February 19, 2015. Nizhniy Tagil’s Sputnik, a hockey club sponsored by Uralvagonzavod Corporation, is now eligible to enter the Supreme Hockey League’s play off.

‘This was possible due to beating the league’s front-runner, Saryarkoy from Kazakhstan. Sputnik was 24th out of 26 teams last year, but this time its overall ranking is one of the best,’ the corporation’s press service says.

Chairman of Sputnik’s board of trustees Alexei Zharich congratulated the team and their manager on the season’s victory and said he hoped they would fight hard in the play off.

‘Following the last season’s disaster, the team had to undergo radical changes. A new legal entity was set up and new, impressive sponsors such as Gazprombank and MTE Group were foun,’ Zharich told reporters. He explained the team’s goal was to enter the play off and compete for the Bratina Cup.

‘The team was created from scratch and used to have no senior coach, no general manager, no full set of players who are well used to one another. Thanks to the corporation’s Director-General Oleg Sienko’s support, we started writing the club’s history anew,’ Zharich said.