Z profesionálneho hokeja je nám dobre známa tradícia udeľovania cien pre najlepšieho hráča zápasu. Na majstrovstvách sveta sú to zvyčajne hodinky od sponzora, v NHL má zasa každý klub zvyk posúvať si nejaký talizman – veľmi často to býva čiapka, ktorú si hráči posúvajú.

Aj kluby ruskej Vyššej hokejovej ligy (druhá najvyššia hokejová súťaž v Rusku) riešia, ako si budovať značku. Originálne to poňali páni z tímu Ižstal Iževsk. Iževsk je jedno z centier ruského zbrojného priemyslu – počas druhej svetovej vojny vyprodukoval 12,5 milióna strelných zbraní a zároveň ide o rodisko legendárneho automatu, ktorý skonštruoval Michail Kalašnikov.

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Legendary Russian weapon designer Mikhail Kalashnikov is shown posing with the very first model of what is arguably one of the most iconic and widespread weapons ever to be used by the human race: The AK-47. The Central Armed Forces Museum, Moscow, Russia. July 6th 2007. The image was taken during an event that marked the 60th anniversary of the invention of the AK-47, and the one that Kalashnikov is holding is the actual original model he made in 1947! Kalashnikov first began to have the idea to make weaponry in 1941 while recuperating from a shoulder wound he suffered in the Battle of Bryansk, and while he was in the hospital he claimed a soldier in the bed next to him asked: "Why do our soldiers have only one rifle for two or three of our men, when the Germans have automatics?" Kalashnikov was inspired to change that. He began to first design a new rifle in 1942 and then began to try and make a light machine gun in 1943. Prototypes were made over the years, and in 1947 he made the first true AK-47 prototypes, which began army trials in 1948. The rifle was accepted into service with the Soviet Army in 1949, and since then it has been licensed and used by dozens of nations all over the world, and an estimated 100 million AK-47s and AK-47 varieties have been made since 1947. That's incredible considering that there's only an estimated 500 million firearms on the planet! The weapons are reliable aside from long-distance accuracy, but they're so cheap that there is some places on the planet where an AK-47 can be traded for as little as six American dollars, a chicken or one bag of grain. However, as the rifles proved to be reliable and cheap, which although is great for militaries, it is also easy to aquire by terror groups and militias the world over. Terror groups such as Al Qaeda, ISIL, the Taliban, the FARC, the Lords Resistance Army and so on are known to have stockpiles of these weapons and it's varieties, and they're commonly used by their foot soldiers. CONTINUED BELOW ⬇⬇⬇

A post shared by "scientia potentia est." (@the_amateur_historian) on Jan 3, 2018 at 4:23pm PST

Predstavitelia hokejového klubu preto dospeli k záveru, že na mestskú tradíciu nadviažu svojským spôsobom – najlepší hráč zápasu dostane ákáčko. Prvým hráčom, ktorý bol takto poctený, sa stal brankár Savelij Kononov po výhre 3-2 nad Čelmetom. Kúsok, ktorý sa vo videu objavil, vyzerá ako model AK-74m, čo je v súčasnosti najpoužívanejšia zbraň v ruských ozbrojených silách.

Russian Goalie, Saveli Kononov, received an AK-47 after being named player of the game by his teammates – WTF pic.twitter.com/2tVFskX3Ou

— HockeyTroll.ca (@Hockeytroll_ca) September 11, 2019

Šťastný majiteľ automatickej zbrane zo žartu svojim spoluhráčom pohrozil, že ak nebudú riadne hrať, tak ich môže hocikedy postrieľať.

Našťastie alebo žiaľbohu, ide len o nefunkčnú maketu, ktorú si hráči budú predávať a po každom zápase sa jej majiteľom stane najlepší hráč hry. Funkcionári klubu nemôžu byť spokojnejší, pretože vďaka tomuto PR kroku sa im podarilo spraviť reklamu, akú by im nezabezpečili ani tisíce eur.

Zdroj: championat.com, dailymail.co.uk