Hockey

The Russian government has thrown its support behind Russian hockey players intent on playing in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

The NHL has not said if it will continue to make its players available to play in the Olympics following the 2010 tournament in Vancouver. However, NHL officials have expressed concerns that shutting down the league for two weeks in the middle of its season might not be the best way to grow the sport.

In a press release issued earlier this week by the Russian embassy in Ottawa titled 'Alex Ovechkin adamant about the Olympics', the government highlighted comments from several Russian hockey stars and suggested the NHL stance is motivated in part by its dispute with the Continental Hockey League.

"The NHL's reluctance to commit to Sochi also has roots in the league's simmering dispute with the Russian Continental Hockey League, or KHL, over player signings, transfer fees and control of the potentially lucrative European market," read the statement.

The statement goes on to quote KHL president Alexander Medvedev as saying none of that should matter when it comes to the Games as the best players in the world should be there.

"For people to speculate about keeping the best players out, it's destroying the Olympics and it's hurting the growth of hockey," said Medvedev.

International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel took NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to task earlier this month, saying it would be "completely wrong" to pull the players from the Olympics.

Russian stars Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk have indicated they would be willing to risk fines and even suspensions in order to leave their NHL teams to play in the 2014 Games.