MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. President of the Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) Vladislav Tretiak has been reelected for another presidential term in Russia’s governing ice hockey body, a source close to the situation told TASS on Thursday.

The RHF held an election and reporting conference on May 19 in the Russian capital of Moscow and Tretiak was a sole candidate running for the post of the country’s governing body of ice hockey.

Tretiak, who turned 70 on April 25, has been at the helm of the national ice hockey federation since 2006.

"I would like to extend my particular appreciation to all delegates for their invested trust to keep me in this post," Tretiak told journalists said after the voting. "The game of ice hockey is my life and there are many issues left to be attended to."

"First of all, it’s about the development of children’s ice hockey, construction of new ice rinks, attestation of the coaching staff and organization of new tournaments," he continued.

"Although, our national teams are barred from international tournaments, we have to resort to all possible means to make them play," Tretiak stated. "We will find partners, we have plans and this is what is the most important at the moment."

Tretiak also said that the RHF is ready to be back on the international arena at any given time.

"We need to keep working with the international federation, protecting our rights," he said. "We will be appealing against bans imposed on our world championships. We work in this direction and will be resorting to all efforts in order to be back again with the ice hockey family."

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced in late April a decision to cancel its previously scheduled 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship in Russia’s Saint Petersburg. The global organization also canceled the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, scheduled to be hosted by the Russian cities of Novosibirsk and Omsk.

On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments referring to a special military operation in Ukraine.

Following the IOC recommendations in late February, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

Russia’s ice hockey legend Tretiak

In December 2020, Tretiak was awarded with a certificate of the World Olympians Association (WOA) for his contribution to the Olympic movement development as well as the promotion of values of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The certificate was presented to Tretiak by IOC President Thomas Bach at an IIHF meeting on December 6 at the IOC headquarters.

Tretiak, born on April 25, 1952, is a former goaltender for the Soviet Union’s national ice hockey team. The legendary player has been recognized as one of the best hockey players of the 20th century by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). As a player of CSKA ice hockey club and the Soviet national squad, he won 10 world championships (1970-71, 1973-75, 1978-79, and 1981-83) and three Olympic gold medals (1972, 1976, and 1984).