Team Russia Roster Announced for 2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

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 2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series which takes place November 4-14.

A team of 24 Russian players including three goaltenders, eight defencemen, and 13 forwards will travel across Canada as part of the 17th annual series with six games against CHL competition in preparation for the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Team Russia includes 21 players born in 2000, three born in 2001, and features a total of three players with NHL affiliations. That group is headlined by Vancouver Canucks prospect Vasili Podkolzin, the tenth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Sixth round Arizona Coyotes pick Danil Savunov and 2018 second round Vegas Golden Knights pick Ivan Morozov will also play in all six games. In addition to the NHL affiliated talent, two of the 2001 born players are top prospects for the 2020 NHL Draft including Rodion Amirov who was given an ‘A’ rating by NHL Central Scouting in their October Players to Watch list, and Maxim Groshev who was given a ‘B’ rating. While all 24 players will be competing in this event for the first time, Podkolzin, Morozov, and goaltender Amir Miftakhov were all members of Russia’s bronze medal entry at the 2019 World Juniors in Vancouver and Victoria.

An additional seven CHL players will join Team Russia throughout the series competing within their regional league. That list includes QMJHL talents like St. Louis Blues prospect Nikita Alexandrov of the Charlottetown Islanders, Minnesota Wild prospect Alexander Khovanov of the Moncton Wildcats, Egor Sokolov of the Cape Breton Eagles, and Calgary Flames prospect Dmitry Zavgorodniy of the Rimouski Oceanic. Nashville Predators prospect Egor Afanasyev of the Windsor Spitfires and New Jersey Devils prospect Nikita Okhotyuk of the Ottawa 67’s will play in OHL games, while Philadelphia Flyers prospect Egor Zamula of the Calgary Hitmen will play in the WHL.

Behind the bench for Team Russia is head coach Valery Bragin who is making his eighth series appearance and sixth straight. His time with the Russian National Junior Team has led to six World Junior medals including 2011 gold in Buffalo, silver in Calgary (2012), Toronto (2015), and Finland (2016), along with bronze in Montreal (2017) and Vancouver (2019).

Team Russia has captured four series victories including 2010, 2012, and 2018, bringing their overall record to 33-60-0-3.

2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series – Team Russia:

Goaltenders:
Amir Miftakhov (Ak Bars Kazan)
Daniil Isayev (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
Gleb Nosov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)

Defencemen:
Gleb Babintsev (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Mikhail Gordeyev (HC Sochi, Sochi)
Anton Malyshev (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
Stepan Ostrovsky (Admiral Vladivostok)
Daniil Pylenkov (Vityaz Podolsk)
Sergei Telegin (Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk)
Daniil Valitov ( Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg)
Nikita Zorkin (SKA St. Peterburg)

Forwards:
Rodion Amirov (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
Maxim Groshev (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk )
Lev Komissarov (CSKA Moscow)
Ilya Kruglov (Dynamo Moscow)
Vladislav Mikhailov (Dynamo Moscow)
Ivan Morozov (SKA St. Peterburg)
Vasili Podkolzin (SKA St. Peterburg)
Nikita Rtishchev ( CSKA Moscow)
Pavel Rotenberg (Dynamo St. Peterburg)
Danil Savunov (SKA St. Peterburg)
Zakhar Shablovskii (Spartak Moscow)
Maxim Sorkin (CSKA Moscow)
Yegor Stepanov (Traktor Chelyabinsk)

QMJHL players on Team Russia:
Nikita Alexandrov (Charlottetown Islanders)
Alexander Khovanov (Moncton Wildcats)
Egor Sokolov (Cape Breton Eagles)
Dmitry Zavgorodniy (Rimouski Oceanic)

OHL players on Team Russia:
Egor Afanasyev (Windsor Spitfires) – Game 3 only
Nikita Okhotyuk (Ottawa 67’s)

WHL players on Team Russia:
Egor Zamula (Calgary Hitmen)

Staff:
Head Coach – Valery Bragin
Assistant Coach – Alexander Boikov
Goalie Coach – Vladimir Kulikov
Strength and Conditioning Coach – Philipp Arzamazov
Team Manager – Oleg Shulya
Analyst – Roman Barinov
Analyst – Aleksey Khomchenkov
Physician – Valery Egorov
Massage Therapist – Artem Timofeev
Equipment Manager – Alexander Rezepov
Media Manager – Artur Kovtunenko

The 2019 CIBC Canada Russia series is proudly supported by title partner CIBC, and associate sponsors Kia Canada, Cooper Tires, and Kubota Canada. All games will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series Schedule:
Game 1 – Monday November 4 at Saint John, NB
Game 2 – Tuesday November 5 at Moncton, NB
Game 3 – Thursday November 7 at Kitchener, ON
Game 4 – Monday November 11 at London, ON
Game 5 – Wednesday November 13 at Saskatoon, SK
Game 6 – Thursday November 14 at Prince Albert, SK

For event information please visit http://chlcanadarussia.ca.

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AFANASYEV AND OKHOTYUK TO REPRESENT RUSSIA IN 2019 CIBC CANADA RUSSIA SERIES

Posted on by Dominic Tiano

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Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League, in association with the Canadian Hockey League and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, announced today that Windsor Spitfires forward Egor Afanasyev and Ottawa 67’s defenceman Nikita Okhotyuk will represent Russia in the upcoming 2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series.

Team OHL will compete against Afanasyev, Okhotyuk and Russian National Junior Team hopefuls in Game 3 of the series on Thursday, November 7 in Kitchener before Game 4 takes place on Monday, November 11 in London.

A second round (45th overall) pick of the Nashville Predators in the 2019 NHL Draft, Afanasyev is in his first OHL season with the Windsor Spitfires after his rights were acquired from the Ottawa 67’s in December 2018. The 18-year-old from Moscow, Russia has 12 points (5-7–12) through his first 11 games of the 2019-20 season and recently signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract with the Predators last week. Afanasyev was originally Ottawa’s sixth round pick in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection.

The 6-foot-3, 205Ib. winger represented Russia at the 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, BC, recording five points (2-3–5) in as many games.

A second round (61st overall) pick of the New Jersey Devils in the 2019 NHL Draft, Okhotyuk made his season debut last weekend after recovering from injury to begin 2019-20. The 18-year-old from Chelyabinsk, Russia is in his third OHL season after recording 17 points (2-15–17) over 56 games with the 67’s last season, helping guide the team to an Eastern Conference championship. The 6-foot-1, 198Ib. rearguard was Ottawa’s first round (16th overall) pick in the 2017 CHL Import Draft.

Okhotyuk represented Russia at the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., suiting up in six games as Russia claimed bronze. He wore the ‘C’ for Russia at the 2017 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, recording three points (1-2–3) in five contests. He also represented his country in the 2018 IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championship in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk, Russia, recording two assists in five contests.

In 16 years of competition, the Russian National Junior Team has played to a record of 33-60-0-3, winning last year’s series by an 11-7 mark in points.

2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series Schedule:
Game 1 – Monday November 4 at Saint John, NB
Game 2 – Tuesday November 5 at Moncton, NB
Game 3 – Thursday November 7 at Kitchener, ON
Game 4 – Monday November 11 at London, ON
Game 5 – Wednesday November 13 at Saskatoon, SK
Game 6 – Thursday November 14 at Prince Albert, SK

The 2019 CIBC Canada Russia series is proudly supported by title partner CIBC, and associate sponsors Kia Canada, Cooper Tires, and Kubota Canada.  All games will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

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