Artem Barabosha: I will do my best to be part of the U-18 national team
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Artem Barabosha: I will do my best to be part of the U-18 national team

Artem Barabosha shared his impressions of being called up to the Russian junior national team and evaluated his debut season in the JHL.

We would remind you that Barabosha is currently at the Russian U-18 team, which is preparing for the Glinka/Gretzky Cup. Along with him there are three other CSKA players: Artyom Duda, Kirill Volkov and Daniil Grigoryev.

- You have already played for the Russian national team for your age at the Sirius Cup, but you haven't been called up for such a major international tournament yet. What were your emotions when you got the call? Was there any nervousness?

- Emotions were positive, I was very happy when I got the invitation! There are some decent guys in the national team, not all of whom will go to the Glinka/Gretzky Cup. At the end of the training camp the best will be chosen, and I will do my best to play in the team. There is no nervousness, there is a desire to win and prove!

- What can you say about the training process at the training camp?

- The training process for the national team is similar to that of the CSKA and Red Army schools. A lot of the exercises are the same, but there are also new and interesting schemes. In the national team, I am especially helped by the physical training sessions I had with the Red Army.

- Last season you made your JHL debut and played 17 games. How would you rate your performance in your first season? What was the hardest part?

- The season was generally good. I can't give myself an assessment of the game, because that should be done by the coaching staff. I can only assume that I played well for those 17 games. There are a lot of guys in the JHL who are older than me, it was hard to make decisions, because the game is much faster than at school. It was hard to adjust to different tactics of the game.

- Did the experience in the JHL help later in the games for the school?

- Yes, when the school season started, it was a lot easier for me to play because the games I played in the Red Army gave me a big advantage. The opponents in the JHL are stronger and faster than the ones I played against before, and because of that the rest of the season that I was finishing school was easy for me.

- This summer you and the other 2004 players graduated from school. Next season will be a full season in the JHL, what are your expectations of yourself and the team?

- Next season I expect to be in the first Red Army squad, get a foothold there, and we'll do our best to take the podium. I hope that all the 2004 guys who signed will play in the season and help the team to win!