The president of the FHR looked sad and disappointed after the match.
“It's a pity, of course, that you lost,” he commented embarrassedly. “But the Swedes were stronger.” They were better. Since they scored more.
- What do you say about the expulsion of Semin?
- This is the decision of the coach. I’ve never been late in the national team of the Soviet Union. If I was late, I would be kicked out.
- Then comment on the decision of the coaching staff not to take Ilya Kovalchuk into the team.
- No one refused Kovalchuk.
“But they still haven't called him.”
- I do not interfere in the actions of the coaching staff. And in the formation of the composition.
- Do you really have any questions about this?
- Arise, but all these issues are decided by the coaching staff.
- And what questions do you have?
- Various. Both in composition and in game. But we are discussing all this. And, as a rule, the decision is made by the commander - Vyacheslav Bykov. He is responsible for the composition.
“But do you agree with him?”
- You can agree or not, but the last word is his. He is responsible for the result. For our part, we are doing everything so that the team does not experience organizational problems.
- Why do NHL players still have no insurance? And they cannot play in the control match with Austria.
- There will be insurance.
Later Vyacheslav Bykov noticed that the legionnaires already have insurance. And even later, our source in the team confirmed that hockey players from the NHL do not yet have the right to play for the national team, since not all documents are completed. In general, there is complete inconsistency, at least in what should be said to the press and what should not.
Hockey players of the Russian national team, by the way, almost completely ignored the mixed zone, which, by the way, was noticeably increased. Alexei Morozov ran into the locker room, but Vitaly Atyushov answered questions for a long time. Then, however, Peter Happy, Sergey Mozyakin and Alexander Kharitonov went to the journalists. The latter apologized loudly for the fact that his partners didn’t do very well.
But the Swedish coach Gustafsson could not forgive the organizers that he had come to the press conference, and there was nobody in the hall. Later, when Bykov was freed, he refused to come to talk to the press.
The main news was that immediately after the match, Vyacheslav Bykov refused the services of Artyukhin, But and Kuryanov, who are now on vacation.
The head coach promised that by the end of the weekend he will almost completely decide on the application.
Alexey Shevchenko