Team Russia Roster Announced for 2018 CIBC Canada Russia Series

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League in association with the Russian Ice Hockey Federation today announced the roster for Team Russia that will compete in the 2018 CIBC Canada Russia Series which takes place November 5-15.

Canada Russia

A team of 23 Russian players including two goaltenders, nine defencemen, and 12 forwards will travel across Canada as part of the 16th annual series playing six games against CHL competition in preparation for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship taking place this season in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.

This year’s Team Russia includes 20 players born in 1999 and three born in 2000 and features five players with NHL affiliations.  Among those players is goaltender Daniil Tarasov who was chosen by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft.  An additional four were 2018 picks including second rounder Alexander Romanov (Montreal Canadiens) and fifth rounder Daniil Zhuravlev (Colorado Avalanche) on defence, along with forwards Bulat Shafigullin (Los Angeles Kings) chosen in the third round, and Pavel Shen (Boston Bruins) selected in the seventh round.

An additional 10 Russian-born CHL players, all with NHL affiliations, will compete against their respective leagues headlined by Western Hockey League defenceman Alexander Alexeyev of the Red Deer Rebels who was chosen in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals.  He’ll play in both games against Team WHL beginning November 5 in Kamloops followed by Game 2 on November 6 in Vancouver.  Ontario Hockey League goaltender Ivan Prosvetov (Arizona Coyotes) of the Saginaw Spirit will suit up for his home country in Game 3 of the series November 8 in Sarnia along with forwards Alexey Lipanov (Tampa Bay Lightning) of the Kitchener Rangers and Alexey Toropchenko (St. Louis Blues) of the Guelph Storm.  Edmonton Oilers prospects Kirill Maksimov of the Niagara IceDogs and defenceman Dmitri Samorukov of the Storm will dress in Sarnia and in Game 4 set for Oshawa on November 12.  Four Quebec Major Junior Hockey League players will compete November 13 in Sherbrooke and November 15 in Drummondville including Ivan Chekhovich (San Jose Sharks) of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Alexander Khovanov (Minnesota Wild) of the Moncton Wildcats, Pavel Koltygin (Nashville Predators) of the Drummondville Voltigeurs), and Dmitry Zavgorodniy (Calgary Flames) of the Rimouski Oceanic.

Behind the bench for Team Russia is head coach Valery Bragin who is making his seventh series appearance and fifth straight.  His time with the Russian National Junior Team has led to five World Junior medals including 2011 gold in Buffalo, silver in Calgary (2012), Toronto (2015), and Finland (2016), along with bronze in Montreal (2017). 

Team Russia has captured three series victories including 2010, 2012, and 2014.

2018 CIBC Canada Russia Series – Team Russia:

Most recent club team listed in brackets

Goaltenders:
Pyotr Kochetkov (HK Ryazan) – VHL
Daniil Tarasov (Toros Neftekamsk) – VHL

Defencemen:
Vaniamin Baranov (MHK Dynamo Moscow) – MHL
Danila Galenyuk (SKA-Varyagi im. Morozova) – MHL
Evgeny Kalabushkin (SKA-1946 St. Petersburg) – MHL
Alexander Lyakhov (Tolpar Ufa) – MHL
Saveliy Olshansky (Zauralie Kurgan) – VHL
Alexander Romanov (CSKA Moscow) – KHL
Mark Rubinchik (Toros Neftekamsk) – VHL
Artyom Volkov (MHK Spartak Moscow) – MHL
Daniil Zhuravlev (Bars Kazan) – VHL

Forwards:
Aryom Galimov (Bars Kazan) – VHL
Evgeny Kanitsky (Metallurg Novokuznetsk) – VHL
Maxim Marushev (Bars Kazan) – VHL
Ivan Muranov (Dynamo Moscow) – KHL
Artyom Nikolaev (SKA-Neva St. Petersburg) – VHL
Bulat Shafigullin (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk) – KHL
Nikita Shashkov (Sibir Novosibirsk) – KHL
Pavel Shen (Salavat Yulaev Ufa) – KHL
Kirill Slepets (Lada Togliatti) – VHL
Stepan Starkov (HK Sochi) – KHL
Vladislav Tsitsyura (SKA-1946 St. Petersburg) – MHL
Alexander Yaremchuk (Avangard Omsk) – KHL

WHL players on Team Russia:
Alexander Alexeyev (Red Deer Rebels)

OHL Players on Team Russia:
Alexey Lipanov (Kitchener Rangers) – playing in Sarnia only
Kirill Maksimov (Niagara IceDogs)
Ivan Prosvetov (Saginaw Spirit) – playing in Sarnia only
Dmitri Samorukov (Guelph Storm)
Alexey Toropchenko (Guelph Storm) – playing in Sarnia only

QMJHL Players on Team Russia:
Ivan Chekhovich (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Alexander Khovanov (Moncton Wildcats)
Pavel Koltygin (Drummondville Voltigeurs)
Dmitry Zavgorodniy (Rimouski Oceanic)

 

Staff:
Team Manager – Alexei Kochetkov
Head Coach – Valery Bragin
Assistant Coach – Yury Babenko
Assistant Coach – Alexander Boykov
Goalie Coach – Vladimir Kulikov
Strength and Conditioning Coach – Alexander Kofanov
Senior Manager – Oleg Shuliya
Video Coach – Vladislav Krutskikh
Video Coach  – Alexander Kadykov
Physician – Valery Egorov
Massage Therapist – Artem Timofeev
Equipment Manager – Alexander Rezepov
Media Manager – Petr Tereshchenkov

The 2018 CIBC Canada Russia Series is supported by title sponsor CIBC, the Official Bank of the CHL, along with associate sponsors Kia Canada, Sherwin-Williams, Cooper Tires, and Kubota Canada.  All games will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

2018 CIBC Canada Russia Series Schedule:
Game 1 – Monday November 5 at Kamloops, BC
Game 2 – Tuesday November 6 at Vancouver, BC
Game 3 – Thursday November 8 at Sarnia, ON
Game 4 – Monday November 12 at Oshawa, ON
Game 5 – Tuesday November 13 at Sherbrooke, QC
Game 6 – Thursday November 15 at Drummondville, QC

For event information including how to purchase tickets please visit http://chlcanadarussia.ca.

OHL Announces Top Performers of the Month for October

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the Top OHL Performers of the Month for regular season games played in October 2018, including North Bay Battalion forward Justin Brazeau, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenceman Mac Hollowell and Ottawa 67’s teammates Marco Rossi and Cedrick Andree.


OHL Player of the Month – Justin Brazeau (North Bay Battalion):


North Bay Battalion captain Justin Brazeau is the OHL Player of the Month for October after recording 26 points including 11 goals and 15 assists in 10 games. Brazeau’s month was headlined by a seven-point performance on Oct. 21st, helping the Battalion defeat the Kingston Frontenacs 8-3 on home ice with three goals and four assists. The seven points tied a franchise record set in 2006 and also helped Brazeau earn both CHL and OHL ‘On the Run’ Player of the Week honours. The 6-foot-6 winger also had a five point outing with two goals and three assists in a 5-3 win over Flint on Oct. 12th. More recently he put up four points with a goal and three helpers in a 5-2 win over the Erie Otters on Oct. 27th. In total, Brazeau recorded points in eight of his 10 outings, coming away with multi-point totals in six of them. He earned first star honours three times, second star recognition twice and was named third star on one occasion.

A 20-year-old native of New Liskeard, Ont., Brazeau is currently in his fourth OHL season after being a 13th round pick by the Battalion in 2014. He enters November as the OHL’s scoring leader with 33 points (16-17–33) over 15 contests and is just six goals shy of becoming the Battalion’s new career goal-scoring leader during the franchise’s tenure in North Bay. Over 215 career regular season games he has found the back of the net 83 times, added 75 assists and put up 158 points. Brazeau attended training camp with the San Jose Sharks this past September.


OHL Defenceman of the Month – Mac Hollowell (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds):


Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Mac Hollowell of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds is the OHL Defenceman of the Month for October after leading all rearguards with 15 points over 13 games. Hollowell’s four goals and 11 assists helped the Greyhounds climb into the West Division lead, entering November with a record of 11-3-3-0. The overage blueliner had points in 11 of his 13 outings, wrapping up the month on a four-game trend. His October was headlined by a pair of three-point performances, first recording a goal and two assists in a 6-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit on Oct. 17th before picking up three assists two nights later in a 4-3 triumph over the Kingston Frontenacs. While Hollowell was effective offensively, he also played a big role in helping the Greyhounds rise to second on the OHL’s penalty killing rankings.

A 20-year-old native of Niagara Falls, Ont., Hollowell’s outstanding month of October came after he was returned to the OHL by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who selected him in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. The 5-foot-10, 163Ib. smooth-skating defender is in his fourth full OHL season and has appeared in 208 career regular season games, recording 22 goals, 99 assists and 121 points in the process. He was originally Sault Ste. Marie’s 12th round pick in 2014.


OHL Rookie of the Month – Marco Rossi (Ottawa 67’s):


After a sensational first month of his OHL career, Ottawa 67’s forward Marco Rossi is the OHL Rookie of the Month for October. The Austrian centreman recorded 16 points including nine goals and seven assists in 11 games to go with a league-high plus/minus rating of plus-18, helping the 67’s take the East Division lead with an overall record of 12-3-1-0. Rossi’s month included a pair of three-point performances, with the first including two goals and an assist in a 4-1 win over the Windsor Spitfires on Oct. 12th. He registered a goal and two assists in a 3-1 road win over the Mississauga Steelheads on Oct. 21st. Three of his nine goals were of the game-winning variety. Playing alongside veterans Tye Felhaber and Austen Keating, Rossi has been among the league’s top faceoff men, winning nearly 60% of his draws in the month of October.

A 17-year-old native of Feldkirch, Austria, Rossi has 18 points (9-9–18) through 16 games this season. The 18th overall pick of the 2018 CHL Import Draft, Rossi isn’t eligible for the NHL Draft until 2020. He spent last season with the Swiss Jr. A circuit’s GCK Lions where he put up 51 points (22-29–51) over 34 games.

 

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Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month – Cedrick Andree (Ottawa 67’s):


A perfect 8-0-0-0 month of October has earned Ottawa 67’s netminder Cedrick Andree Vaughn OHL Goaltender of the Month honours. Andree won all eight of his starts, recording a league-leading 1.72 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage in the process as the 67’s surged up the standings as well as the Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings. The sophomore didn’t surrender more than three goals in any of his starts, with his best effort coming on Oct. 21st in Mississauga when he made 31 saves as the 67’s defeated the Steelheads 3-1. He limited the opposition to just one goal on three other occasions including a 4-1 win over Kingston on Oct. 10th, a 4-1 win over Windsor on Oct. 12th and a 2-1 overtime win over London on Oct. 26th.

An 18-year-old native of Orleans, Ont., Andree holds a 10-2-0-0 record, 2.59 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in this, his second OHL season. The 5-foot-10, 165Ib. goaltender appeared in 13 games with the 67’s last season after being the club’s 12th round pick in the 2016 OHL Priority Selection.


2018-19 OHL Performers of the Month:


Player of the Month:

October – Justin Brazeau (North Bay Battalion)


Defenceman of the Month:

October – Mac Hollowell (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)

Rookie of the Month:
October – Marco Rossi (Ottawa 67’s)


Vaughn Goaltender of the Month:

October – Cedrick Andree (Ottawa 67’s)