If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League could not feel more like the bizarro NHL.
Over the years, we’ve had dogs attacking players after ceremonial faceoffs, dudes dropping cellphones on the ice and coaches with downright absurd haircuts.
Now, they’ve apparently got the heaviest trophy in all of sports, as evidenced by a goalie who tipped over as soon as he tried to lift it.
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Teams in the KHL play for the Gagarin Cup, which is, of course, named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
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That’s super badass, by the way. Hey, U.S. leagues, you’ve all missed the boat by not naming a trophy after an astronaut.
Anyway, this year’s winner of the Gagarin Cup was Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, who defeated Ak Bars Kazan in Game 6 of the final to win their second straight championship.
Just like in the NHL with the Stanley Cup, players hand off the Gagarin Cup to each other and skate it around a little.
Well, when it was Lokomotiv Neminder Alexei Melnichuk’s turn to skate the Gagarin Cup, he had a bit of an issue.
After swinging the Cup above his head, he seemed to underestimate just how heavy the trophy was, and at a certain point, gravity took over.
It was very cool of Melnichuk to use himself to break the Gagarin Cup’s fall.
Fortunately, the trophy was still in one piece after that tumble, and I’m sure it was only about 20 minutes from being full of beer.
Or, let’s be real, vodka.
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Melnichuk played three games with the San Jose Sharks in his career, and the Lokomotiv roster has a few names that will be familiar to NHL fans.
Richard Panik, who played in more than 500 NHL games, is on the team, as is former Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars forward Alexander Radulov, who led the team in points this season.
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