Slava Voynov replaced by Nikita Nesterov on Russia's World Cup roster
When Russia named its final roster for September’s World Cup of Hockey Slava Voynov was included on the blue line. That led to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly telling ESPN.com that the NHL and NHLPA – who are running the tournament – would review his status.
On Monday, TSN’s Gary Lawless reported that the Russian Hockey Federation has agreed to keep Voynov out of the Russian squad heading to Toronto in two months. Daly confirmed the news to R-Sport.
Who could replace Voynov? The door could now be open for someone like Nikita Nesterov, Anton Belov, Yevgeny Medvedev, Fedor Tyutin or Nikita Nikitin. Daly added that no deadline has been established for the Russian Hockey Federation to announce a change.
Voynov spent the 2015-16 season playing for the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg after the NHL handed him an indefinite suspension following his Oct. 2014 arrest on misdemeanor domestic violent charges. Last July he pled no contest to a reduced charge and spent 90 days in jail.
UPDATE: The RHF has announced Nikita Nesterov will replace Voynov on their World Cup roster. Here is their entire odd statement:
Russian national team defenseman Vyacheslav Voynov will not take part in the World Cup of Hockey. This is down to not having enough time to sort out the issues at hand surronding his NHL disqualification. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation did everything possible in order to fix the situation, but the NHL has its own procedures and time-frames. The RIHF respects the World Cup of Hockey organisers’ decision, and has been forced into replacing Vyacheslav.
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov will take his place.
The RIHF would like to point out that Vyacheslav Voynov remains one of the country’s top defensemen, and is a candidate for other international tournaments. Not long ago, Vyacheslav and wife Marta Varlamov got married. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation wishes both happiness in their lives together!
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
