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An unsuccessful year for Russian hockey ended with the victory of the team in the First Channel Cup. But there is still a youth world championship ahead

Slalom players don’t fence on the move, and not all hockey players can do it, but Alexander Radulov’s passage to the Finnish goal in the center turned out to be simply magical, even the last defender beaten twice with a stick (before that there were two more), it seems ...

Slalom players don’t fence on the move, and not all hockey players can do it, but Alexander Radulov’s passage to the Finnish goal in the center turned out to be simply magical, even the last defender, who had beaten twice (before that there were two more), didn’t seem to drop it from a blow, but from confusion. The goal was a greeting from the past, something you rarely see in modern hockey, and the least of all frills was expected from Sasha Radulov, who never differed in particular grace, who in Megasport gave out masterpiece after masterpiece and never even got into a fight. He deserved that the fans went "to Radulov."

It was not enough to win the First Channel Cup - it was also necessary to win beautifully. They don’t talk about beauty in the locker room, but the coaches of the Russian national team Vyacheslav Bykov and Igor Zakharkin at some point gave up on the declared tactical experiments (this happened, in my opinion, at the end of the first match with the Swedes) and let their wards go free. Perhaps, from the point of view of strategy, the move turned out to be not entirely correct, but it hit the mood of the fans very accurately.

More than forty thousand spectators (three matches with the participation of the Russian national team - three sold out) wanted a holiday, and they got it. The game of the national team was not debugged to a shine, but there was heart and thought in it, so that the beautiful ending that ended the year turned out exactly the way everyone wanted.

She was needed and important from all points of view. Probably too much was expected from the hockey year. The echo of the Olympic failure turned out to be long, and it could not have been otherwise. If the national team played today, as at the first stage of the Eurotour in Finland, it would simply not be understood.

Gaining a hockey “prayerfulness”, “Megasport” was exemplarily ready for the holiday and protected by the very atmosphere not only from the street December winds and snowstorms, but also from the revelry of other elements. And if the icy breath from Moscow streets and squares had penetrated here, the spectators would not have been so happy about hockey. Or maybe they rejoiced especially unrestrainedly in contrast to the "street" ...

But I can’t call what is happening in Megasport a “feast during the plague”. There should be room in life for simple and understandable feelings, not overshadowed by almost anything.

The line "aside" refers to the title sponsor. Two afternoon matches on weekends were delayed by ten minutes, adjusting the start to the Channel One schedule. We have already got used to the fact that the format of the tournament is determined not by the directorate, but by the television channel, which shows the only evening match with the participation of its own team at night. We have known for a long time that people do not like hockey at the First. But these ten minutes, shifted due to the series, were perhaps already too much. Serial chewing gum is no better than TV glamour, beauty without a soul backfires, ratings shamelessly lie, and there is not much pure joy now. Too bad it wasn't appreciated.

... I haven't seen Vladislav Tretiak so inspired for a long time. The famous goalkeeper and president of the Ice Hockey Federation seemed to be even happier than the national team coaches. He did not have to prove these days that the Eurotour and the Moscow International Tournament, as its key stage, are necessary for our hockey. The off-program was not inferior to the game one in saturation: it was required to report for the last year, and the rights to host the championship of Russia of the same KHL at a higher price to “sell”, and to protect the interests of the national team, and not to offend the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation Rene Fasel with his attention (Russia claims to hosting the 2016 Ice Hockey World Championship), and exchange views with Canadian colleague Bob Nicholson on the events dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Super Series.

And in the course of such a successful tournament for the Russian team in the United States, a youth team was held for the World Cup. If the Cup of the First Channel closes the old year, then the youth team also traditionally opens the new year. There are no regularities in the “passing over the baton”, besides, we have not been able to boast of victories at the youth world championships for a long time.

And now the championship in Buffalo will open on December 26 with a match with Canada, the Swedes and other representatives of the "group of death" will continue, so you still have to live until the playoffs.

Possibly the strongest youth team of Russia in the last five years was seen off across the ocean, from which Vyacheslav Bykov could already “withdraw” three or four people with close range for a run-in in the main team. But the head coach of the “youth team” Valery Bragin would never give up the leaders (despite the fact that he has a choice).

And rightly so: in Moscow, the main team managed without them. By the way, the winners of the First Channel Cup included goalkeeper Barulin, defenders Korneev and Grebeshkov, forwards Grigorenko and Kaygorodov, who snatched gold medals in Canada from the hosts seven years ago in the final. Since then, we have not had world champions among youth.

This is me to what is considered "the last memorable." Megasport has shed balm on the wounds, but a local victory after a series of failures is a great joy, but a domestic one. It is good, but one-time, and, alas, does not provide the future. This is especially true for the near future.