Gazprom Neft Cup draw held

15 Mar 2014 | Alan Ilijic

Europe's biggest youth hockey tournament, Gazprom Neft Cup, staged a draw in Minsk, the city that will host the West Group of the tournament. The Eastern teams will play in Omsk, however, but their groups have also been drawn.

The draw attracted most attention and was a highlight, but aside from the draw there were meetings to determine the organizing committee's agenda, ideas for opening and closing ceremonies, organization of promotional campaigns in Minsk and Omsk and a go-ahead for legendary Russian national team coach, two-time Olympic gold medal winner, Boris Mikhailov to host a seminar in Minsk for children's coaches.

The chairman of the organizing committee Alexander Dybal told KHL's official site:

"I think the draw gave some intriguing results. Group A of the West reflects the international nature of the tournament. Besides Dinamo Minsk and Jokerit, also making their debuts are Dynamo Moscow, Torpedo, Donbass, Severstal, Barys and Vityaz, which makes it a very interesting challenge."

Draw results:

WEST:
Group A: Dinamo Minsk (BLR), SKA (RUS), Jokerit (FIN)
Group B: Severstal (RUS), Dynamo Moscow (RUS), Vityaz (RUS)
Group C: Lokomotiv (RUS), Torpedo (RUS), Dinamo Riga (LAT)
Group D: CSKA (RUS), Atlant (RUS), Donbass (UKR)

EAST:
Group A: Avangard (RUS), Traktor (RUS), Yugra (RUS)
Group B: Ak Bars (RUS), Sibir (RUS), Barys (KAZ)
Group C: Salavat Yulaev (RUS), Avtomobilist (RUS), Neftekhimik (RUS)
Group D: Rubin (RUS), Metallurg (RUS), Yamal (RUS).