Photo: championat.com

Minutes after Russia won the 2014 World Championship, suspended head coach Oleg Znarok made his way down to the ice to celebrate with his team. Znarok, who coached Alex Ovechkin in Dynamo Moscow, was immediately greeted by the Russian team captain. Ovechkin, grinning from ear to eat ear, waved over his teammates.

This is a nice moment.

A few seconds later, the celebration turned dangerous.

Ovechkin, along with his teammates, picked the 51-year-old Znarok up and started tossing him in the air.

The tradition of coach-tossing started in Europe. After winning the Champions League recently, Bayern Munich and Barcelona did so.

In last season’s KHL playoffs, Barys Astana dropped top-scorer Talgat Zhaylauov at the airport after the team won in their first round series– the first in the team’s history. Zhaylauov’s head bounced off the floor, and he missed the second round with a concussion.

Unlike in 2012 when Semyon Varlamov and Alex Semin injured themselves celebrating, it appears Znarok and the rest of Team Russia have escaped unscathed. So far.