MOSCOW, April 22 (R-Sport) - Alex Mogilny, the ex-NHL star who is expected to be involved in the running of a new KHL team in Vladivostok, says the league's expansion to the Pacific coast is a positive move.
Mogilny is expected to be unveiled as a club president or general manager on April 27, when the name of the team to enter the league next season may also be announced.
"I can't talk about the name. People from the Primorsky region and Vladivostok will vote. But what I can say is that expanding to the east is a positive direction for the KHL," Mogilny told R-Sport.
"We are a northern, hockey nation. Kids need to see their idols, to inspire their dreams and, possibly, defend the colors of the club in the future," he added.
"When new teams are formed, new children's schools are formed with the facilities for mass participation in hockey."
Mogilny refused to confirm his possible new career path, citing an agreement with the KHL banning announcements before Saturday.
Earlier in the month, senator Slava Fetisov, who represents Vladivostok’s region of Primorsky Krai in Russia’s upper house, said the KHL was on the brink of announcing the addition of Vladivostok to the burgeoning league. A 7,000-seat, KHL-ready arena is expected to open in the Far Eastern city next fall.
To reduce travel costs, Medvedev said, the seven-country league would be realigned into three divisions of nine teams each, split geographically between eastern Europe, western Russia and Siberia/Far East. Medvedev didn't go into any more detail.
Teams would play 58 regular-season games – six more than last year – including five each against their division rivals and then one against each of the remaining 18 clubs.
