The athlete also noted that an interesting stage is now underway – the KHL playoffs. In his opinion, this year the teams in the League are balanced in composition, there are no clear favorites.
“And due to the fact that there are not so many foreign players, many guys left, and our Russian guys got the opportunity to prove themselves. We saw a lot of new names in this playoff, in this championship. While there are no international tournaments, matches, our guys play enough “I’m sure that when the Russian team returns to the international level, our team will be strong, and we will see, for sure, new names and new stars,” added Safonov.
It should be noted that on March 22, the International Ice Hockey Federation extended the suspension of the national teams of Russia and Belarus from international tournaments.
The IIHF suspended the Russian national ice hockey team from participating in international tournaments in the spring of 2022 amid the situation in Ukraine. The organization also took away from Russia the right to host the World Cup in St. Petersburg and the Youth World Cup, which was to be held in Omsk and Novosibirsk.
Earlier on the same day, it became known that the IOC Executive Committee plans to discuss the issue of admitting Russian and Belarusian athletes to international tournaments on March 28.
