Hungarian hockey player, 19, gets a Russian passport after 16 VHL games

A 19-year-old Hungarian hockey player now holds a Russian passport, and the way it happened is a little unusual.

Itay Golan was granted citizenship after the authorities of the Nizhny Novgorod region asked for it to be given to him "in an exceptional order", the regional governor said. In other words, the usual route was set aside for him.

Golan is still very young, but he already has a varied hockey CV. Last season he played 16 games in the VHL, the Supreme Hockey League, which is Russia's second-tier league below the KHL. Before that he played in the United States.

The governor did not say anything more in the announcement about the player's plans. For now, the facts are simple: a teenage Hungarian forward who came through North American and Russian hockey is now a Russian citizen.