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Russia unveils ice hockey team’s new uniforms for 2018 PyeongChang Olympics

Designers of the new uniform used a lighter and more air-venting material adding more mash on the outfit to increase ventilation

MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RHF) presented on Thursday a new national team’s uniform for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang and also posted pictures of the squad’s new jersey images on the official website of the federation.

According to the FHR statement, "designers of the new uniform used a lighter and more air-venting material adding more mash on the outfit to increase ventilation."

"The size and the type of player’s number print on the jersey have been modified and it changed both the look of the uniform as well as its qualities," the statement said.

The FHR statement also said that the technology of imprinting the state seal on uniforms, as well as other images had been changed to make the gear lighter.

The traditional colors of the Russian team remained the same. The Russian national ice hockey team is usually referred to in mass media reports as ‘The Red Machine.’

Reigning Olympic Champions Canada, which currently hold two consecutive Winter Games titles (in 2010 and 2014) in addition to many other won during the previous editions of the Olympic tournaments, announced their uniforms for the 2018 PyeongChang Games on November 1.

Sean Burke, the general manager of the Canadian national ice hockey team, said after the presentation of the uniforms that an absence of US-based NHL professional players at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea would only make the competition more interesting and entertaining compared to the previous Games in Russia’s Sochi in 2014.

The NHL announced in early April that it had decided against altering its schedule for the 2017-2018 season, meaning that international players bound by contracts with NHL clubs would not be able to leave next year to join their national teams to play at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, which are scheduled to take place in South Korea’s PyeongChang next year on February 9-25.

The National Hockey League Players’ Association lashed out at NHL’s April decision calling it shortsighted. The association criticized the NHL’s authorities for not only prohibiting its players for playing on the international arena, but for building obstacles for the game of ice hockey on the whole.

Many Russian ice hockey stars are currently playing for various NHL clubs and they would not be competing for much-coveted Olympic medals next year just like the rest of players from other countries having contracts with the legendary US-based hockey league.

President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RHF) Vladislav Tretiak said in July that the lack of Russian players from NHL at the 2018 Olympics would have no impact on the national team, which, according to him, would be made up of players from the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).