A lot of experienced World Junior watchers were surprised last year when they looked up and Russia was taking Finland to the mat in the final game. Russia had to ultimately settle for a silver medal thanks to Kasperi Kapanen’s golden goal, but they didn’t end up in the final by accident.
The strength of the Russian team these days springs right out of the KHL and the Russian junior league, MHL, which has many KHL affiliated teams. They are building a program that allows players to move up when their skill demands it or move down to get more icetime.