An example for young hockey players
On December 11 in the Ice Palace of St. Petersburg there was a farewell match of Evgeny Ketov - SKA forward, the most famous pupil of Gubakha hockey school.
Forty hockey players, coaches, sports managers and government officials arrived for the ceremonial game. The game was attended by honored masters of sports, Olympic and world champions: Vasily Koshechkin, Alexander Semin, Dmitry Kalinin, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Egor Yakovlev and others. Famous Perm region people, including the head of the region Dmitry Makhonin and Alexey Chikunov, vice-president of the Continental Children's Hockey League "Golden Puck" and chairman of the board of directors of JSC "Karbolit", were also at the celebration. Three specialists, without whom the forward's career might not have taken place - Ketov's first coach Vladimir Kolesnikov, Nikolai Beloborodov and Petr Vorobyev - took the coaching bridge.
Before the start of the game, a special ceremony took place: Evgeny Ketov's sweater was hoisted under the arches of the Ice Palace, and his game number 40 was permanently retired from circulation at SKA. Now Ketov has been inducted into the St. Petersburg club's Gallery of Fame. In honor of Evgeny Ketov, all participants of the match took to the ice under the number 40.
The match was played in a friendly atmosphere. During three periods the spectators saw 25 beautiful goals. Evgeny Ketov's goal brought victory to the Leningrad team with the score 13:12.
“Evgeny Ketov has always been and will always be an example for young hockey players. From the Golden Puck competition to the world hockey champion - isn't this the "Path to Dream"! I am sure that we will still hear Evgeny Ketov's name in the winning chronicles of domestic hockey,” said Alexey Chikunov.
Evgeny Ketov does not forget his small homeland. In 2019, on his initiative and with the support of the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation, an ice arena was built in Gubakha, and youth tournaments for the prizes of Evgeny Ketov are held.