Russians finish second at the U20 4 Nations

The Russian team finished second at the tournament, with the Swedes coming in first, Czechs third and Finland last. Russia lost the first game big to the eventual winners the Swedes. The game ended 1:5 in Sweden's favor with Glovatsky scoring Russia's only goal. He is a capable 88 born forward from the Magnitogorsk system that has gotten some Super League exposure last year.

Russia won the two other games at the tournament on penalty shots after ending each contest tied in overtime. In the first game Russia faced off against the Czech Republic, eventually beating the opponent 4:3, with Churilov, Kucheryavenko and Vasyunov scoring for Russia in regular time.

The last game against the Finns ended with the same score, but Russia got the scoring from a completely different set of players – with Milovzorov, Alexandrov and Anisimov each tallying a goal in regular time. The game started off badly for the Russian squad, as the team quickly fell into a 0:3 hole, as Varlamov did not play all that well during the opening sequence. He was then replaced by back up Proskuryakov, who scored a shutout for the rest of the game, and the reenergized Russian squad climbed back from the three goal deficit to tie the game and eventually win it in the shootout, with Glovatsky scoring the deciding penalty shot.

The team's head coach Evgeny Popikhin had the following to say about the team's success in an interview with the Russian Sport-Express newspaper:

"The Swedes brought with them their strongest lineup and ably earned victory at this tournament. Even though we tried to get the best players, at first were unable to find our game and did not play with confidence. Against the Czechs and Finns we looked much stronger, but we have a lot left to work on. On November 17th, I along with a portion of this squad will go to Canada, where we will skate in a traditional tournament, playing six games against the all star teams from the three [Canadian] junior leagues. After December 10th, we will put together five lines and will start the preparations for the U20 World Championships.

In regards to which of the players from the roster will accompany Russia's head coach to Canada, it is a difficult question, but the top Super League performers will likely be absent from the roster. It would be quite amazing if Ilya Zubov (88 - Ottawa Senators), Semen Varlamov (88 - Washington Capitals), Yuri Alexandrov (88 - Boston Bruins) or Gennady Churilov (87 - Undrafted) will be in Canada in late November. Zubov was just transferred to another Super League club, and will likely work hard to earn a roster spot with his new team – HC Salavat Yulayev. Alexandrov has been a reliable presence on HC Severstal's blue line, while Varlamov has taken over HC Lokomotiv starting job between the pipes.

Churilov, also a HC Lokomotiv player, has been consistently in the club's lineup, though he has enjoyed a bit of a "sophomore slump" this season and may also want to accompany the squad to Canada in order to improve any chances he has left to be drafted into the NHL. He spent a single season in the Canadian juniors Quebec Ramparts a couple of seasons back before his draft year, but did not get picked up then, and even after a relatively successful U20 tournament last year. His may be running out of chances. The rest of the players in the lineup, including NHL prospects such as Igor Makarov (Chicago Blackhawks), Artem Anisimov (New York Rangers), Andrei Zubarev (Atlanta Thrashers) and another defenseman Vyacheslav Buravchikov (Buffalo Sabres) are all fair games to make the squad, as they have only seen part time duties in the Super League. This was especially the case with Zubarev and Buravchikov, as the pair alternated in the lineup for HC Ak Bars.

The 87 born team will likely be one of Russia's weakest since the 84 born squad, although that team enjoyed the support of younger 85 born Alexander Ovechkin and 86 born Evgeny Malkin. This time there are no such saviors and the team will have to rely on stellar goaltending from Varlamov and balanced scoring from all the lines. The balanced scoring was there in this tournament, as Russia enjoyed goals from 7 different players. However, the goaltending remains an issue and even though Proskuryakov was the hero of the final contest against the Finns, Varlamov will be the incumbent starter and needs to be in top form come late December.

My final thoughts in regards to the Canada-Russia Challenge is a hope that the Russian coaching staff will bring with them the best possible Russian team to Canada, as this year, more so than in the past six or seven years, the Russian players need to spend as much time as possible together in order to have any chance of success at the U20 WJC. With the exception of a couple of bright spots, the overall talent pool just isn't there in the 87 and 88 born players for the squad to succeed without some serious team work across all four lines.