Clubs for peace: The Cup of the Future will be a rehearsal for the return of the national team to the MFM

The Cup of the Future will be held in St. Petersburg from 5 to 8 November. Until recently, this tournament was primarily an opportunity for Russian youth and junior national teams to maintain international practice in the face of the IIHF's suspension from competitions. Now its importance has increased dramatically: after the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Russia has received a real prospect of returning to the World Championships.

Russia's return to the Ice Hockey World Championships

The St. Petersburg Cup of the Future will be held for the fifth time. The first one took place in Yubileyny in November 2022. Over the years, the national teams of Russia U20 and U18, the youth teams of Belarus and Kazakhstan became its participants. Russia U20 won all four previous St. Petersburg tournaments. Gradually, the competition gathered its own audience: individual game sessions were held with almost full stands. So, the 3x3 tournament in 2024 was attended by almost 6 thousand spectators.

The main difference between the current Cup of the Future is that it is no longer just an international practice, but a potential stage of preparation for the World Championships. On October 30, the CAS upheld the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, overturned five resolutions of the IIHF Council and ordered the international federation to allow Russian teams to participate in five tournaments. These include the World Youth Championship in Canada, which starts on December 26, and the U18 World Junior Championships in the spring of 2027 in the United States.

The FHR has maintained the institute of national teams all the years of its suspension. Youth and junior teams met regularly, held training camps and played international tournaments. The logic was obvious: the teams should be ready to return as soon as possible. Now that moment has arrived.

However, the situation remains difficult with the nearest MFM. The tournament is less than two months away, the calendar has been checked for a long time, tickets are on sale, and Canada is the host country. Prime Minister Mark Carney said on November 3: "If you are asking specifically about the World Youth Championship, the Russians will not be there." At the same time, the Canadian side separately allows the participation of individual Russian athletes in neutral status at international competitions. The CAS itself did not establish the neutral status of the national team.

At the same time, Russia should be ready for the trip right now, including, if necessary, in a neutral status. The sports part should not depend on how quickly the IIHF and the organizers will be able to resolve legal, visa and logistical issues.

Therefore, the composition of Russia U20 at the Future Cup is now being considered as a possible backbone of the team at the MFM. The main figure is Alexander Zharovsky. The Salavat Yulaev forward already has full KHL experience and became the league's best rookie last season. For youth hockey, this is a player of a completely different level of maturity.

17-year-old Nazar Privalov started the season brightly at CSKA. In October, he scored the first goal in the KHL and became the youngest goalscorer for the Army team during the club's performance in the league. Another hockey player with KHL experience is Viktor Fedorov from Torpedo. He is already gaining a foothold in the adult squad of Nizhny Novgorod and regularly gets playing time.

There are other hockey players with adult hockey experience in the current squad, so the tournament is also important for the staff as a test of combinations before a possible emergency application for the MFM. Moreover, there may be almost no time left for a full-fledged separate collection in case of admission.

The situation looks even more promising for the junior national team. The U18 World Championship will be held in the USA from April 21 to May 2, 2027. The tournament is almost six months away, which means that the IIHF and the organizers have much more time to rebuild the format and resolve all administrative issues. And the US rhetoric has so far been noticeably softer than the Canadian one: the American side has not publicly stated the impossibility of Russia's participation.

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The juniors should also pay attention to the players who are already the leaders of their MHL teams. It is this team that has the most realistic window for returning: before April, it is possible to hold several training camps, resolve visa issues and integrate Russia into the tournament grid without such a tight time pressure.

One of the leaders of Russia U18 is Ivan Kovalenko from the Lokomotiv system. Last season, he already showed himself vividly at the Future Cup and is considered one of the most interesting forwards of his age. For this generation, the prospect of the U18 is especially important: the previous few ages went through the U18 without getting the opportunity to play at the main international tournament.

The youth team at the Future Cup is headed by Andrey Mironov. The head coach is three—time world champion Alexey Tereshchenko, Igor Shchadilov is in charge of the defenders, Konstantin Bogdanovsky is in charge of the majority, Maxim Sokolov is in charge of the goalkeepers, Alexander Kofanov is in charge of the AFP. Vladimir Fedorovich Popov works as a methodologist coach. If Russia's participation in the MFM is confirmed, the staff can be reinforced with a more experienced specialist in the role of head coach.

Belarus U20 traditionally brings a squad based on the players of the MHL and Dynamo-Shinnik. For Kazakhstan, the U20 tournament is also a stage of preparation for the international season; the backbone of the team is formed by the hockey players of the Snow Leopards and other clubs of the Kazakh system.

The Future Cup will open on November 5 with matches Belarus U20 – Kazakhstan U20 and Russia U20 – Russia U18. On November 6, a 3x3 tournament will be held. On November 7, Belarus U20 – Russia U18 and Russia U20 – Kazakhstan U20 will play. On the final day, November 8, Russia U18 will face Kazakhstan U20, and Russia U20 will face Belarus U20.

All matches will be held at the Yubileyny Sports Complex. In a few years, the Cup of the Future has transformed from a forced replacement for official international tournaments into a full-fledged stage of national team training. And in November 2026, for the first time in a long time, the name of the competition sounds literally: a team is really being formed here that can return to the World Cup this winter.