Six Swedes play in the KHL next season.
But there won’t be any game in Tre Kronor.
– The decision sends an important message to hockey Sweden and the hockey world, says Anders Larsson, chairman of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of the year, the sports world has been affected. Scores of Swedish stars in both the KHL and the Russian top league have left their clubs to play in other leagues.
Five Swedes in the KHL
But there are also Swedes who have made completely different decisions. For the coming season, as it looks right now, six Swedes will play in the KHL. It is about Fredrik Claesson, who signed for CSKA Moscow, Jakob Lilja, who signed for Dynamo Moscow, as well as Adam Reideborn (CSKA Moscow), Viktor Svedberg (Avangard Omsk), Robin Press (Severstal Tjerepovets) and Johan Mattsson (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg ).
The Swedish Ice Hockey Association has previously received criticism for not having a clearer position on what applies to the players in the KHL. When Jonas Jerebko signed for CSKA Moscow, the national basketball team chose to immediately suspend him, but as far as Tre Kronor is concerned, any definite announcement has been delayed.
Stopped completely
But now, in a press release, the hockey association believes that Swedes in the KHL are not welcome to the KHL. The decision applies “until further notice”.
– The decision sends an important message to hockey Sweden and the hockey world, because it is about our fundamental values. The association has previously announced that the decision would come in good time before the start of Tre Kronor’s season, and now it has been taken, says Anders Larsson, chairman of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.
Fredrik Claesson and Jakob Lilja are new to the KHL, where they joined during the summer, and according to information in Russia, both will earn just over nine million kroner before tax and bonuses per year. This means, roughly speaking, a monthly salary of SEK 733,000 each. Adam Reideborn won gold with CSKA Moscow in the spring.
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