After that President met with hockey players who took part in the 1972 USSR-Canada super series. The meeting was attended by Russian and Canadian hockey players who took part in these matches.
The USSR-Canada super series were held in September 1972 in a number of Canadian cities and Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Firstly, we congratulate all of you on your play – those who won and those who lost – it does not matter.
Today we brought here outstanding hockey players, people who have done so much to grow the sport of hockey: the Soviet and Canadian hockey players who competed in the outstanding series in 1972.
This series pushed hockey forward. Owing to this series the world’s interest in hockey grew, so let us welcome them.
First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Fitness, Sport, Tourism and Youth Affairs, twice Olympic hockey champion Vyacheslav Fetisov: You have opportunities today that we never had. As the President and I discussed, we only had 30 skating rinks in 1972.
Five hundred rinks have been built since Vladimir Putin took office and we want you to derive the same satisfaction from the game, strive to become like Vyacheslav Tretyak and Alexander Yakushev and play for the Russian team.
Vladimir Putin: All the best to you. Good luck.