Blackmail or where did one of the best hockey players of the Ukrainian championship go?

24-year-old Kremenchug forward Artem Tselogorodtsev must be hot right now. In fact, he was also involved when he played one of the key roles in winning the second championship in the history of the “citizen”. This past spring in the 2025 playoffs, Artem scored seven goals and had one assist in 13 games. A little earlier, in January last year, Tselogorodtsev was one of the leaders of the Ukrainian student team that won the bronze medal at the World University Games. Here Artem scored four goals and made one assist in seven matches. The coaching staff of the national team included the hockey player in the expanded list of candidates for the country’s main team.

The start of the new season seemed to strengthen Tselogorodtsev’s position. In the three matches in which Kremenchug won the national cup, Artem scored two goals and made two assists.

But then came the start of the regular championship of Ukraine. Tselogorodtsev only played in his team’s first two games against Odesshchina and Krizhinka, making two assists, and hasn’t appeared on the ice since then, that is, since October 11. Where did one of the leading representatives of our national hockey championship go?

No, he’s not injured.

It turned out that Artem fell into a trap familiar to the Kremenchug club, whose de facto owner is the current president of the Ukrainian Hockey Federation, Sergei Mazur. A trap in which many Ukrainian (and not only) hockey players involved in the Kremenchug club have already found themselves.

The plan is simple as hell: Players whose contracts have expired are offered a new contract. When they start having doubts, they stop paying salaries. As a rule, blackmail begins about six months before the end of the contract. Currently this option is enhanced by the factor of reservation from military service.

Thus, Tselogorodtsev’s contract was ending. He had no intention of continuing cooperation with Kremenchug. And “Kremenchug” had no desire to say goodbye to one of the team leaders.

It is absolutely impossible to get out of this vicious circle without loss. Everyone in our hockey community knows this, everyone understands this, but they continue to be tempted by temporary interests. Not because of the good life, of course, but because of the lack of a real alternative.

We live like this.