On February 12, the Joint Disciplinary Chamber of the Russian Hockey Federation and the Continental Hockey League reviewed Siberia Novosibirsk’s appeal regarding a points deduction for exceeding the foreign player limit and rejected the request. This decision was reported by the official Northern Hemisphere hockey authorities (KHL), underscoring the league’s adherence to established roster rules throughout the regular season.
Earlier in the season, Siberia faced four technical defeats in January for breaching the limit on foreign players. The current rule allows three foreign players to be rostered in a team’s lineup. Siberia’s fourth foreign player, defenseman Fedor Gordeev, was deemed ineligible to represent the Russian national team at the moment of the club’s season submission. Subsequently, Gordeev was granted Russian sports citizenship by the Russian Hockey Federation, a move that did not retroactively affect the season’s compliance assessment. The league clarified that sports citizenship for the season is set at the time of application and remains fixed until the championship concludes (KHL official statement; source attribution: KHL communications).
As the season progresses, Siberia sits in tenth place within the Eastern Conference standings with sixty points after sixty-three games, reflecting a challenging campaign that has included both strong performances and compliance-related struggles. The team was scheduled to face Neftekhimik in a forthcoming clash on February 15, a test of resilience as the race for playoff positions intensifies (KHL standings summary; source attribution: KHL data center).
Meanwhile, CSKA Moscow is affirmed as the current holder of the Gagarin Cup. In a milestone season commemorating the club’s centennial, CSKA captured its seventh championship win in the final series against Kazan’s Ak Bars, sealing the title on the 100th anniversary of the organization’s founding. The celebration marked a historic chapter in Russian hockey history, with players, staff, and fans recalling a century of competition at the highest level (league records and commemorations; source attribution: KHL archives).
What has energized the stands is the enthusiasm of hockey fans who filled the G-Drive Arena with mass participation during recent games. The atmosphere, described as vibrant and electric, highlighted the sport’s deep-rooted culture in Siberia and across the league, where crowds often become an essential element of the game itself. The remarkable energy at the arena underscored how professional hockey events in Russia continue to attract devoted supporters and contribute to the sport’s enduring appeal across the country (collective fan experience reports; source attribution: KHL matchday coverage).