NOVOGORSK /Moscow Region/. November 10. /TASS/. President of the Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) Vladislav Tretiak hopes that the U-20 (players under 20) and U-18 (players under 18) Russian national squads will delight spectators at the upcoming ‘Cup of the Future’ ice hockey tournament with some spectacular offense.
"Our main objective is to provide young players with more game time and more training, so this is what the federation is focusing a great deal of attention on," Tretiak told journalists on Thursday.
"A number of young athletes are already playing for KHL [Kontinental Hockey League] clubs, and we see some stars shining among them," he continued.
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) was founded in Russia in 2008 and lists 22 professional ice hockey clubs, namely from Russia, Belarus, China and Kazakhstan.
"All players, who are set to hit the ice in Saint Petersburg, always strive to play a fast-paced and offensive hockey game in the best traditions of Russia," the RHF chief noted, adding "We hope that all ice hockey fans will enjoy it."
The ‘Cup of Future’ is organized in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg between November 13 and 16, and along with the Russian national teams, U-20 and U-18 squads representing Belarus and Kazakhstan will be hitting the ice there.
IIHF’s sanctions against Russia, Belarus
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Congress, hosted by Finland’s Tampere on May 27, voted that the national teams of Russia and Belarus would be sidelined at the 2023 World Championship, just like at the recent 2022 Ice Hockey World Championship, due to the ongoing developments in Ukraine.
However, at its meeting in late September, the IIHF Congress announced that the national ice hockey teams from Russia and Belarus would remain in the top division of the world championships after sanctions against their countries were lifted. According to IIHF President Luc Tardif, it meant that there was no aggression at all toward Russia.
In late April, the IIHF announced a decision to cancel its previously scheduled 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship in St.Petersburg, Russia. The global organization also nixed the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, slated to be hosted by the Russian cities of Novosibirsk and Omsk.
On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.