Avangard Omsk defenseman Anton Belov has been suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, Russian deputy sports minister Yury Nagornykh told RIA Novosti on Sunday.
Belov, 25, tested positive after the fourth match of the Gagarin Cup final series against Dynamo Moscow on Thursday, Nagornykh said.
He was missing from the roster for the fifth game on Saturday, won by Dynamo to pull the series back to 3-2.
"The information that the 'A' test is positive, we had already on Friday," Nagornykh told RIA Novosti.
Nagornykh said Belov was still presumed to be innocent until back-up tests prove otherwise, adding the length of Belov's provisional ban was unclear.
"A commission takes that decision. No one has canceled the presumption of innocence. ... We can talk about this [ban length] only after Rusada conducts a hearing and an investigation. There are a lot of nuances in this issue."
Rusada is Russia's anti-doping agency. Nagornykh said he expected to hear from the agency on Monday regarding what steps to take next.
It is the second major doping incident to involve Avangard in the KHL's four-year history.
In 2008, the team's 19-year-old forward Alexei Cherepanov suffered a heart attack during a KHL game and died soon after. Cherepanov, an NHL draft prospect, was found to have had a previously undetected heart condition.
Federal investigators declared that Cherepanov had engaged in doping over several months. The KHL suspended the Avangard president Konstantin Potapov, general manager Anatoly Bardin and two team doctors shortly afterwards.
Belov has played regularly for Avangard since the KHL was formed in 2008, with 45 points in 212 games.
He courted controversy for a brutal hit on Washington Capitals' 19-year-old prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov in an Eastern Conference final game against Traktor Chelyabinsk earlier this month.
Belov hit the goal that put Avangard in the Gagarin Cup final, giving his team a 4-1 series win.
