Valeri Bragin, who has been appointed head coach of the Russian national hockey team, said that Pittsburgh Penguins NHL star Evgeni Malkin was the first player to congratulate him on the new assignment.
On Friday, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation announced that Bragin will take charge of the national team, replacing former Toronto Maple Leafs player Alexei Kudashov, who spent less than 11 months as head coach.
“Evgeni Malkin and Yegor Zamula were the first players to congratulate me my appointment as team’s head coach” Bragin said at a press conference.
Bragin is famous for his achievements as a junior hockey coach, leading Russia to gold at the 2011 world under-20 tournament. This year, Bragin’s squad finished just shy of the championship, losing to Canada 3-4 in a nail-biting gold medal game.
Bragin said his main goals as coach will be to win gold at next year’s IIHF world championship, and defend the Olympic title won at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang.
