Bure: “From a sporting point of view, no one likes that Russia does not play in tournaments” – 17 January 2023
Representative of Russia in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Pavel Bure in an interview “Match TV”said that in world hockey he was not very pleased with the absence of Russia in international tournaments.
Last year, the IIHF board suspended the Russian and Belarusian national teams from what was expected for an indefinite period.
– Do you think the NHL postponed the World Cup for a year because it does not want to hold this tournament without our country?
“I understand what the NHL does. They showed a lot of what happened in real hockey when we competed in the Olympics with NHL players. It was an alternative to the World Cup, in connection with which all the best.
And you can’t do it without the Russians. We have always played at a high level, very highly rated from among the elite. And if the World Cup is revived in September 2025 – or when you want to assemble it there, then the Russian team can assemble a very powerful team. Just look at the names.
– IIHF President Luc Tardif says that in May the congress will again raise the question of Russia, whether to return us with the Belarusians to the World Championship. What do you think we should expect?
– I do not have such information yet, and I have not heard that they put this issue on the agenda. By chance, Tardif did not tell me about this.
But from a sporting point of view, no one likes that Russia does not play in tournaments – that’s all right. Now the situation is different, so we will expect that … As a result, of course, the Russian team will again play at the world championships. The question is when.