from Lucas Aykroyd of FlightNetwork,
Moscow and St. Petersburg are Russia’s most glamorous cities, and international hockey fans will flock there for the 2016 IIHF World Championship (May 6-22). However, Ufa, the host city for the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, isn’t as well-known. With the 2014 Sochi Olympics still a fresh memory and the 2016 Worlds just weeks away, it’s a great time to take a closer look at Ufa.
I visited as a journalist to cover the 2013 tournament, and discovered many quirky dimensions to this Russian city of more than one million inhabitants, both inside and outside the rinks.
The 439-year-old capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan lies almost 1,200 kilometres east of Moscow, in the Ural Mountains. You’d never guess ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev grew up here. It’s an oil town, and petrodollars power Salavat Yulaev Ufa, the local Kontinental Hockey League franchise.
Some notable ex-NHL players who have suited up for Ufa include Alexander Radulov, Oleg Tverdovsky, Viktor Kozlov, Sami Lepisto, Oleg Saprykin, and Brent Sopel.
continued, a quirky and enjoyable read...
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