Washington Capitals Prospect Bogdan Trineyev Participates In 2021 Sochi Open

Photo: Russian Hockey

While August may be a relatively dead month for hockey in North America, hockey is already gearing up in Russia with Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) preseason games, and tournaments, such as the Hlinka-Gretzky Tournament (for Under-18 players) and the 2021 Sochi Open.

The Sochi Open is an annual tournament in which most of the participants are KHL teams but there is generally a national team which includes players preparing for international competition, such as the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships.

One of the players selected for the National Team for the 2021 Sochi Open was Washington Capitals forward prospect, Bogdan Trineyev (drafted in the fourth-round, 117th overall, of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft).

The tournament took place from August 3 through August 8. The National Team was manned behind the bench by Igor Larionov, the head coach of the Russian Youth team, while his main Assistant Coach was Oleg Bratash. The following players were selected to the team:

Forwards: Danil Gushchin (Muskegon Lamberdzheks), Daniil Aimurzin (Salavat Yulaev), Fedor Svechkov, Daniil Lazutin, Nikita Chibrikov, Marat Khusnutdinov (all – SKA), Ilya Fedotov (Torpedo), Andrey Melnichenko (both – Sochi), Bogdan Trineyev, Alexander Kisakov, Dmitry Zlodeev (all – Dynamo M), Danila Yurov (Metallurg Mg), Kirill Kondyrev (Vityaz), Nikita Guslistov (Severstal)

Defensemen: Vladimir Grudinin, Nikolay Makarov (both – CSKA), Arseny Koromyslov, Kirill Kirsanov (both – SKA), Maxim Fedotov (Torpedo), Vasily Machulin (Dynamo M), Kirill Steklov (Vityaz), Timofey Davydov (Avangard), Yegor Savikov (Lada), Alexey Varennik (Siberia)

Goaltenders: Yaroslav Askarov, Dmitry Nikolaev (both – SKA), Egor Guskov (Lokomotiv)

Photo: Russian Hockey Site

Larionov spoke to the media prior to the tournament, saying “It will be nice to return to Sochi again. This is a hockey region – there is a KHL team, a Sirius center, and our national teams regularly attend training camps. We can say that this place attracts hockey and it is developing great there. For our team, this is the second home – for the last couple of years we have been there more often than in Novogorsk. We are looking forward to playing. It is a pity that there will be no fans,” said Larinov.

“Let’s check the guys who were called. We will have a few days before the tournament in order to convey to them certain guidelines that will help us to perform with dignity among the KHL teams. The most important thing will be the desire to prove yourself. We will give them direction and expect that in the national team jersey they will show worthy resistance to the experienced teams.”

Larinov added “For the players of the Olympic team, the current tournament is an opportunity to show themselves from a new perspective. This is a springboard to unleash the potential that they have not yet been able to reveal in teams, due to the game system, for example. For this, the youth and Olympic teams are needed – to declare themselves and show how ready they are to knock on the doors of the main composition of the KHL teams.”

“Bratash talked about the tournament prior to play, “For the second year in a row, it was decided to use the Sochi tournament as one of the stages in the preparation of the youth team for the World Cup. That is why there are more players on the team who, by age, qualify for the youth team under 20. This is understandable: older hockey players are now undergoing pre-season training in their clubs, while younger ones are more important in competitive practice in the summer. From this the headquarters of the national teams proceeded, completing the composition. And since the majority in it are Igor Nikolaevich’s [Larionov] wards, it is logical that he will lead the team. I will help him in everything.”

The game schedule was as follows:

August 4: Avangard against Russian Olympic team

August 5: Traktor against Russian Olympic team

August 6: Sochi against Russian Olympic team

August 8: Russian Olympic team against Avtomobilist

Results were as follows:

On August 4, the Russian Olympic team lost to Avangard by a score of 5-1. Arseni Gritsyuk scored the only goal for Russia. It was probably understandable they lost as they were playing the defending Gagarin Cup Champions. Here is link to game story.

Pictures can be found here.

On August 5, the Russian Olympic team lost to Traktor by a score of 4-0. Here is a link to the game story.

Pictures can be found here.

Photo: Russian Hockey Site

On August 6, the Russian Olympic team lost their third consecutive game, losing to Sochi, with the winning goal scored with just over two minutes to go. The final score was 3-2. This game was more competitive than the first two games were. Here is the link to the game story.

Pictures can be found here.

Larionov spoke to the press after the loss on August 6, “We are making small but confident steps forward. The guys are starting to gain confidence, although we have a very difficult calendar – three games in a row. This is not an excuse, it is just a fact. This is a great opportunity to participate in such a tournament, to see how young people react to that struggle, to those moments that arise during the match when you have to take a hit. In general, I will say that I am satisfied with the progress, the guys are growing before our eyes and get tremendous experience.”

After a day off, the Russian Olympic team played Avtomobilist on August 8. This time they finally won, winning in overtime. Here is the link to the game story.

Pictures can be found here.

Photo: Russian Hockey Site

Bratash spoke after the tournament, “Today’s match, like the previous ones, was a good test for the guys – candidates for the youth team for the World Cup, and gave good food for thought. We consider and evaluate the guys at a high level of rivals. It’s good that we managed to win at least one game. It is always more pleasant to win than to lose, but, nevertheless, we really understand and evaluate the alignment of forces and the possibilities of the guys today. It is clear that this is an important stage in the preparation for the World Youth Championship.”

While Trineyev was kept off the scoresheet for this tournament, with no goals or assists, it appears he made progress as a player in that he was given increased responsibility as the tournament went on. He was assigned to the fourth-line for the game of August 4 but moved up to the second-line for the games of August 5 and August 6. He was moved up to the top-line for the final game of the tournament.

By Diane Doyle