It is a key appointment as the country will host next year's International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men's Under-18 World Championship.

Matches will take place in both Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk between April 19 and 28.

Zybin was announced as the new head coach by the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation and will be assisted by Kirill Alexeyev, Sergei Belov and Rinat Khasanov.

Former head coach Sergei Golubovich will now begin a three-year cycle with the under-16s team.

The under-18s players will be familiar to Zybin as he coached the under-17s at the Five Nations Tournament on home ice in April.

Russia finished in second place behind Sweden.

Fifty-seven-year-old Zybin played most of his career with CSKA Moscow and won the 1980 IIHF World Junior Championship with the Soviet Union.

The Russian team finished third at this year's World Under-18 Championship in Slovakia.

They lost 2-1 to Finland in the semi-finals but recovered to beat Sweden 3-0 for bronze.  

Reports before the tournament suggested that the whole Russian squad was changed due to players failing drug tests for meldonium. 

Officials refused to be drawn on the suggestions.

The IIHF has so far kept next year's Under-18 World Championships in Russia despite pressure on winter sports not to use the country as a host nation.

This followed the publication of the McLaren Report, which alleged widespread doping offences at events including the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games.