NHL

Russian league mounts challenge to NHL

Continental Hockey League has lured Jagr, Emery, other players

Roman Koksarov / AP

Dinamo Riga, once the pride of Latvian hockey and the best U.S.S.R. team outside Moscow, owes its revival to Russia's ambitions to create an international hockey league with enough clout to compete with the NHL.

In Latvia, a tiny state still haunted by memories of a half-century of Soviet occupation, ice hockey is the nation's most beloved sport, and league organizers are confident that people will pay $15 to $25 (?11 to ?18) to see the likes of Jagr, Emery and Stumpel.

The team is backed by Itera Latvija, a natural gas supplier and a subsidiary of a Russian company by the same name. Its ownership structure is vague but has strong links to Gazprom.

"For the first time we have a big market. This is a business project, there is great interest from Scandinavian sport networks and from ESPN — they want TV licenses as well,'' said the club's marketing director, Martins Kalnins.

Using a model similar to the NHL, the Russian league is split into four divisions named after famous Russian players. The 24 teams were assigned to a division by lottery.

One drawback for players is the enormous distances between venues. Dinamo Riga, the westernmost team, is 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) from the easternmost, Amur, in Khabarovsk.

LaPutin said the league has tried to minimize teams' flying and the inevitable jet lag. Dinamo Riga, for instance, will play seven games on its 10-day trip to Russia's Siberia and Far East regions.

In the end, league organizers are aware that by taking on the NHL they are fighting an uphill battle.

Andrei Kovalenko, a former NHL star now acting as the head of the KHL's newly formed players union, feels the league is up to the challenge.

"The NHL has worked a long time and they have very good players there - I think the best in the world,'' he said. "But this season the KHL will show their skill to everyone.''

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