An American hockey player brutally knocked out the Russian champion with his first punch

Buddy Robinson, an American forward for the Russian hockey club Traktor from Chelyabinsk, brutally knocked out the captain of Salavat Yulaev (Togliatti), Grigory Panin. The episode took place in the second match of the Gagarin Cup series (a tournament that determines the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League playoffs).

In the 52nd minute of the game, Robinson and Panin decided to settle things, but their fight lasted exactly one second. As soon as the Russian skated up, the 32-year-old New Jersey native put the 2014/2015 Russian champion on the ice with a single punch.

As a result, the referees gave Robinson two 20-minute disciplinary fines and two 5-minute fines for fighting.

Former Traktor director Andrey Balandin said after the match that Robinson should have apologized to Panin.

"I think Robinson was wrong, and he should apologize. Panin was not ready for a fight, he was coming towards him openly. At the same time, Robinson abruptly threw off his gloves before the punch and struck. He is a North American and should know the rules of the fight better than our hockey players," Balandin said.

As a result of the incident, the KHL did not disqualify Robinson. The KHL's Sports Disciplinary Committee only fined the Traktor hockey player for a blow to the head.

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