had a hard time coming into the zone. A forward was surrounded by 2-3 Czechs and when he came in, he had no one to pass to and was quickly stripped of the puck. The Russian defence could benefit from such a strategy.

In terms of offence, I think they have plenty of talented players this year.

 

[Dynamo81]

Told everyone not to worry.

Great game against Sweden, Canada has a great team, will need some lucky bounces to get a win in the final. However I think Russian fans can be proud of this team.

Oh, 3 Straight WJC finals for Bragin

 

[Fantomas]

Oh, 3 Straight WJC finals for Bragin

And some people were reminiscing about Varnakov.

 

[Peter25]

I have to take back what I said two days ago after this performance. Russia was horrible in the third period against USA, but this game against Sweden was near perfection and Russia has not played this well in WJC against a good team since 2011 final's third period against Canada (where Russia came from a 0-3 deficit to win the game 5-3 by scoring five unanswered goals).

But I do think that USA was a superior team to Sweden and I don't want to overemphasize this game too much. Sweden looked weak as much as Russia looked good.

Canada will be a tough one to beat in the final. I would not be disappointed with a Silver medal since I was expecting nothing from them after the horrible Denmark and Czech games.

Btw, is Valeri Bragin the most likable coach in the world?

 

[Dynamo81]

And some people were reminiscing about Varnakov.

Yep He has his faults but results is what this is is all about and he brings them. I was happy to see him back. Varnakov wasn't as bad as people made him out to be but I was very disappointed in him during the 2013 wjc in Ufa.

 

[Dynamo81]

Some users called the likes of Sharov, Leschenko, Mamin offensively impaired.

Sharov brought the goods against the USA and Sweden, 3 Goals in 2 games. Mamin had 1 goal and 2 assists in those games.

In fact, Sharov leads the team in goals (4) in 6 games.

Leschenko, Sharov, Mamin, Buchnevich, Barbashyov are all tied for the lead in points in this team (5) in 6 games.

Guess it wasn't a bad decision bringing those guys in?

 

[Atas2000]

well done, but there is still a game to play tomorrow night. I hope the guys do not celebrate too much and prepare.

 

[Dynamo81]

well done, but there is still a game to play tomorrow night. I hopr the guys do not celebrate to much and prepare.

Thank god for this post, I thought they will have a day break 4am wake up tomorrow then, was hoping for a sleep in

 

[bidzey*]

Well, I don't like the Sharipzyanov cut, but it is what it is. The game is on tomorrow. These guys should be able to kick some overconfident arse.

As an Owen Sound Fan, the Team's announcers have been telling us that at the moment when it was too late they wanted to bring back Sharipzyanov because i guess one of your Def. got hurt (something like that anyways). As a fan of Sharipzyanov I feel bad he can't play simply because they had to hand in the team on paper at a certain time.

They called him to say come on back... then called him latter to say... forget it, against the rules...can't do it. What a tease for the poor guy, and now you're going for gold... ah well, I guess he'll be playing next year for sure.

Good luck guys, may the best team win

 

[Dynamo81]

A tough loss but you can not fault their effort. On another day they could have won it but no shame in losing to this quality Canada side.

It was great to see Russia playing open hockey, this 1995 born generation doesn't seem too bad, add Nichuskin and Zadorov and Russia has a quality 1995 crop of players that will be interesting to follow.

 

[Fantomas]

I picked Russia to win bronze. They won silver, so can't complain. Furthermore, to give Canada fits on their home ice is admirable.

Best part is the passion and dedication they showed in the medal round. Props to the coaching staff and the boys. They proved me wrong, after my initial misgivings.

The key for Russia will be to bring more teams like this to the tournament year after year. If they do this they will win their share of golds.

 

[Fantomas]

Dergachev will be back next year. What a beast.

 

[Dynamo81]

By the way, big props to Bragin once again. The team selection was great for this tournament, I feel as though he has improved a lot.

 

[Rob]

Considering most people (myself included) thought they were done after they lost to the Czechs I think Russian Hockey should be pleased with the overall results.

 

[wings5]

I for one am not surprised they did this well awesome tournament, I thought all the defenceman were great and all have NHL potential really physical defense. Sharov was a big surprise up front, tbh I expected more from Buchnevich but Tolchinsky was great.

 

[ViD]

One thing about Bragin teams is that they always have cojones. The only exception that comes to mind in the medal round was the 2012 final game vs Sweden where we played pretty poor, but I believe that's due to the exhausting battle vs Canada.

As for the next year, I am excited to see new stars like Sokolov and possibly some other new faces.

 

[ViD]

Considering most people (myself included) thought they were done after they lost to the Czechs I think Russian Hockey should be pleased with the overall results.

Not gonna lie, after that loss, I seriously thought we were going to get destroyed by the USA. A good lesson to never write off Bragin teams

 

[IceHockey19]

May be a little late, but...
I've just seen stats from Under-18 World Championship 2014, and best scorers in our team were:
PILIPENKO Kirill 5Games 5Goals+2Assists=7Points
SVECHNIKOV Yevgeni 5GP 3G+4A=7P
VOVCHENKO Danil 4 1+3=4
NIKOLISHIN Ivan 5 2+3=5
LYAMKIN Nikita 5 0+5=5

Are they progressing? Could they improve our team this year? Or next year?