MOSCOW, July 27. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to Brennan Menell, a player for the Dynamo Moscow ice hockey club who was born in the United States, according to the presidential decree published on the official information portal.
In April, HC Dynamo Moscow Sports Director Alexey Sopin told TASS that Menell wanted to become a Russian citizen.
The 26-year-old went undrafted in the National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft. He started his career in the North American leagues. In the NHL, the defenseman played five games for Minnesota, without assisting or scoring. In the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Menell signed a one-year contract with a Belarusian KHL team, Dinamo Minsk.
In September 2022, Menell was traded to HC Dynamo Moscow, and in mid-April extended his contract with the club for three years. He has notched 72 points (eight goals and 64 assists) through 102 KHL games.
Starting in the 2023/24 season, Russian KHL clubs will be restricted to three foreign players, except for nationals of the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan).