Kovalchuk Joins the Russian National Team for IIHF World Championship

Ilya Kovalchuk has joined the Russian national team in Novogorsk, Russia for training camp ahead of the 2019 IIHF World Championship which will take place starting on May 10 in Slovakia.

Internationally, Kovalchuk has represented Russia in a variety of tournaments, including the IIHF World U18 Championship, World Junior Championship, World Cup and Winter Olympics.
He made his World Championship debut in 2003 and has since competed in the tournament 10 times.

In the 2008 World Championship, he scored his only two goals of the tournament in the gold medal game against Team Canada.
The first goal forced the game into overtime, and the second goal was the game-winner that gave Russia the title.
Watch: Youtube Video
The following year, Russia beat Canada once again to give them their second-straight gold medal, and Kovalchuk was named MVP of the tournament.
In addition to Kovalchuk, invitations to join Russia's training camp have been extended to other NHL players, such as Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilvesky and Evgeni Malkin.

The tournament will be held in Slovakia's capital of Bratislava and the country's second largest city of Kosice, with each city hosting 28 games during the group stage and quarterfinals.
The semifinals, the final and the bronze medal game will be played in Bratislava.
See the full 2019 IIHF World Championship schedule!