Gazprom Neft Cup draw

The draw for the Gazprom Neft Cup, Europe’s biggest youth hockey tournament, took place in Minsk, the city which will stage the West Group half of the tournament. The draw also determined the teams to play in Group East, to be held in Omsk.

The draw was, of course, the highlight of the gathering, but other items also featured on the organizing committee’s agenda, such as the submission of ideas for the opening and closing ceremonies. Approval was granted to a promotional campaign, which will feature commercials for the tournament in schools throughout Minsk and Omsk, and the meeting gave the go-ahead for the two-time Olympic champion and legendary Russian national team coach, Boris Mikhailov, to host a seminar in Minsk for children's coaches.

Alexander Dybal, Gazprom Neft board member and chairman of the tournament organizing committee, summed up the day’s proceedings: “I think the draw gave us some intriguing results. The international nature of this tournament is reflected in the line-up of the very first sub-group drawn for Group West, with Belarus’s Dinamo Minsk joined by Russia’s SKA and Finland’s Jokerit. In addition to Dinamo Minsk and Jokerit, also making their debuts are Dynamo Moscow, Torpedo, Donbass, Severstal, Barys and Vityaz, which will make it a very interesting challenge.”

Results of the draw: