Russian NHL players in the San Jose Sharks And Nashville Predators Prague will allow people to play in games, despite the fact that the Czech government previously stated they were not allowed due to the war in Ukraine.
Nashville and San Jose will play regular-season games at Prague’s O2 Arena on Oct. 7-8 as part of 2022 NHL Global Series Europe. Sharks Alexander Barabanov And Evgeny SvechnikovNashville’s as well. Yakov TreninRussian-born players are.
The NHL had received a letter from Czech Foreign Ministry stating that “the Czech Republic or any state in the” [visa free] The Russian players should not be granted visas by the Schengen area to enter our territory.
Following the February invasion by Ukraine, the Czech Republic was one the first EU nations to cease issuing visas for Russian nationals. There are exceptions for humanitarian cases.
The NHL stated at the time that it did not have concerns about Russian players playing in Prague. Mike Grier, the general manager of San Jose said that he would not entertain the idea for his Russian players to be allowed to return home. He told reporters, “Either we all go or no one goes.”
This week, talks continued between the NHL in the Czech Republic and the Czech government. Tomáš Pojar, advisor to the prime minister for security and deputy minister for European affairs, told the Czech news outlet Seznam Zprávám that they didn’t see the players’ presence as a threat to national security.
Pojar stated, “This is a private affair, they have visas. Therefore, from the state’s point of view, there is no reason to deny them entry.”
Predators confirmed this shift in policy.
Additional reporting by Associated Press