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• #SAN JOSE SHARKS NASHVILLE PREDATORS SERIES#

Special thanks to Petr Pravda of Seznam Zpravy for his help with this story.

#SAN JOSE SHARKS NASHVILLE PREDATORS SERIES#

Grier: ‘Either we all go, or no one goes’Īnd though Barabanov and company have valid visas, up to just now, it still appeared possible that the Czech Republic could force a stand-off where the NHL and the San Jose Sharks might have to choose between the Prague games and their own Russian players.īut the NHL has also confirmed, through Live Nation, the promoter of the Global Series, that the event will go as planned: “While world events have created understandable uncertainty around many sporting events, Live Nation has been assured and would like to assure all Czech fans that the 2022 NHL Global Series games between the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks will take place as scheduled on October 7th and 8th in Prague’s O2 arena.” On the first day of training camp, San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier responded to reports that the Czech Republic would bar his Russian players by declaring, “Either we all go, or no one goes.” To the condemnation of most in the international community, Russian president Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in Feb. This was a show of solidarity with Ukraine. Two weeks ago, the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the NHL, telling the league that its Russian players weren’t welcome to Prague for the upcoming Global Series. That’s a neat way to tie up a potentially messy problem. It’s essentially one visa for 26 countries, and the Czech Republic is one of them. Hertl, Simek Want Russian Teammates to Play in PragueĪ Schengen visa is a short-term visa, covering 26 mostly-European Union countries, that allows its holders to freely travel thorough these countries. This follows what NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly revealed to San Jose Hockey Now last Friday: “Everyone who needs visas already has them.” That included, for the San Jose Sharks, Russian winger Alexander Barabanov.

And I’m not even mentioning that, in addition to Schengen visas, they have long-term American work visas and live in the USA.” National security is certainly not threatened by their presence. Tomas Pojar, Advisor for Foreign and Security Policy for the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, confirmed to Czech news outlet Seznam Zpravy: “This is a private event, they have visas, so from the state’s point of view there is no reason not to let them in. Show your support for the San Jose Sharks and autism awareness with the NHL Special Autism Awareness Hands Hoodie T-Shirt. 7 and 8, as part of the NHL’s Global Series. The Sharks and Predators are scheduled to open the NHL’s regular season in Prague on Oct. The shift in policy was confirmed by the Predators.Īdditional reporting by the Associated Press.It’s official: The Czech Republic will allow the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators to bring their Russian players into the country. "This is a private event, they have visas, so from the state's point of view there is no reason not to let them in," Pojar said. Tomá Pojar, adviser to the prime minister for security and deputy minister for European affairs, told the Czech news outlet Seznam Zprávám that they didn't see the players' presence as a threat to national security. Talks between the Czech government and the NHL continued earlier this week. San Jose general manager Mike Grier wouldn't entertain the idea of leaving his Russian players back home, telling reporters "either we all go, or no one goes." Exceptions include humanitarian cases.Īt the time, the NHL told ESPN it had no concerns about the teams' Russian players being permitted to play in Prague. The Czech Republic was one of the first EU countries to stop issuing visas to Russian nationals following the February invasion of Ukraine. The Czech Foreign Ministry had sent a letter to the NHL that stated, "the Czech Republic or any other state in the Schengen zone should not issue visas to the Russian players to enter our territory." Get real-time NHL coverage and scores as the Nashville Predators take on the San Jose Sharks at 8:00pm EDT on October 21, 2023. The Sharks' Alexander Barabanov and Evgeny Svechnikov, as well as Nashville's Yakov Trenin, are Russian-born players. 7 and 8 at Prague's O2 Arena as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series in Europe. Nashville and San Jose are set to play regular-season games Oct. Russian NHL players from the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators will be permitted to play games in Prague, despite the Czech government having previously said they weren't welcome there due to the war in Ukraine.