Former defenseman for several KHL clubs Nikita Shchitov told that the international NHL tournament would be incomplete without Russian hockey players.
Earlier, the executive director of the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) Marty Walsh said that, in all likelihood, the Russian team would not participate in the international NHL tournament in 2025.
– Now there is only politics, I am not at all surprised that such a situation is happening, unfortunately, it is very serious that sport is mixed with politics. Maybe something will change, we’ll see. It is difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow. Without our players, the tournament will be incomplete and untenable. There are some very cool Russians in the league. It would be great if our NHL stars came out publicly and urged others not to participate in these competitions. The league is depriving viewers of interest, it’s not fair. Athletes have nothing to do with politics. No one will achieve anything by suspending athletes,” Shchitov told .
Four teams are expected in the tournament: Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. The tournament will likely not be sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), so only players from NHL teams will participate.
The last World Cup took place in 2016 in Toronto.
Source : MatchTV
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