Traktor received by the Governor

Governor Yurevich thanked Traktor and passed the words of acknowledgement from President Putin. Governor Yurevich pointed out that the President liked Traktor’s style of play which, in his words, resembles that of team USSR in many respects.

Yurevich thanked the team on his behalf and on behalf of the fans:
- For several months the whole region has been following your success. Everyone has been supporting you, including the fans throughout Russia that were enthralled by Traktor’s amazing hockey. When we met last year, I said that hockey in our region is on the rise. Now, taking into account your current results, we can say it is on top. This is the best result in team’s history, but there is one thing we can do to top it. You fought hard and gave it your all on the ice, conquering the hearts of many fans across the country in the process.

Governor Yurevich particularly pointed out Maksim Karpov and his ‘best rookie of the finals’ title, wished Traktor the best and reminded the team of something:
- Traktor is always up to the challenge. Last season it was the Continent Cup, this year we are runners-up. The goal for the next season remains the same – win as many trophies as we can.

In his turn, Traktor’s head coach Valery Belousov congratulated his team on an amazing season and expressed his appreciation and gratitude towards the team’s management and region’s administration for the support they have lent throughout the season:

- We had to face a 0-2 deficit in three of four series, but two times we managed to overcome it. My boys were extremely motivated; we always said to them that even though we lost a battle, the war is not over, and they understood and went out there and garnered one victory after another.

Governor Yurevich added that the task at hand now is to save the core of the team and prolong some of the expiring contracts as well as bring new players to the team and increase the amount of young players in Traktor. Yurevich was sure that in order to stay at the top in the next season, Traktor has to have a deeper roster.

The official medal ceremony will take place at the end of July at Traktor Arena.

Text courtesy of Governor’s Press Office

Photo by Oleg Nedospasov, Governor’s Press Office