Hockey is the second most popular sport in the vastness of Russia. Now it is played mostly at indoor venues for maximum convenience of the audience. And even some 40-50 years ago in hockey playing in open stadiums. Often known Soviet players in the summer we would play football on the grass, and in winter took a stick, put on your skates and went on ice.

This popularity hockey has a considerable impact on its development. Russia is the organizer of the Continental Hockey League, which gathered the strongest teams in Europe and Asia. At the moment this League is the second highest in the world after the North American NHL. During the last lockout, the NHL many of the strongest players of the National League moved it in the NHL.