The Russian national team won’t have Evgeny Kuznetsov for the next four years, after the Capitals star received a suspension from the IIHF after testing positive for cocaine.

 

It’s a pretty crazy situation, but Kuznetsov still has the support of his peers, including his former national team teammate Sergei Bobrovsky.

 

 

Хочу поддержать @kuzy092. Тяжелая ситуация для него и для его семьи. Согласен, история получилась некрасивой, но не стоит теперь закапывать парня. Не стоит забывать, что все мы люди и спортсменам также как и всем людям свойственно ошибаться. Давайте лучше поддержим человека. Сколько хороших дел он уже сделал для своего родного Челябинска, для российского хоккея в целом. И сколько ещё хороших дел и красивых голов впереди. Держись, старина, сделай правильные выводы и двигайся дальше/ I want to support @kuzy092. It’s tough situation for him and his family. I agree, that history doesn’t look good at all but it doesn’t means that we have to put him down. People often forget that sportsman also humans and they also could make a mistakes. Let’s better give him some support. He made so many good things for his hometown Chelyabinsk and so many good things for hockey and he will make even more good things in the future. Stay strong, man, make right decisions and keep moving forward 💪👊

A post shared by Sergei Bobrovsky (@sergeibobrovsky) on

“Stay strong, man, make right decisions and keep moving forward,” writes Bobrovsky. It’s a nice little show of solidarity for someone who has, as Bobrovsky says, given so much back to the community he’s from.

One of Kuznetsov’s Capitals teammates, Tom Wilson, also offered his support, making it clear that the team is “going to have his back.”

h/t Instagram/sergeibobrovsky​