Nikolai Lemtyugov, who plays for UK hockey club "Sheffield Steelers", addressed his October performance in a mask depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"In England, there is such a feature — the MVP [most valuable player of the match] must somehow entertain the audience. To organise a mini-show. And as soon as I donned the Putin mask — the audience just exploded. The fans were ecstatic", he told Sport24.
It is not clear if the mask helped him, but it definitely brought luck to the club, who defeated Manchester Storm 8-2.
Lemtyugov, or Lemty, as British fans call him joined the club this summer, moving to the UK from South Korea. He previously played for Russian ice hockey powerhouses CSKA, Severstal, and Avangard.