photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
For the first time since 2003, Kazakhstan will compete among the top 10 teams at the IIHF U18 World Championship
One year ago, Kazakhstan was the bell of the ball, winning the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship Division 1A title. The Kazakhs put together a record of four wins and one loss to finish atop the standings over Denmark, Japan, Hungary, Ukraine, and France.
Kazakhstan’s 12 points were one more than Denmark, vaulting the Kazakhs into the 2024 IIHF U18 Championship. As is the case year to year, the 2023 team that won the Under 18s Division 1A title is not the same team that will try and surprise some hockey fans and experts at the 2024 Under 18s as this year’s team is almost completely different.
Here are five fun facts on the Kazakhs as they prepare to join the big clubs in Finland.
Solo returnee
Roman Bolshedvorskiy’s voice should carry a lot of weight in the Kazakh dressing room and on the team bench as he is the only player who competed for Kazakhstan at the 2023 U18 Division 1A event. The defender was plus-four at that tournament, competing as the lone 2006-born in a tournament filled with 2005-born athletes.
Brotherly love
It will be interesting to see if Kazakhstan deploys a forward line that includes the two brothers – Alisher and Asanali Sarkenov. Both played in the Barys-Astana youth program. Asanali is the older brother, a 2006-born forward who is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. Younger brother Alisher is trying to play catch up in the size department and currently stands 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds.
Road from U18 Division 1 to the main event
The Kazakhs should be extremely proud to be on the main stage of the U18. This is the first time Kazakhstan will compete in the top U18 tournament since 2003.
They have been regular competitors in the U18 Division 1A tournament, with their lone gold medal coming in 2023. At that event, forwards Adil Beisembayev and Kirill Lyapunov paced the Kazakh attack with seven points each in their five games. The players were a combined plus-11.
Here is how they have fared over the past few U18s:
2022: Aldiyar Nurlan scored a powerplay goal with under four minutes left in the third period to give Kazakhstan a thrilling 4-3 round-robin win over Japan. Unfortunately for the Kazakhs, the magic couldn’t last and the team finished fourth.
2020-21: Both U18 Division 1A tournaments were cancelled
2019: Round-robin tournaments can be cruel sometimes and that was the case in 2019 for Kazakhstan. It lost its opening game 5-2 to Germany and then rattled off four consecutive victories at the U18 Division 1 Group A event, falling just short of the gold medal, which was won by the Germans. Kazakhstan would settle for silver.
Kazakhstan was fourth in 2018, reached the podium in 2017 and 2016 with silver and bronze medals, finished fifth in 2015 and, finally, won bronze in 2014.
Double underager
The 2024 World U18s are a tournament filled with 2006-born hockey players. It is tough for 2007s to crack their respective national teams but very rare to see someone two years younger than the rest suit up.
Kazakhstan features 6-foot defender Svyatoslav Yevplov, the lone 2008-born player on the team. Yevplov, who doesn’t turn 16 until late August, had a solid season with Armiya-SKA St. Petersburg in the Russian U16 league, posting 15 points, including a pair of goals, in 32 games manning the blueline.
Yevplov is one of five 2008-born players at this year’s U18s. Latvia and Norway each feature a pair of double underagers.
Experienced coach should help Kazakhs
Sergey Starygin brings experience to his role on the bench. He was on the coaching staff the last time Kazakhstan played at the main U18s (2003) and is an assistant coach this year. Starygin was bench boss at the 2023 U18 Division 1 Group A championship so knows what it takes to win a short-term tournament.
His coaching duties don’t end with the U18 team, however. Starygin is head coach of Kazakhstan’s under-20 team and will be kept busy throughout this year as he and the team prepare to compete in the 2025 World Junior Championship, which opens on Dec. 26 in Ottawa, Canada.
One year ago, Kazakhstan was the bell of the ball, winning the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship Division 1A title. The Kazakhs put together a record of four wins and one loss to finish atop the standings over Denmark, Japan, Hungary, Ukraine, and France.
Kazakhstan’s 12 points were one more than Denmark, vaulting the Kazakhs into the 2024 IIHF U18 Championship. As is the case year to year, the 2023 team that won the Under 18s Division 1A title is not the same team that will try and surprise some hockey fans and experts at the 2024 Under 18s as this year’s team is almost completely different.
Here are five fun facts on the Kazakhs as they prepare to join the big clubs in Finland.
Solo returnee
Roman Bolshedvorskiy’s voice should carry a lot of weight in the Kazakh dressing room and on the team bench as he is the only player who competed for Kazakhstan at the 2023 U18 Division 1A event. The defender was plus-four at that tournament, competing as the lone 2006-born in a tournament filled with 2005-born athletes.
Brotherly love
It will be interesting to see if Kazakhstan deploys a forward line that includes the two brothers – Alisher and Asanali Sarkenov. Both played in the Barys-Astana youth program. Asanali is the older brother, a 2006-born forward who is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. Younger brother Alisher is trying to play catch up in the size department and currently stands 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds.
Road from U18 Division 1 to the main event
The Kazakhs should be extremely proud to be on the main stage of the U18. This is the first time Kazakhstan will compete in the top U18 tournament since 2003.
They have been regular competitors in the U18 Division 1A tournament, with their lone gold medal coming in 2023. At that event, forwards Adil Beisembayev and Kirill Lyapunov paced the Kazakh attack with seven points each in their five games. The players were a combined plus-11.
Here is how they have fared over the past few U18s:
2022: Aldiyar Nurlan scored a powerplay goal with under four minutes left in the third period to give Kazakhstan a thrilling 4-3 round-robin win over Japan. Unfortunately for the Kazakhs, the magic couldn’t last and the team finished fourth.
2020-21: Both U18 Division 1A tournaments were cancelled
2019: Round-robin tournaments can be cruel sometimes and that was the case in 2019 for Kazakhstan. It lost its opening game 5-2 to Germany and then rattled off four consecutive victories at the U18 Division 1 Group A event, falling just short of the gold medal, which was won by the Germans. Kazakhstan would settle for silver.
Kazakhstan was fourth in 2018, reached the podium in 2017 and 2016 with silver and bronze medals, finished fifth in 2015 and, finally, won bronze in 2014.
Double underager
The 2024 World U18s are a tournament filled with 2006-born hockey players. It is tough for 2007s to crack their respective national teams but very rare to see someone two years younger than the rest suit up.
Kazakhstan features 6-foot defender Svyatoslav Yevplov, the lone 2008-born player on the team. Yevplov, who doesn’t turn 16 until late August, had a solid season with Armiya-SKA St. Petersburg in the Russian U16 league, posting 15 points, including a pair of goals, in 32 games manning the blueline.
Yevplov is one of five 2008-born players at this year’s U18s. Latvia and Norway each feature a pair of double underagers.
Experienced coach should help Kazakhs
Sergey Starygin brings experience to his role on the bench. He was on the coaching staff the last time Kazakhstan played at the main U18s (2003) and is an assistant coach this year. Starygin was bench boss at the 2023 U18 Division 1 Group A championship so knows what it takes to win a short-term tournament.
His coaching duties don’t end with the U18 team, however. Starygin is head coach of Kazakhstan’s under-20 team and will be kept busy throughout this year as he and the team prepare to compete in the 2025 World Junior Championship, which opens on Dec. 26 in Ottawa, Canada.