KHL: Avangard Appoints Sean Finn as a Director of Youth Hockey Development

KHL’s Avangard Omsk announced the appointment of the Canadian specialist Sean Finn as the club’s youth hockey development director.

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“I am very pleased to join Avangard as the director of youth hockey development,” Finn said in a statement given to Avangard’s official website. “This work involves overseeing the activities of the hockey academy and the MHL. We will improve the strategy and the development process of players so that our development program is the most successful in Russia.”

The Canadian, who previously held the post of Director of Hockey Operations at rival Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, said he was very impressed by how much Avangard’s leadership strives to develop young talent and give players the best opportunity to succeed and become part of the club’s heritage. He said that his youth hockey development team had all the necessary infrastructure and other necessary resources to fulfill the tasks set for them.

“The sports result is essential, but it will not be an end goal for us,” Sean Finn explained. “We must pay due attention to the entire process of hockey development. Success is in our hands. It will be measured every graduation year, depending on how many graduates of our academy will play at the KHL level.”