On Monday night, Canada defeated Russia 5-0 in the semi-finals of the World Junior Hockey Championships. While all is well on this side of the globe, it appears that the result is not sitting well with many Russians, including two-time Stanley Cup champion, and Hockey Hall of Famer, Slava Fetisov.

In an interview with Sport24, Fetisov said that no player on the Russian World Junior team would even make the Canadian World Junior team, which is a pretty bold claim. Although Russia played quite poorly against Canada, they do have a few players who will likely make an impact in the NHL in the future such as Vasili Podkolzin (VAN), and Yaroslav Askarov (NSH).

Russia has had their issues throughout the tournament. In six games, they've only managed to score 18 goals, 12 of which came in two games, a 5-3 win against the United States, and a 7-0 win over Austria. They lost, and got shut out by the Czech Republic 2-0, they barely beat Sweden, defeating them 4-3 in overtime, and in the quarter-finals, they hung on, and also barely beat Germany, 2-1.

"I was very upset after watching the match. Our team tried, but lost in all respects. None of our hockey players would have made it to the Canadian national team. Igor Larionov received players who were brought up by Russian hockey. It's not a matter of mood, it's just a different understanding of the game. There was nothing to even catch on to." Fetisov said in an interview with Sport24 .

He went on to add: "The situation is depressing, I wish I hadn't seen this match. There was simply no game, we were not close to the Canadian team in any of the indicators."

Fetisov, 62, was drafted twice. First was in 1978 when the Montreal Canadiens selected him in the 12th round, 201st overall, but he remained in the Soviet Union, and chose not to sign. He was then selected by the New Jersey Devils in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft in the 8th round, 145th overall.

He spent parts of nine NHL seasons with the New Jersey Devils, and Detroit Red Wings. In 546 regular season games, Fetisov put up 228 points (36 G, 192 A), 656 penalty minutes, and was a +114. In 116 career playoff games, he tallied 28 points (2 G, 26 A), 145 penalty minutes, and was a +3.

Fetisov won three Stanley Cups during his time in North America, two as a player, and one as a coach. He won back-to-back Cups as a member of the Detroit Red Wings in the late 90s, where he formed the famous "Russian Five" with teammates, Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava Kozlov, and Igor Larionov. Fetisov also won the Stanley Cup during the 1999-00 season as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils.

Internationally, Fetisov has represented the Soviet Union/Russia on numerous occasions, and is one of the most decorated hockey players in the history of the IIHF. Fetisov won seven World Championships, three World Junior Championships, two Olympic Gold Medals, one Canada Cup, one Olympic Silver Medal, one World Championship Silver Medal, and three World Championship Bronze Medals.

While this tournament Russia has looked different than the past, they still have the chance to bring home some hardware, if they can defeat Finland in the Bronze Medal Game. Puck drop is set for a few minutes after 6pm ET/4pm MT.

Source: Rsport

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