OREANDA-NEWS  Oleg Znarok has been appointed head coach of the Russian national ice hockey team. This was announced by the head of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHR) Vladislav Tretyak.

The agreement with the 58-year-old specialist is designed for one year. Tretyak said that Znarok is respected by the players of the National Hockey League (NHL), so he will be able to rally the team. Former coach of the national team Valery Bragin will become an assistant coach.

Znarok headed the Russian national team from 2014 to 2018. Under his leadership, Russian hockey players won the 2014 World Championship and won gold medals at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.

The specialist is also known for his work in club hockey. Znarok was a coach of SKA St. Petersburg and Dynamo Moscow and won the Gagarin Cup three times. Until the end of the 2020/2021 season, he led Spartak Moscow, which reached the first round of the playoffs.