MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. Canadian ice hockey player Brendan Leipsic, who lines up at forward for Russia’s SKA Saint Petersburg KHL hockey club, has expressed his desire to become a Russian citizen, Head Coach of SKA St. Petersburg Roman Rotenberg announced on Tuesday.

"SKA [Saint Petersburg] rookie Brendan Leipsic has expressed his intention to acquire Russian citizenship and wrote a relevant letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin," Rotenberg wrote on his Telegram channel.

"It’s quite a common practice in football as just very recently Brazilian footballers Malcom and Claudinho received Russian passports. They are Brazilians and Brazil in football is like Canada in hockey," Rotenberg said.

"We currently need to make our league stronger, and if a great player like Brendan [Leipsic] becomes a Russian citizen, then it will only cement his desire to play in the KHL," the head coach of the SKA St. Petersburg HC added.

The Kontinental Hockey League was founded in Russia in 2008 and lists 22 professional ice hockey clubs, namely from Russia, Belarus, China and Kazakhstan.