Hockey Diplomacy on Display

Yesterday there was an exhibition hockey game between Russian and North American players played at Sky Rink, located at Chelsea Piers. The game which featured such great players as Viacheslav Fetisov and Mark Messier was part of the “International Hockey Diplomacy Initiative.” This will manifest in four games between America’s Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Hockey teams and the MHL (Minor Hockey League) Red Stars, an all star team of players aged 19-21 from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia.

“Hockey is a great unifier and we are pleased that some of the most talented players in the MHL will have the opportunity to come to the United States and face off against storied ECAC hockey programs,” said Alexander Medvedev, President of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

The personable Medvedev, who played in yesterday’s game (The Russian team pulled away for a (10-5) win) went on to say “We believe we all have something to learn from each other and we find it fitting to make this announcement about hockey diplomacy on Hockey Across America Weekend.”

The ECAC teams will face the MHL All Stars during the 2013-2014 hockey season. The ECAC teams that will take part are Yale University (Friday, December 27, 2013), Harvard University (Saturday December 28, 2013), Union College (Tuesday December 31, 2013) and Cornell University (Friday January 3,2014).

The game and event had rich New York hockey flavor including: Fetisov (who was once part of New Jersey Devils’ glory) and Rod Gilbert, (who coached the North American team), Ron Duguay, Paul Stewart and the beautiful Supermodel Carol Alt who all conjured up great New York Rangers memories.

It was an honor to interview Ranger legend Mark Messier after the game, and in my next post, you can read what he had to say.

Alexander Medvedev