NHL teams playing in the Czech capital next month have been told their Russian players are not welcome.
The Czech Foreign Ministry has told the NHL of its stance because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The ministry declined to say whether the NHL has replied.The Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks are to play regular season games on Oct. 7 and 8 at Prague's O2 Arena. The travel rosters have not been finalized but Nashville has forward Yakov Trenin and San Jose has forward Evgeny Svechnikov. Defenceman Nikolai Knyzhov won't be available for the Sharks due to an injury.
The ministry added it informed the league "about ongoing negotiations about banning entry for those citizens of the Russian Federation who already had received valid visas before." The Czech Republic was one of the first EU countries to stop issuing visas to Russian nationals following the February invasion of Ukraine. Exceptions include humanitarian cases and people persecuted by Russia President Vladimir Putin's regime.
Besides the two games in Prague, the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play another two in Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 4-5. The Finnish government's position on Russian players was not immediately clear.
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