Athletistic / Hockey. SKA head coach and simultaneously first vice-president of the Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) Roman Rotenberg spoke about the NHL’s decision to release its players for the next two Olympics. On February 2, the NHL, NHLPA and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced that an agreement had been reached.
“The participation of the Russian national team in the 2026 Olympics is in question. But tomorrow the SVO will end and the situation will change. Now we continue to do our job. We cannot influence international officials. TO This day is their decision. That’s why we have to be prepared for the fact that at any moment we will return to the international stage and show our best game there,” Rotenberg said, as quoted by Match TV.
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be held from February 6 to 22, 2026 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy). The hockey tournament will take place exclusively in Milan. Note that the last time NHL players participated in the Olympic Games was in 2014, at the Sochi Games.
Since March 2022, the IIHF has not allowed the Russian national team to participate in competitions under its auspices. IIHF President Luc Tardif previously said that the decision on Russia’s participation in the 2025 World Cup and 2026 Olympics will be made by the organization’s Council in mid-February 2024 .
The current Olympic champion is the Finnish team. In the final of the hockey tournament of the 2022 Games in Beijing (China), the Finns beat the Russian team with a score of 2:1.
Source: Sport
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.
