Happiness is just around the corner: the Russian national ice hockey team played in the Urals

The hockey players of the Russian national team won the Channel One Cup for the third time in a row in front of the crowded stands of the Novosibirsk arena, where the matches of the country's main team were held for the first time. Roman Rotenberg's team won against the national teams of Belarus (3:1) and Kazakhstan (9:0). And the players and coaches expressed the hope that our hockey players will return to major competitions very soon.

Creative work in the theater

Since 2022, after being suspended from the World Cup, the Russian national ice hockey team has often played in the regions. This happens, for example, during the May tour, when a series of matches with Belarus begins, as well as at the December Channel One Cup. It used to be difficult to take the national team far from Moscow. The Channel One Cup was a stage of the European Tour, and in addition to our hockey players, Finns, Swedes and Czechs took part in it.

Given the density of the club season calendar in Europe, within which this tournament was held, our rivals did not really want to fly far away. Therefore, the Channel One Cup was almost always held in Moscow and sometimes in St. Petersburg. And in 2018-2019, the final game of the Swedish Hockey Games was held in Yaroslavl.

There was no talk of a May tour, since at that time Russia and Belarus were preparing for the World Cup. After 2022, there was no need to negotiate with European rivals. And Belarus, which was also excluded from the World Championships, was ready to come to any region to get game practice. Moreover, starting from 2022, the May tours invariably end in Minsk. In Russia, Tula, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk and Tolyatti hosted the spring meetings.

As for the Channel One Cup, it was held in Moscow in 2022 and 2023, and moved to St. Petersburg in 2024. But it was last week that a historic event took place, when the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) brought an entire tournament with the participation of the national team not just outside the two megacities, but beyond the Urals to Novosibirsk.

The local public appreciated this gift, ensuring almost full attendance at the Siberia Arena, which opened just two years ago. More than 11,000 spectators attended the weekend matches of Russia against Belarus and Kazakhstan. In addition, on Thursday, according to the tradition of recent years, the RIHF held a separate 3x3 tournament within the framework of the Channel One Cup with the participation of the same national teams that played in the main competition.

"It was very pleasant to play in such an atmosphere, with crowded stands," Alexander Yelesin, captain of the Russian national team, told Izvestia. — We know that Novosibirsk is a hockey city. But all the same, the emotions are special when you come with the national team, when you play in front of so many spectators.

About 11.6 thousand spectators gathered here that day, a record for 3x3 games. In addition, the program of events included a sledge hockey match, as well as games of the children's teams "Red Machine Junior", Belarus and Kazakhstan.

On Wednesday, the hockey players and the coaching staff of the Russian national team celebrated a joint trip to the theater. The team watched a three-hour production of Don Quixote at the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Roman Rotenberg, the head coach of the national team, who initiated this campaign, referred to the experience of Anatoly Tarasov, the legendary mentor of the USSR national team.

— We know about the traditions of our Soviet hockey, Russian hockey is about creativity and improvisation. Where can I get them? The theater is the best place. We will communicate, draw on creativity and improvisation, and this will flow into the most beautiful scoring combinations," Rotenberg explained his idea.

Hall of Fame and the defeat of the Kazakhs

On Saturday, shortly before the match between Russia and Belarus, a ceremony was held at the Sibir Arena to introduce new members to the Hall of Fame of Russian Hockey. It was conducted by the President of the Russian Federation Vladislav Tretyak and the Governor of the Novosibirsk region Andrey Travnikov. This time, the famous Soviet coach Dmitry Boginov, who died in 1996, one of the best judges in the country's history, Mikhail Galinovsky, who passed away in 2015 (his widow accepted the Hall of Fame badge), as well as the former doctor of the USSR national team, Boris Sapronenkov, were honored to enter the Hall of Fame.

In addition, Irina Gashennikova, the first goalkeeper in the history of the Russian women's national team, the bronze medalist of the 2001 World Cup, as well as the star striker, Olympic champion in 2018, two–time world champion, two–time winner of the Gagarin Cup and the best sniper in the history of the KHL Sergey Mozyakin were admitted to the Hall of Fame.

"It is a great honor for me to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and I am grateful to the FHR for giving such an assessment of my career," Mozyakin told Izvestia. — I have always tried to fully devote myself to the game at the level of the national team, clubs and to please the fans. And it's really nice to be on the list of Hall of Fame members now, when your name is next to a lot of great hockey people in the country.

The first match against Belarus turned out to be difficult for Russia, but it ended with a confident victory, which is a great progress, since during the May tour our team lost most of the matches to their constant rival. This game was the debut in the national team for many hockey players. For example, for the goalkeeper of Dynamo Moscow Maxim Motorygin, as well as two forwards of Magnitogorsk Metallurg Roman Kanzerov and Dmitry Silantyev. Kanzerov scored his first goal in the national team against the Belarusians, and Silantyev scored the goal the very next day in a game against the Kazakhs.

For the first time, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl forwards Georgy Ivanov and Egor Surin also played for the national team. In the spring, their link with Alexander Radulov helped the Railwaymen win the first Gagarin Cup, and Surin was named the best rookie of the season in the KHL. The talented 19-year-old striker is now conquering the national team as well — he scored an assist in the first match and scored two goals in the second.

After the first game, the famous actor Steven Seagal, who attended the game and the induction ceremony, looked into the locker room of the Russian national team, among others. He congratulated the team on the victory and noted the wonderful atmosphere at the hockey in Novosibirsk.

The next day, our team ended the tournament with a match with Kazakhstan, which did not come as the main team and lost to the Belarusians on Friday (1:4). The Russians were even tougher against this opponent on Sunday, winning 9:0.

— It's very nice to make my debut for the national team — it's a special emotion when you play with the flag and the name of your country on the uniform, representing it on the ice, — Dmitry Silantyev said in a conversation with Izvestia. — We did everything to justify the trust of the coaching staff and not disappoint the fans who came to the games in large numbers. And they deserved to win.

Next time, the Russian national team will gather for the May holidays, when it will conduct another tour of the regions. And in our hockey, the KHL regular season will resume on Tuesday, which has taken a week-long break due to the departure of players from most clubs to the national teams.