
VANCOUVER, BC - JANUARY 2: Kazakhstan's Maxim Musorov #29 skates with the puck while Denmark's Victor Andersen #6 and Jeppe Urup #7 look on during relegation round action at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship at Rogers Arena on January 2, 2019 in Vancouver, BC Canada. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)
Last year, I wrote that the Kazakhs had a monumental task in front of themselves, but they had a shot at avoiding relegation and remaining up. I was right, but it must be said that last year the team had at its disposal one of the best classes in recent years. Most of those players are now graduated, making this year’s challenge that much harder.
Once again, the team’s lineup will feature players from the Snezhnye Barsy Nur-Sultan, playing in the top-flight Russian junior league with mixed success. Last year, the team had a tour against BCIHL teams, while this year they will only play a couple of games in the pre-tournament phase; against the Russians and a local Czech team.
This team had a decent showing at the Div. I U18s a couple of years ago, and many players have played together for a long time, thus chemistry can be an advantage for the Kazakhs. Like last years team, they possess a decent amount of skills along with good skating, but the level of the top players was higher twelve months ago. However, the Kazakhs’ group – Group A – may be a little bit easier for them, although they remain the top candidates for relegation.
Head coach Andrei Shayanov, who has lot of experience on the international stage with Russian and Kazakh junior and senior national teams, will need to take the best from each player to cope with the hard task of surviving for the second year in a row. It will be a challenge, but if they did it last year, they have a chance this time around as well.
Dias Guseinov
Born in 2001, Guiseinov is currently the top scorer for his team in the Russian junior league and has already played and scored in the Russian second tier league. Similar to Gatiyatov last year, he is gifted with a good set of hands and smooth skating but lacks in size. He can cause some havoc if playing with Musorov, but being overpowered can be an issue. At this point, it’s unlikely that he’ll make the draft list, but he has some interesting skills to put on show at the tournament.
Temirlan Gaitamirov
The only player from the roster to play in a North American league, Gaitamirov already played in the Div. I U18s a couple of years ago. He has played in the US for a number of years now, and his experience overseas will bring a lot to a team whose lack of experience and exposure is critically limited. Gaitamirov is now lining up for the Des Moines Buccaneers, but has already changed teams three times this season. Never known as a scorer, Gaitamirov will bring size and experience to a team that lacks both.
Maxim Musorov
A fast skater who likes to play the off wing, Musorov enjoys great chemistry with Guseinov and can produce scoring chances in the offensive zone by means of his mobility. Unlike other players on the team, Musorov has a decent size, albeit not a big player (5’11”, 175 lbs). The Kazakh coaches will have to use the Guseinov and Musorov duo to try and score some goals in the most important games. Chemistry and a good top line can go a long way when you only need to win a couple of games to retain a spot in the elite division.