College hockey will have an international flavor this holiday season, with six schools playing host to a European all-star team, the Russian Red Stars.
The Red Stars are making their second visit to North America in as many seasons, but they embark on a much more ambitious tour this year. After splitting two games against Army and Yale last season, they will span nearly a dozen states to play eight games between Dec. 17 and Jan. 5 (six vs. college teams, two vs. NAHL teams).
“Last year we had a very good experience and we decided to expand the program,” said Dmitri Efimov, Commissioner of the Junior Hockey League and coordinator of the trip. “We are going to play some great schools in some very nice facilities. We really look forward to a very busy but very exciting trip.”
Full interview with Dmitri Efimov
The 27 players making the trip compete in the Junior Hockey League, which competes in Russia and some of its neighboring countries and is the primary feeder system for the KHL. They range in age from 19 to 21 and should provide excellent competition for U.S. colleges, based on last year’s results.
“The biggest objective is to give the players the experience of playing a strong foreign competitor,” Efimov said. “My objective is to give them as much practice facing an international team, so that a few years later when they go on ice at the Olympic Games they will not be scared, they will be prepared.”
| Red Stars Schedule Dec. 17: at North Dakota Dec. 19: at Alexandria Blizzard (NAHL) Dec. 21: at Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL) Dec. 27: at Vermont Dec. 28: at Yale Dec. 30: at Northern Michigan Jan. 3: at Notre Dame Jan. 5: at UMass Lowell |
The Red Stars will visit teams from four college conferences as they criss-cross the northern part of the U.S. Their first stop takes them to Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., before their two NAHL games.
After Christmas, the Red Stars face Vermont, Yale, Northern Michigan, Notre Dame and UMass Lowell. College Hockey, Inc. provided assistance in identifying opponents and creating the Red Stars’ schedule.
“Logistics-wise, it is a challenge,” admits Efimov. “I wouldn’t try to say that it’s a very easy thing to do. It’s complicated – so many things we have to put together, busses, trucks, airlines, etc. But we know that we are doing the right thing. We know that it’s great for our boys, and I’m sure it’s good for the college teams, so we look forward to that. I really hope that we will learn something from the U.S. college teams and they learn something from us.”
The primary goal of the trip is a good hockey experience, but there is a cultural component as well. As the Red Stars saw last year, when they got a tour of the campus at West Point, relations between the U.S. and Russia have come a long way since the days of the Cold War.
“We didn’t have much time to roam around and interact, but on the Army campus they gave us a tour of the entire campus and the guys were impressed,” Efimov said. “I think we were the first Russian team ever [to get that tour].”