Its time for the Federation to take a complete look at the coaching situation and prepare for the third decade of the 21st century. It is true that Russia has collected more medals at the U20 than any other nation in the past decade, but Russia also had the best team for the past two years and should have won Gold, but managed to find a way to achieve less. The role of a coach is to mold the available talent to find the best possible success, and Bragin has repeatedly failed in that role. He started off with a Gold Medal in 2011, then consistent Silver, and then alternating Bronze and Nothing. It is the little things that coaches do that often bring their team's demise.
For example, Bragin made the decision to maximize the Rtischev line ice time, for some reason, and the defenseman Misyul. Misyul has a lot of talent, but in the third period started making some serious errors, as if the tension of the moment had overcome him. A coach should see how his players are responding, and make adjustments in the moment! That line, and Misyul, never should have been on the ice in the last 10 minutes of the game. Inevitably, Misyul misplayed the puck that allowed the Canadian forward a free path to the net for the winning goal in what was certainly one of the most embarrassing moments in Russian hockey history! Maybe Romanov or Zamula wouldn't make that mistake, but they weren't on the ice - Misyul was.
No other team has had the same coach for the last 10 years, as has Russia. Every other country, including Switzerland and Slovakia, set out with the objective of winning a Gold Medal. There are some good young coaches like Filatov who are waiting for their big chance. Is Silver, or Bronze, or Nothing really good enough for Russia?
For example, Bragin made the decision to maximize the Rtischev line ice time, for some reason, and the defenseman Misyul. Misyul has a lot of talent, but in the third period started making some serious errors, as if the tension of the moment had overcome him. A coach should see how his players are responding, and make adjustments in the moment! That line, and Misyul, never should have been on the ice in the last 10 minutes of the game. Inevitably, Misyul misplayed the puck that allowed the Canadian forward a free path to the net for the winning goal in what was certainly one of the most embarrassing moments in Russian hockey history! Maybe Romanov or Zamula wouldn't make that mistake, but they weren't on the ice - Misyul was.
No other team has had the same coach for the last 10 years, as has Russia. Every other country, including Switzerland and Slovakia, set out with the objective of winning a Gold Medal. There are some good young coaches like Filatov who are waiting for their big chance. Is Silver, or Bronze, or Nothing really good enough for Russia?
