MOSCOW – The Russian U18 national team will be coached by Alexander Zybin in the season the country will host the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk.

Zybin was announced as new head coach by the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation with Kirill Alexeyev, Sergei Belov and Rinat Khasanov as assistant coaches.

Zybin has already started his work with the class of 2000. He was named the head coach of Russia’s U17 national team for a Five Nations Tournament in April on home ice in Dmitrov, where his team finished in second place behind Sweden, replacing Igor Yefimov.

The 57-year-old spent most of his career as a player with CSKA Moscow and won the 1980 IIHF World Junior Championship with the Soviet Union. In 2000 he retired and had stints as assistant coach with Kristall Saratov, Salavat Yulayev Ufa and Sibir Novosibirsk. Later he started as head coach for second-tier team Kapitan Stupino. In the last four years he worked for Dynamo St. Petersburg first for the junior team in the MHL and last season as assistant coach of the senior team in the second-tier VHL and as head coach of the women’s team.

Sergei Golubovich, who coached the U18 national team last season, begins a new three-year cycle with the U16 national team. Vladimir Filatov will lead the U17 team and Valeri Bragin will continue with the U20 national team.