Kremlin not ruling out Putin may show off his hockey skills in Sochi

SOCHI, May 15. /TASS/. President Vladimir Putin could hit the ice during this year's Night Hockey League festival in Sochi, Russia’s Black Sea resort, on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Putin had proved his sporting skill when amateur teams gathered for last year's event, a tournament created to promote the amateur game with support from the president and veteran players. And the game still thrills the head of state, said the presidential spokesman.

But putting on the skates was a matter for the president alone, Peskov said. "This cannot be ruled out, but it is up to him to take the final decision," he said.

Affairs of state had already kept him from watching the match when Russia beat Sweden 5-3 in the 2015 World Championship quarter-final in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Thursday.

And there were no plans yet to attend the final in Prague on Sunday, Peskov said, after Thursday's result had set up a semi-final clash between Russia and the U.S. in the Czech capital on Saturday.

But Putin was in training, Peskov told reporters, while keeping sport scribes guessing on why the president always chooses kit sporting Number 11.