For the first time since 2004 the Russian ice hockey junior team was left without medals at the World Hockey Junior Championship. In the quarterfinals our boys sensationally lost to Switzerland 2:3 in the overtime and then lost to Finland 3:4 in the match for the fifth place.
The head coach of the national team Vladimir Plyuschev sees the reason of this fiasco the wrong decision to appoint Nikita Filatov captain of the squad. The forward of CSKA has obviously a different point of view.
"The main reason of the failure was that I was wrong with the appointment of the captain," said Vladimir Plyuschev. "These functions are very serious, as the captain is to become an example, he should show his teammates how to behave on the ice, in the dressing rooms and outside the arena."
"We entrusted Nikita Filatov with this position, thought his experience would help play well both to his partners and him. But Nikita evidently did not understand it."
"He did not make a leader. After the match against Switzerland I entered the dressing room and apologized to the guys, admitted my mistake. Filatov did not deserve the jersey with “C” on it."
"That is why Kirill Petrov headed the team for the last match against Finns. Kirill took part in the tour around Canada and showed good display in that series. By the way he was captain that time."
"When I handed the duties over to Filatov I expected different results, different attitude. I do not need glamour on the ice. The number of points Nikita gained for the entire tournament he must have got in one period against Austria only. And he played a lot."
"Actually it was Filatov who brought in the second goal for Swiss. And after that match we decided to rotate the squad and Nikita did not appear in the starting five in the match for the fifth place."
"The question is not only about someone’s game but also about the way you prepare to it. It is impossible when you always had to repeat to an adult that he should be late for trainings. A captain should be an example to everybody and not show that all players are nothing compared to him."
"I could not say that there was some background for our failure, said the forward of CSKA Nikita Filatov. Though I spent only a week of training with the team in Novogorsk and during this time we had no trial games. That is why it is difficult to judge about the situation in the team."
"I do not want to comment in detail the way Vladimir Plyuschev reacted on the lost quarterfinal. I always thought that the coach and players are united."
"But this time Plyuschev shunned all the responsibility for the defeat and accused the players, first of all me as the captain. I do not understand how it was possible."
"After the first period in the match against Switzerland the coach said that the national team let him down altogether and started insulting particular players."
"But actually we outplayed the Swiss in the first period: in 15 minutes they only threw the puck off their zone and struck only five times."
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