The famous Soviet and Russian hockey player Valery Kamensky hails the desire of the Canadian legionnaire SKA Brendan Leipsik obtain Russian citizenship.
Earlier, SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg said striker Leipsik had expressed a desire to accept Russian citizenship and wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
– We can only accommodate hockey players like Lipsik. I think it’s not even about hockey, it’s about the country. Russia attracts many foreigners to work and live comfortably. And for our hockey and the KHL, that’s just a plus! We are only happy to welcome Canadians, Americans and Europeans who wish to obtain Russian citizenship.
– Is this desire of foreigners to obtain a Russian passport related to the new limit of legionnaires?
– Procedure too complicated to circumvent the limit. I think it’s about the standard of living in Russia. A lot of foreigners like it here, so they choose their future in Russia,” Kamensky told Sport24.
Lipsik played in the NHL from 2016 to 2020, where he played for Toronto, Vegas, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Washington. Since 2020, the Canadian has been playing in the KHL, in the league he played for CSKA and Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Twice with his teams, Leipsik reached the Gagarin Cup final and scored a total of 142 (54+88) points in 204 regular season and playoff games.
Last season, 29-year-old Leipsik scored 44 (11+33) points in 65 regular season games with Magnitogorsk and 11 (2+9) points in 11 Gagarin Cup games.
Sport24
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
