On August 22, 2018, several professional hockey players, primarily from Russia, but some Finns as well, played a hockey game to raise money for charity, specifically the Ot Chistovo Serdtsa [From Pure Heart] charity fund.  The specific venue was Sirius Center’s Shayba Arena in Sochi, Russia. 

The city was chosen so that vacationers from all over Russia could view hockey and contribute to charity.  Games like this usually attract a high spectator interest, attract new fans, popularize hockey and inform people about the charity initiatives of athletes and sports organizations.

This year’s participants included 2018 Olympic champions: Pavel Datysuk, Ilya Kovalchuk, Nikita Gusev, Kirill Kaprizov, as well as other hockey stars from around the world, including: Evgeny Malkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Artemi Panarin, Alexander Radulov, Alexander Barkov, Valery Kamensky, Teemu Selanne, Jari Kurri, and many others.

Also supporting this event is the singer, Dima Bilan, who performed in a concert before the game, performing his favorite hit songs.  In addition, the skater, Evgeny Plushenko performed the grand opening ceremony before the match.

Schedule of Events, in local time:
14-30 – autograph session
15-00 – concert
15-30 – grand opening ceremony before the match with Evgeny Plushenko
16-00 – hockey game

Below is the advertising poster.

Here is a picture of Kuznetsov signing autographs before the game.

(Photo Credit by Hockey Play Instagram)

Before the game, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Tula region, Marina Levina, was presented with a check for 20 million rubles for the Department of Oncology, Hematology and Chemotherapy of the Tula Children’s Regional Clinical Hospital.  The funds collected during this event will be used to improve buildings and technology for the department and purchase expensive medicine. Every year, children with severe oncological and hematological diseases receive medical care in the oncology department of the Tula Regional Clinical Hospital.

The players were divided into two teams, the Red Team and the Blue Team.  The Red Team included: Kamensky, Kovalchuk, Kuznetsov, Orlov, Malkin, Selanne, Radulov, Nikita Gusev, Kaprizov, Gennedy Timchenko, and Shesterkin in goal.  The Blue Team included: Grigorenko, Andronov, Zubarev, Barkov, Kalinin, Ivan Telegin, Andronov, Butman, Alexei Morozov, Alexei Zhamnov, Vadim Shipachev, Prokhorkin, Kablukov, Shirokov, and Sorokin in goal. Also, playing on the Blue Team was Minister of Sport, Pavel Kolobkov.  Roman Rothenberg, the head of the national staff team, also played on the Red Team.

The Red Team won the contest, 10-8 in a high scoring affair.  Below is the score sheet.

For Washington Capitals players, Orlov had three assists in the contest while Kuznetsov was held off the scoresheet.

Below is the group shot of the Red and Blue team members.

Here is one post game picture of several of the participants, including Kuznetsov and Orlov, along with Kaprizov, Kovalchuk, Radulov, and Malkin.

(Picture from Kirill Kaprizov’s Instagram — also on From Russia With Glove Instagram)

After the game, they had a reception with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

The Ot Chistovo Serdtsa [From Pure Heart] charity games have been held in different Russian cities since 2010.  The original match, with Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Ovechkin, was played in September 2010 in front of a sold-out crowd in the Moscow DS Sokolniki.  Ovechkin was unable to attend this year’s event due to the birth of his new baby over the weekend.

Sources and Further Reading
Description of Game From FHR.ru
Championat Story on Amount of Money Collected in Game
Championat Story Listing Participants
Interview with Ministry of Sport, Pavel Kolobkov

By Diane Doyle