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The Night Hockey League is an all-Russia amateur teams hockey tournament founded at Vladimir Putin’s initiative in 2011. Along with the main trophy of the tournament, the Krutov Cup, the winning team will be awarded a grant for the construction of an ice arena in the region it represents.

The tenth tournament was won by Monolit team from Nizhny Novgorod.

As is customary, Vladimir Putin played for the Hockey Legends team as No. 11 against the Night Hockey League team.

After the match, the President met with hockey player Pavel Bure and presented a state decoration to him – the Order for Services to the Fatherland IV degree.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends,

Players and fans,

I wish you all the best on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Night Hockey League.

Along with making your own life more exciting and vibrant, more beautiful and meaningful, you are also setting a wonderful example for millions of other people. You are increasing your life span and improving the quality of life, giving it more meaning. Thank you very much for that.

And of course, I would like to thank our wonderful hockey stars – not only those from Russia, but international players as well – for taking part in this huge project intended for the whole country, for a multimillion person audience. Thank you very much.

The President of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Mr Fasel, is our guest today. Let's welcome him. (Applause.) Thank you for not only supporting professional sports but also for promoting amateur sports, in this case in Russia. Thank you very much.

Announcer: The President of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Mr René Fasel, will now take the floor.

(Applause.)

René Fasel (in Russian): Privet, Sochi!

Mr President! Ladies and Gentlemen! Friends, good afternoon!

I am very, very happy to see everyone again today, very happy. Once again, I wish you good health and good luck. Hooray!

Announcer: Now, amateur hockey player Oleg Smirnov, a representative of the Night Hockey League, a representative of the Ryazan Region, is awarded a special prize for loyalty to amateur hockey. This special prize is presented by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin: Friends, we have one more recipient. Pavel Bure has been awarded the Order for Services to the Fatherland IV degree for his outstanding achievements in high-performance sports and international sports and also for his attention to and development of amateur sports. Congratulations.