MOSCOW, BRATISLAVA. The Russian KHL should start the playoffs on Tuesday, but at the moment it is not certain who will play in it. Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which was attacked by Russian troops last week, several hockey legionnaires are considering leaving Russia.
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In recent days, in response to events in Ukraine, the Finnish Jokerit Helsinki (its rival in the playoffs Spartak Moscow advanced straight away) prematurely and the Latvian Dinamo Riga also stepped out of it.
The situation in Russia also affects several Slovak hockey players. Libor Hudáček and Patrik Rybár play for the Belarusian Dinamo Minsk.
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They should play the first match of the eight-final series against SKA St. Petersburg on Wednesday, March 2. However, whether this will happen is questionable.
“We are in a difficult situation. We have a lot of foreign players in the team, they all want to leave. We are in St. Petersburg, so there is an alternative to go home via Helsinki or Lithuania. Even if we all leave, I think the KHL will continue to play. what will happen in the coming hours and whether the IIHF will not get involved in the whole thing, “Libor Hudáček from Russia told Sportnet.
Sportnet also contacted other Slovak players in the KHL. Some have not yet responded or expressed a private opinion, as their clubs say that players cannot currently communicate with any media.
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In addition to Hudáček and Rybár, Michal Tchaikovsky (Sibir Novosibirsk), Peter Cehlárik (Omsk), Tomáš Jurčo (Nursultan) and Adam Liška (Čerepovec) also work in the KHL.
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There are dozens of foreigners working in KHL clubs. The most numerous enclave (apart from Belarusians from Dinama Minsk and Latvians from Dinama Riga) consists of Finns, Swedes, Canadians and Czechs.
Finnish television YLE describes the story of goalkeeper Tuuim, a goalkeeper who wants to leave Neftechimik Nizhnekamsk, but due to the cancellation of flights from Russia to Europe, he has yet to get home. The information was published on Twitter by the Czech commentator Robert Záruba.
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