2018 Winter Olympics: Russia could ban KHL players from participating
The Russian parliament is reportedly considering a bill that would ban KHL players from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea will already feature no NHL players. This obviously affects the talent level of the once every four years event. And it might be getting even worse.
According to Igor Eronko, Russian parliament is preparing a bill that would ban all KHL players from the 2018 Olympics.
Russian parliament prepares a bill for the KHL so the league could forbid its players to participate in the Olympics including import players
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) November 20, 2017
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This obviously puts Russia at a disadvantage. Many thought they had a great chance of winning the gold medal in men’s ice hockey, given their obvious advantage of having at least some of their best players in the Olympics. However, Russia would be arguably a lower playing field than everyone else if this bill goes through.
Worst of all, this would further kill the talent in men’s hockey at the Olympics. This ban would apply to import players as well. And, as Bob McKenzie noted, both the United States and Canada are relying heavily on KHL players.
This could get very sticky/interesting because USA Hockey and Hockey Canada are firm in their belief Americans and Canadians in KHL are fully OLY eligible. Those USA/CAN players are in KHL on IIHF transfers; IIHF has sanctioned OLY participation: https://t.co/GeOxviOFu9
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) November 20, 2017
Things could get extremely interesting if this bill goes through. Will KHL players hopeful of playing in the Olympics have to make a tough decision? Maybe some guys will look to get their contracts terminated so they can play in Pyeongchang. Will this affect the next Olympics negotiations?
Should this bill go through, you have to feel bad for guys who signed in the KHL because they wanted to play in the Olympics. Andrei Markov in particular really wanted to play for Russia in the Olympics, hence why he signed in the KHL. This is a terrible situation for everyone involved. And there are no winners in this. Not the fans, nor the players. Nobody wins.
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As far as why Russia would want to ban KHL players, Andi Petrillo has an interesting theory. This should be an interesting storyline. We’ll see how things play out, as the IOC should make a decision by Dec. 5.