Zadorov Speaks Out against Putin and Ukrainian Invasion

CALGARY - Calgary Flames defenceman Nikita Zadorov has spoken out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine and says he and other Russian NHL players couldn't come to an agreement on what to say about it.

Zadorov told reporters in Calgary that he can't return to Russia as long as Vladimir Putin is president and that his parents in Russia don't share his views. "I think it's important for me to speak personally," Zadorov said. "I think hopefully I can change something in this world. It just sucks what's going on over there right now. I think it's just important to be vocal."

The defenceman said in Russian in a YouTube interview with English subtitles posted this week that NHL players from his country communicated in a group digital chat after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and couldn't agree on what to say. "We had a group chat. It went two different directions," Zadorov said Friday in Calgary. "Some guys were against, some guys for. I'm not going to bring names because we're playing in the same league and I don't think it's a right way to do, but there's a lot of young kids thinking the way I think.

The 28-year-old Zadorov is from Moscow, but makes his off-season home in Miami. The Flames selected the six-foot-six, 248-pound defender him in the first round (16th overall) in the 2013 NHL draft.

Within days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Zadorov posted "No War" on his Instagram account.
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