MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. The Russian Sports Ministry is working on setting up matches between players from the US-based National Hockey League (NHL) and Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev said on Wednesday.
In Tuesday’s phone call between the US and Russian presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the American leader supported his Russian counterpart’s idea to organize exhibitions between NHL and KHL players.
"This is a great idea and we have already started working on making these matches happen," Degtyarev, who also serves as the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), told journalists. "It’s too early to name specific dates, but the process is underway."
The minister floated the cities of St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Moscow as potential Russian venues for the matches.
"There’s no guesswork here, Russia is fully prepared to host such matches — we are a hockey country," he noted. "However, if we speak in terms of scale then the largest [stadium] is Ska-Arena in St. Petersburg, UGMK-Arena in Yekaterinburg is the most up-to-date stadium and, of course, we have Moscow."
"The dates will depend on the schedule [of both league’s matches], but considering the enthusiasm from the players and the support of both national leaders, these matches could take place at any time. There will definitely be space in the calendar for them," Degtyarev added.
KHL and NHL clubs previously played against each other on three occasions. In 2008, KHL team Metallurg Magnitogorsk lost to the NHL’s New York Rangers 4-3 when the two played at a neutral venue in Bern, Switzerland. In 2010, skating on its home ice, Ska St. Petersburg defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3. That same year, Dinamo Riga lost 1-3 to the Phoenix Coyotes in Latvia.
The Kontinental Hockey League was founded in Russia in 2008 and currently lists 23 professional ice hockey clubs, namely from Russia, Belarus, China and Kazakhstan.