I. Metshin: “This grand celebration is a declaration of love for hockey”

(KZN.RU, January 21, Ksenia Shvetsova). Fans from more than 85 cities attended the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) star match, which took place yesterday at the Kazan ice palace “Tatneft-Arena”. The long-awaited match ended the Hockey Stars Week in Tatarstan, which was a big step towards promoting sports and a healthy lifestyle. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, said this at the Business Monday today. He took part in a friendly match between veterans of “Ak Bars” and the KHL.

“Rene Fasel, the President of the International Hockey Federation, Nail Maganov, the President of the Hockey Club “Ak Bars”, Dmitry Chernyshenko, the President of the KHL, as well as numerous fans of this sport with the support of Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT, organized a great celebration. The best forces were attracted. We had a lot to learn, as the organizers of major events”, said I. Metshin.

Kazan fought with many cities for the right to host a week of the KHL Stars, such as Helsinki among foreign cities and Magnitogorsk among Russian cities. Over the past week, many events took place in Kazan with the participation of not only hockey stars and fans, but also students of children's sports schools, hockey clubs and fans of this sport.

“This grand celebration is a declaration of love for hockey. The master show, the KHL Stars Match is all a big step towards the promotion of sports and a healthy lifestyle”, said I. Metshin. He also added that such an event is especially important for Tatarstan, where special attention is paid to the development of hockey. This year, an ice palace in the territory of the Suvorov School was open in Kazan and an ice palace in Yudino is being finished. From the morning until the late evening, 46 skating rinks are open in the city where participants of professional teams, sports school students and fans of active recreation enjoy skating and training.

The head of the city also shared his impressions of a friendly match between the veterans of “Ak Bars” and the veterans of the KHL, timed to coincide with the week of KHL stars. The Mayor took part in it in one team with outstanding athletes Danis Zaripov, Sergey Zinoviev, Alexey Morozov, and others. No less legendary hockey players played for the KHL: Alexander Medvedev, Maksim Sushinsky, Alexey Yashin, and others. The head of the city noted that it was interesting and exciting to play together with the hockey stars. “Despite the fact that it was a veteran match, it was an indescribably intense, in the heat of passion”. In the match, the “Ak Bars” won with a score of 8:4.

“Thanks to the KHL and the “Ak Bars” for promoting a healthy lifestyle and another serious step in promoting Kazan as a tourist city”, said the Mayor of Kazan.

Yesterday, the players of the Chernyshev Division won in the match of KHL stars. On Saturday, they became the strongest in the master show. In the final, the Chernyshev Division defeated the Bobrov Division team with a score of 4:3 and became the winner of the master show and the star match for the first time. Olympic champions Alexander Maltsev and Alexander Pashkov awarded the hockey players.