November 4, 1999
RUSSIAN ALL-STAR GAME
The first Russian All-Star Game is close to reality. The
game, which involves the best players from the Eastern and Western division as chosen by
the fans, was to be held on December 10. But now, the plan has to change. The reason for
the sudden date change for the All-Star Game is the early start of Russia’s team
training camp for the third stage of the Four Nations Tournament “Baltic Cup”,
which will be hosted as usual by Moscow. It is still not known who will get the honor of
being the head coach of the Eastern and Western teams.
There are several candidates from the West, among which are the
former NHL assistant coach of the Phoenix Coyotes Zinetula Bilyaletdinov (Dynamo Moscow),
Peter Vorobiyov (Torpedo Yaroslavl) and Genady Tsygurov (Lada Togliatti). Eastern
candidates are Sergey Nikolayev (Metallurg Novokuznetsk), Valery Belousov (Metallurg
Magnitogorsk) and Vladimir Golubovich (Avangard Omsk). The final decision will be made
closer to the meeting of the Russian coaches’ committee.
Denis Neznanov
HockeyZone's Russian Correspondent
