On Saturday, January 24, at the fourth stage of the Alfa-Bank Commonwealth Biathlon Cup in the Belarusian Raubichi, the men’s pursuit race will be held.

The competition will begin at 15:00 Moscow time. The live broadcast will be available from 15:00 on the Match TV and Match! Arena”, as well as the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

44 athletes entered the race, including Olympic bronze medalists Eduard Latypov, Karim Khalili and Alexander Loginov, as well as Daniil Serokhvostov, Alexander Povarnitsyn, Kirill Bazhin.

Belarus will be represented by the silver medalist of the 2022 Olympics Anton Smolsky, as well as Stepan Danilov, Maxim Vorobey and others.

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Olympic biathlon champion Frenchwoman Justine Brezaz-Boucher won the 12.5 km individual race at the World Cup in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic).

Brezaz-Boucher made one mistake at four shooting stages and finished with a result of 35 minutes 50.3 seconds. Second place was taken by her compatriot Lou Jeanmonneau (lag – 1.4 seconds; 1 miss), the top three was completed by German Franziska Preuss (+1 minute 2.2 seconds; 2).

On Saturday, the single mixed relay and the mixed relay will take place in Nove Mesto.

The World Cup stage in the Czech Republic is the last one before the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy.

The Olympic hockey tournament in Italy will answer several interesting questions. For example, can Team USA end Canada’s dominance? It is also interesting what path the Finns and Swedes will take in Milan, given the injuries of their leaders. So there is plenty of intrigue before the start of the Games, where hockey players from the NHL will perform for the first time since 2014.

But it won’t be possible to call the format “the best against the best” due to the absence of Russia. Because our team would have one of the most balanced lineups in history and would compete for medals.

Best Defensive Depth

Even in North America they regret that the IIHF (International Hockey Federation) does not allow the Russian team to participate in its tournaments for far-fetched reasons. True, there are no direct statements, but only obvious hints. So, ESPN journalist Ryan Clark put together a virtual lineup of our team that could compete in Italy.

Players of the Russian national team according to ESPN:

Goalkeepers: Andrey Vasilevsky, Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin.

Forwards: Kirill Kaprizov – Evgeniy Malkin – Nikita Kucherov; Artemy Panarin – Danila Yurov – Valery Nichushkin; Alexander Ovechkin – Vladislav Namestnikov – Kirill Marchenko; Ivan Barbashev – Ruslan Abrosimov – Andrey Svechnikov (Pavel Buchnevich, Pavel Dorofeev).

Defenders: Mikhail Sergachev – Ivan Provorov; Vladislav Gavrikov – Artem Zub; Nikita Zadorov – Dmitry Orlov (Yan Kuznetsov, Alexander Nikishin).

We can immediately conclude that the Russian virtual team has a stronger selection of defenders than the team that competed at the 2014 Olympics. In Sochi there were only three defensive players who spent more than 20 minutes on the court during the Olympic season for NHL clubs: Andrei Markov (Montreal), Vyacheslav Voinov (Los Angeles) and Fedor Tyutin (Columbus). Now there are many more such hockey players: Sergachev (Utah), Provorov (Columbus), Gavrikov (Rangers), Zub (Ottawa), Zadorov (Boston), Orlov (San Jose) and Kuznetsov (Calgary).

Mikhail Sergachev / Photo: © Gregory Shamus / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

And Carolina player Nikishin (18:44), although not yet reaching this mark, is having a strong debut season in the NHL. In terms of points (20), Alexander closes the top three among his colleagues in the role with a Russian passport. Of course, the national team’s coaching staff would also pay attention to Avangard hockey player Damir Sharipzyanov, who confidently leads the list of scorers-defenders in the KHL (50 points).

At the same time, Alexander Romanov (Islanders) and two-time Stanley Cup winner Dmitry Kulikov (Florida) are on the injured list. If we imagine that they are available, then there would be big problems with choosing defenders for the tournament.

Of course, we do not have the most stellar defense, but for the first time in a long time this line has ceased to be the main weak point of the team.

Best wingers

The Canadian team lacks strong wing forwards. But the Maple Leaves solved the problem simply – they took 11 center forwards to the tournament. Some will have to change positions, but they are unlikely to experience difficulties. But in the Russian national team it’s the other way around.

We have the strongest wing forwards: Ovechkin, Kucherov, Panarin, Kaprizov, Nichushkin, Svechnikov. Even young talents Ivan Demidov (Montreal) and Matvey Michkov (Philadelphia) might not make the roster due to high competition. Perhaps other teams don’t have so many stars in this position.

Ivan Demidov / Photo: © Minas Panagiotakis / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

But there really are problems with the choice of central ones. The best player here is Malkin. Pittsburgh’s leader is already 39 years old, but he is still on an elite schedule – 39 points in 35 games. So the ESPN analyst even included Ruslan Abrosimov from Severstal in the lineup. There is also a player from Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Roman Kantserov, drafted by Chicago, who could occupy the desired position.

In any case, the attack looks solid and capable of competing for medals.

The strongest goalkeepers and the problems of opponents

The ESPN analyst included Vasilevsky, Shesterkin and Sorokin in the lineup. But instead of the Islanders goalie, it would be more advisable to opt for Sergei Bobrovsky. The Florida goalkeeper reached the Stanley Cup final three years in a row and won the trophy twice.

And Bobrovsky is more suited to the philosophy of the general manager of the Canadian team, Doug Armstrong. He selected players who showed themselves in key matches of the playoffs, World Cups, and the Four Nations Tournament. In any case, Russia’s goalkeeper line is the strongest. Those same Canadians can only envy our selection of goalkeepers.

Sergey Bobrovsky / Photo: © Minas Panagiotakis / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

There is another important reason why the Russian team would claim medals – injuries to the opponents’ leaders. The hardest hit was Sweden, which on paper might have looked much stronger. There are many star players on the injured list: Victor Hedman (Tampa), Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh), Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado), Yoel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin (both Minnesota), William Nylander (Toronto), Leo Karlsson (Anaheim). And Finland will not be able to help its main star and two-time Stanley Cup winner, Alexander Barkov.

However, the IIHF deprived Russia of the opportunity to compete for Olympic medals. In addition, Malkin and Ovechkin missed their last chance to win gold. The International Hockey Federation also robbed the fans, depriving them of the opportunity to see the real “best against the best” format. And any victory at the Games will be marked “gold was won in a tournament without Russia.”