President of the Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation Heorhiy Zubko summed up the results of the training camp of the youth team of Ukraine (U-18) in Budapest and clearly outlined the tasks that the team will face at the April World Championship in division 1A.
“I am pleased that, despite the difficulties that accompany our life in war conditions, all national teams continue to work in accordance with the plan approved before the start of the current season,” he takes the floor. Georgy Zubko. – Of course, the youth team, made up of players under the age of 18, has received special attention recently. The team returned to the second-best echelon of world hockey after a four-year absence from it. Our task is to create conditions for Ukrainians to look worthy in division 1A. This obliges us to treat all processes related to the team headed by Alexander Bobkin with the most responsible and demanding attitude.
Personally, I am very pleased with the results of the training camp in Budapest. Coaches had the opportunity to review the current degree of readiness of hockey players playing in different countries of Europe, both in training mode and in meetings with older rivals, the leaders of the Hungarian U21 championship. The guys got the opportunity to work at other speeds, to feel a different force of throws.
We set an official task for the coaching staff: winning medals. There are all the prerequisites to perform well. We do not consider ourselves outsiders of the 1A division. Moreover, there are a lot of unpredictable things in youth hockey. Not all countries can have a strong base year. At the same time, this age category is strong enough for us to not only fight for the retention of registration in echelon 1A, but to claim high places. I am sure that we are able to fight on equal terms with all rivals.”
Recall that as part of the preparation of the team for the 2023 U18 World Cup, Ukrainian youths beat their three-year-old rivals in Hungary: MAS Budapest U21 (6:2), Fehervar U21 (4:3 B) and Ujpest U21 ( 5:0).
At the world forum in April, our opponents will be the teams of France (hosts), Kazakhstan, Denmark, Hungary and Japan.
