New SKA management group

The Board of Directors of SKA Hockey Club has approved changes in the management group. The head coach in the 2020/2021 season will be Valeri Bragin, who was previously the senior coach.

SKA thanks previous head coach Alexei Kudashov, individual goalkeeping coach Marko Torenius and physical training coach Denis Korotyshev for their efforts, wishing them luck for the future!

This is the SKA management group for the new season:

Roman Rotenberg - general manager, vice-president

Andrei Tochitskii - general director

Valeri Bragin - head coach

Andrei Kozyrev - senior coach

Alexander Boykov - coach

Rashit Davydov - goalkeeping coach

Peter Hirsch - individual goalkeeping coach

Yuri Zhdanov - head physical training coach

Alexander Troshin - physical training coach

Artyom Nekhoroshikh - physical training coach

Lars Johansson - methodist coach

Daniel Bochner - player development coach

Roman Rotenberg:

- Identity and integrity in the training of players is important for the development of the club. We want SKA to dominate not just in some parts of games, but throughout entire matches, applying constant pressure on the opponents, actively pressing and controlling the puck. The recipe of success is the combination of a watertight defence and attacking flair. Modern ice hockey is based on constant movement, short shifts and all five players competing in both attack and defence - this is how we see the future SKA. We are using both our own ideas and the most advanced world methods with the individual approach - which is especially important - to each player in order to improve their effectiveness. Valeri Bragin is an experienced coach, who has proved his quality while working with the junior Russian national team and with SKA last season. Valeri loves working with young and experienced players. A lot of SKA players have worked with Bragin over the years, so they are aware of his demands. We’re convinced that with the new management group, SKA can keep the balance between sporting targets and player development. It’s very important to focus on preparing players for the national team. At the last Olympic Games, 15 SKA players won a gold medal, and we will strive to repeat that result at the next competition. The contract with Valeri Bragin runs for two years, our main goal is to win the Olympics in Beijing. I want to thank Alexei Kudashov, Marko Torenius and Denis Korotyshev for their contributions to the development of SKA and our victories, wishing them future success.

Valeri Bragin:

- As always, SKA have high targets. Unfortunately, the previous season didn’t end, but the team was in good form and was a contender. Next season, I hope that we can finish what we started. During the off-season, the roster has become younger, we will continue to develop young players. At the moment, SKA has the correct vertical which allows us to play young players in the KHL without losing games. I want to believe that we will start the new season with our fans, because the atmosphere of a full Ice Palace is impossible to replace. Continue to support SKA, and we will do everything in order to play well and win.

Factfile:

Valeri Nikolaevich Bragin was born on 31 May 1956. As a player, he played as a forward for Spartak (1974-1981), Khimik (1981-1989) and Rodovre (1989-1994). He is a two-time World Junior Championship winner, a USSR champion (1976) and a Danish champion (1990).

He began his coaching career in 1997. He worked as an assistant coach with Khimik (1997-1999) and Atlant (2008-2009), and a head coach with Spartak (2005-2006 and CSKA (2012). Between 2003 and 2004, Valeri was the head coach of the under 18 Russian national team. Between 2012 and 2012, and from 2014 to 2020, he was the head coach of the junior Russian national team. In January 2020, he joined the management group of SKA and the senior Russian national team. He is the head coach of the senior Russian national team starting from June 2020. He is a 2011 World Junior Championship winner, a 2004 World U18 Championship winner, a five-time silver medalist of the World Junior Championship (2005, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2020) and a two-time bronze medalist of the World Junior Championship (2017, 2018).