"Admitting our young men is only the first step"

Russian national hockey teams have not played in international competitions for 4.5 years. Since 2022, the national, youth, junior and women's teams of our country have been suspended from the world Championships. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has not yet taken steps to bring back Russian teams. But in 2026, there was a shift in the issue of admitting Belarus, whose national teams were suspended from competitions at the same time as the Russian ones.

The adult women's team of Belarus and the national team of girls under the age of 18, as well as the men's junior team under the age of 18, received the right to compete in tournaments. Now it remains for Belarusians to achieve the return of the youth national team no older than 20 and the adult national team to the World Championships. In an interview with Izvestia, Chairman of the Hockey Federation of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Bogdanovich assessed the chances of an early disbandment of the remaining teams of his country and all Russian national teams, told how Dynamo Minsk's performance in the KHL affects local hockey, and shared his expectations for the next League All-Star Game to be held in the capital.

— Can we expect that this admission of your youth national teams will be followed in the near future by decisions on the Russian and other Belarusian national teams?

- of course. FHR and I are working together on a comeback. And we are doing everything possible to ensure the participation of our teams. Of course, every country hosting the World Championships has its own nuances. But we are sure that our work will sooner or later lead to the fact that the national teams of Belarus and Russia of different ages will fully compete in international competitions.

Tardif's change: will the new head of the IIHF help return Russia to the international ice

The RIHF looks forward to fruitful cooperation with Franz Reindl and the team's early participation in major tournaments.

— Have you already talked with the new president of the IIHF, Franz Reindl?

— Don't forget, at the same IIHF congress at which Reindl was elected president, elections to the organization's board were also held. Our man, the representative of Belarus, Sergey Goncharov, was elected to it. He knows Reindl and has already talked to him. We are in touch with representatives of the IIHF. There are no concrete results yet, but we are consistently moving towards finally achieving the return of all our hockey players to international competitions. And admitting our young men is only the first step in this direction.

— How important is it for Belarusian hockey that Dinamo Minsk plays in the KHL?

— Of course, participation in such a strong competition gives a lot. We can see the progress that the young guys at the club have made in recent years, some of whom have been in demand by NHL teams this year, signed contracts overseas and traveled to North America to gain a foothold there. We also saw this from the performance of the Belarusian national team at the same Channel One Cup and numerous matches with the Russian national team, when the guys fought your team and even beat it more than once. Their progress was greatly helped by their participation in such a strong championship as the KHL.

— What are you waiting for the next KHL All-Star Game to be held in Minsk in February?

— We are very glad that it will be hosted by us this season, and we are grateful to the KHL for entrusting the organization of this event to Minsk. And we are looking forward to it. First of all, this is a celebration for the audience. I am sure that the stands of the Minsk Arena will be full, as it constantly happens at KHL matches, when 15 thousand people come to Dynamo games. This alone proves that the capital of our republic deserves to host the All-Star Match.