Russian Hockey Marks 80th Anniversary With Yearlong Program
Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov has formed a committee to run events for hockey's 80th anniversary, running through May 2027 with a peak in December 2026.
Russia's Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov has set up an organising committee to run the programme marking the 80th anniversary of Soviet and Russian ice hockey, with the schedule stretching out to May 2027.
"Today at the Ministry of Sport I gathered the organising committee working on the plan of events for the 80th anniversary of Russian hockey," Degtyaryov said.
The meeting brought together Deputy Sports Minister Alexei Morozov, Russian Ice Hockey Federation first vice-president Roman Rotenberg, Shanghai Dragons president Ilya Kovalchuk, CSKA supervisory board member Sergei Fyodorov, and representatives of the KHL and the Night Hockey League.
By presidential decree, Hockey Day will be marked officially on 22 December. December 2026 is pencilled in as the peak of the anniversary calendar, with a final of the Kubok Pervykh, a special KHL tournament tied to the anniversary, among the fixtures.
The committee also reviewed the festival "Hockey Spanning 80 Years", which opened in Moscow last Saturday with former players in attendance, a museum drawn from private collections, a screening of the film "Bobrov's Feint" and a run of fan activities. The festival now moves on to other cities, and anniversary branding has already been sent out to the regions for use at sports venues.
According to Degtyaryov, the programme also includes matches featuring both legends and current players, educational projects and tributes to veterans, held across Russia. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation has been named responsible for running the anniversary year.
Rotenberg said preparations are under way for the Channel One Cup in Moscow, one of the further events planned alongside the December final.
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