The Czech Foreign Ministry has informed the NHL of its stance due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ministry declined to say whether the NHL has responded. The Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks will play regular season games on October 7th and 8th at the O2 Arena in Prague. The travel rosters have not been finalized, but Nashville has Russian forward Yakov Trenin and San Jose has Evgeni Sveznikov. Defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov will be unavailable for the Sharks due to a torn Achilles tendon.
1 Related “We can confirm that the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs has written to the NHL to point out that, at this time, the Czech Republic or any other state in the (visa-free) Schengen zone should not grant visas to Russian players to enter. on our territory,” Deputy Secretary of State Martin Smolek said in a statement. The ministry added that it informed the league “of the ongoing negotiations regarding the entry ban for those citizens of the Russian Federation who have already received a valid visa in the past.” He said the ban on Russian athletes at sports events in European Union countries was also recommended by EU sports ministers. The Czech Republic was one of the first EU countries to stop issuing visas to Russian nationals after the invasion of Ukraine in February. Exceptions include humanitarian cases and individuals prosecuted by the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The NHL returns to Europe for its first games outside of North America since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the two games in Prague, the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play two more in Tampere, Finland, on November 4-5. The Finnish government’s position on the Russian players was not immediately clear. Czech NHL great Dominik Hasek has led the opposition to Russian players coming to Prague since the games were announced in April. Hasek approached the Upper House of Parliament, the Senate, the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the matter. “It is very important for the support of our Ukrainian ally and the security of our citizens,” Hasek said in an interview with Russian television. Since it was not shown in Russia, he published it in Czech media. “Yes, we don’t want any promotion of Russian aggression here,” Hasek tweeted after the ministry’s move. “We protect our lives and the lives of our allies first and foremost.”
