The Czech Foreign Ministry has told the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators that they will not welcome Russian-born players into the country for the Global Series games, scheduled to be held on October 7 and 8 in Prague. A report from the Associated Press confirms that a letter has been sent to the NHL explaining that visas are not to be issued to Russian players because of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
However, deputy commissioner Bill Daly has expressed “no concern” to the AP about players traveling to Czechia, and Sharks general manager Mike Grier told reporters including Corey Masisak of The Athletic that the NHL is handling the situation. Grier also explained that his position is “we all go or we don’t go,” suggesting he will not take the Sharks to Prague if Alexander Barabanov and Evgeny Svechnikov, the team’s two healthy Russian players, are not allowed to participate.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have made several changes in their hockey operations department, naming Trevor Timmins assistant director of amateur scouting, and hiring Marshall Davidson, Dale Derkatch, and Roman Polak (previously reported) as scouts. Zac Urback has been promoted to director of hockey analytics, and Mike Eaves, formerly the head coach of the Cleveland Monsters, will now serve as a pro scout.
- Gabriel Landeskog “won’t skate anytime soon” according to Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, who told reporters including Peter Baugh of The Athletic that the captain is still dealing with an injury from last season. Landeskog is expected to miss the start of the year.
Well that escalated quickly. And the board goes political in 3, 2, 1….
Good for Grier
Good for Grier and the wording the players want be allowed to a go then , we want go! ….time to play some Hockey
Don’t really like how Russian citizens are getting vilified. It’s pretty insane to hold them accountable for their dictator just because they were born there.
Thank you so much for wedging in some politics! I always say, “man, I sure wish more people would bring up their political opinion on a sports site!”
It’s a political article. They can’t go because of global politics.
If the article was “Sidney Crosby to play defence this season” you would probably have a comment and opinion on that and is that any different?
C’mon. The United States elected a guy as president in 2016 who ran on the platform of running all Muslims out the country and vilifying any Latin American who came to the US wanting a better life. We are all about the vilification of any group WE don’t like … heck, judging from the upvotes for WP’s rants, there are plenty of people on this board happy when women are vilified as being biologically incapable of understanding hockey.
And (nods) to Pawtucket. Players not willing to play in the KHL this year; that’s a political issue. Teams resigning from the KHL; that’s a political issue. Belarus being dumped as a venue for the Worlds; that’s a political issue. Ivan Fetodov unable to play this year because of an enforced army commitment; that’s a political issue. Hell, whether Nick Suzuki needs to learn French or not … isn’t *that* a political issue? Hockey’s riddled with political issues. Always has been. Likely always will be.
This is true jdgoat.
Yeah…why are the Czechs being so sensitive about Russian imperialism? (opens history book) Oh ok….
Yeah Czechia, it’s every Russian person’s fault that Putin is a demagogue…[eye roll]
(Opens dictionary)
Nha, gotta give you props. You may be a drama queen, an uninformed partisan babbler, and a wannabe know-it-all, but you do it with sincerity and enthusiasm. Well done.
Let’s say you have totally run out of Ukrainians to feel bad for for them being killed for no good reason…and you have worried about all of the Africans, Middle Easterners and people all over the Asian continent who will starve from the lower levels of wheat production and all of the various other people around the world affected by Putin’s war crimes…and then you still have the time and energy and feel like pitying some Russian people?
Maybe feel bad for the guys being drafted into the wood chipper to join the already 100,000 dead pawns growing sunflowers out of their corpses in Kharkiv…all to stroke one little putz’s ego.
No, pity the guys who are safe, sound and comparatively wealthy even , but just can’t play a pro hockey game….?
Boo hoo first world hoo.
By this logic nothing that goes on this country matters because so many others have it worse. Does creating an issue out of nothing solve any of these grand international problems?
Josh truly defines the meaning of a know nothing. This war would’ve been ended many months ago had the FJB regime, through their proxy Boris Johnson in Great Britain, not nixed a settlement between Russia and Ukraine. And why would they do that? Because Ukraine has become a giant money laundering operation.
But you won’t learn that by bin watching MSLSD and CNN.
You understand that you just made this up, right? Like you’re not actually this lost on the political scale I hope. That would be awfully pathetic if this is sincere sentiment.